A History of England in 25 Poems ...... on the wireless today

The idea of using the writings of authors, playwrights  and poets to help describe the history of a country is not new, but I am enjoying Radio 4's  Book of the Week with Catherine Clarke's A History of England in 25 Poems " to explore the ways in which poetry has shaped English identity".*

The first three poems were broadcast this week and the fourth is due today.

And that really is it, other than to quote the sleeve notes from the book which tells me that  "This is the history of England told in a new way: glimpsed through twenty-five remarkable poems written down between the eighth century and today, which connect us directly with the nation’s past, and the experiences, emotions and imaginations of those who lived it.

These poems open windows onto wildly different worlds – from the public to the intimate, from the witty to the savage, from the playful to the wistful.

They take us onto battlefields, inside royal courts, down coal mines and below stairs in great houses. Their creators, witnesses to events from the Great Fire of London to the Miners’ Strike, range from the famous to the forgotten, yet each invites us into an immersive encounter with their own time".*

And my copy is on order from Chorlton Bookshop, which having ordered yesterday I am told should be with me today or tomorrow.

*A History of England in 25 Poems by Catherine Clarke, BBC Radio 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002jspr

**A History of England in 25 Poems, by Catherine Clarke, Penguin Books, £20