The YourShelf Podcast
#10 Poetry Book of the Year 2020 with Seán Hewitt
Episode Summary
In episode ten, YourShelf's chief curator Juliano Zaffino (Jay) catches up over Zoom with Seán Hewitt, author of the YourShelf Poetry Book of the Year 2020, to discuss his poetry collection Tongues of Fire, as well as recapping some of the best books of 2020.
Episode Notes
To support our work and listen to additional content from previous episodes, see here: https://patreon.com/yourshelf and follow us on social media @_yourshelf_ (note: there is no Patreon episode for either of our Books of the Year 2020 episodes). In our latest, tenth episode of The YourShelf Podcast, Poetry Book of the Year 2020, our chief curator Juliano Zaffino (Jay) catches up with Seán Hewitt to discuss Seán's book Tongues of Fire, the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Hewitt's forthcoming memoir (due 2022), and a recap of the best books of 2020. For full show notes, see here: https://podcast.yourshelf.uk/episodes/10. Thanks for listening.
Links
Episode Notes
- Jay asks Seán about what book world he would live in, what his bookshelves look like, and who he'd invite to a literary dinner party. (from 0:01)
- Seán explains the origins of his book Tongues of Fire, his pamphlet Lantern, the scope of nature poetry, timeliness vs timelessness, the influence of Gerard Manley Hopkins and more. (from 9:20)
- Seán recaps his favourite books, albums and TV shows of 2020, recommends some titles for 2021, and hints at his forthcoming memoir, All Down Darkness Wide, due out 2022. (from 44:50)
- Seán Hewitt gives a special reading of Jay's favourite poem in Tongues of Fire, 'Adoratrion'. (from 1:01:03)
- The books and authors discussed in this episode include: Philip Pullman's Northern Lights, the works of Flann O'Brien, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Christopher Marlowe and William Blake, Thomas Hardy's Jude The Obscure, Hera Lindsay Bird by Hera Lindsay Bird, Alice Oswald's Dart, Freya Daly Sadgrove's Head Girl, Mark Doty's My Alexandria, Wayne Holloway-Smith's Love After Love, and the works of Ocean Vuong, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Karin Boye and J.M. Synge.
- Seán's 2020 highlights include Claudia Rankine's Just Us, Hilary Fannin's The Weight of Love, Rachel Long's My Darling From The Lions, Eavan Boland's The Historians, Robin Robertson's Grimoire, Jane Mead's World of Made and Unmade, and Caleb Femi's Poor. Aside from books, Seán's other 2020 highlights include the albums What's Your Pleasure? by Jessie Ware and Roísín Machine by Roísín Murphy, the TV shows Schitt's Creek and The Crown, and playing the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
- Seán's most anticipated releases of 2021 include Niven Govinden's Diary of a Film, Jackie Kay's Bessie Smith, Andrew McMillan's Pandemonium, Kayo Chingonyi's A Blood Condition, and Jen Hadfield's The Stone Age.
- Seán's book Tongues of Fire is available now from Jonathan Cape. His academic volume J.M. Synge: Nature, Politics, Modernism is available from Oxford University Press, 7 January 2021.
- Thanks for listening and tune in again very soon for our second Book of the Year episode, with Doireann Ní Ghríofa!