The Well Read Poem

S20E6: "Christmas" by John Betjeman (S14 Encore)

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we are reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this re-airing of the fourteenth season of the Well-Read Poem. We ...

S20E5: "Noël" by Théophile Gautier (S14 Encore)

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this season of the Well-Read Poem, which is a re-airing of epi...

S20E4: "Good King Wenceslas" by Vaclav Svoboda, trans. by John Mason Neale (S14 Encore)

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas. This series is a re-airing of episodes from Season 14. We have sel...

S20E3: "Christmas Carol" by Sara Teasdale (S14 Encore)

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas. This series is a re-airing of episodes from Season 14. We have selec...

S20E2: "Mistletoe" by Walter de la Mare

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be re-visiting six poems of Advent and Christmas during this twentieth season of the Well-Read Poem. We have selec...

S20E1: "The Magi" by William Butler Yeats (S14 Encore)

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this twentieth season of the Well-Read Poem. This series is a ...

S19E6: "Aubade" by Philip Larkin

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this 19th season of the Well Read Poem, the principal theme of the six poems selected is that of Death. We selected these poems to provide a variet...

S19E5: "The Twa Corbies" Anonymous Scottish

30 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this 19th season of the Well Read Poem, the principal theme of the six poems selected is that of Death. We selected these poems to provide a variet...

S19E4: "Ecclesiastes 12" from the King James Version

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this 19th season of the Well Read Poem, the principal theme of the six poems selected is that of Death. We selected these poems to provide a variet...

S19E3: "Elegies 11.28" by Propertius (Translated by Constance Carrier)

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this 19th season of the Well Read Poem, the principal theme of the six poems selected is that of Death. We selected these poems to provide a variet...

S19E2: "On a Dead Child" by Robert Bridges

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this 19th season of the Well Read Poem, the principal theme of the six poems selected is that of Death. We selected these poems to provide a variet...

S19E1: "Epitaph on the Countess of Pembroke" by William Browne

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this 19th season of the Well Read Poem, the principal theme of the six poems selected will be that of Death. We selected these poems to provide a...

S18E6: "A Prayer for My Daughter" by William Butler Yeats

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 18 of the Well Read Poem. During this season, we are offering our listeners six poems about family life. The poems selected for...

S18E5: "To My Brothers" by John Keats

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 18 of the Well Read Poem. During this season, we are offering our listeners six poems about family life. The poems selected for...

S18E4: "Satire 6, Book 1" by Horace (trans. by John Conington)

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 18 of the Well Read Poem. During this season, we are offering our listeners six poems about family life. The poems selected for...

S18E3: "To My Mother" by Robert Louis Stevenson

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 18 of the Well Read Poem. During this season, we are offering our listeners six poems about family life. The poems selected for...

S18E2: "Forefathers" by Edmund Blunden

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 18 of the Well Read Poem. During this season, we are offering our listeners six poems about family life. The poems selected for...

S18E1: "My Sister's Sleep" by Dante Rosetti

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During this season, we thought it appropriate to offer our listeners six poems about family life. The poems selected for this season are quite various...

S17E6: "The Dissolution of the Monasteries" by William Wordsworth

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome the final poem in Season 17 of the Well Read Poem! This season's theme is "When Homer Nods: Bad Poetry by Good Poets." Until this season, our ...

S17E5: "Poem of a Proposition of Nakedness" by Walt Whitman

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 17 of the Well Read Poem! This season's theme is "When Homer Nods: Bad Poetry by Good Poets." Until this season, our readings ...

S17E4: "To a Republican Friend" by Matthew Arnold

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 17 of the Well Read Poem! This season's theme is "When Homer Nods: Bad Poetry by Good Poets." Until this season, our readings ...

S17E3: "Sonnet 11: On the Desecration Which Followed My Writing Certain Treatises" by John Milton

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 17 of the Well Read Poem! This season's theme is "When Homer Nods: Bad Poetry by Good Poets." Until this season, our readings ...

S17E2: "The Death of King Charles II" by John Dryden

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 17 of the Well Read Poem! This season's theme is "When Homer Nods: Bad Poetry by Good Poets." Until this season, our readings ...

S17E1: "On the Jubilee of Queen Victoria" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 17 of the Well Read Poem! This season's theme is "When Homer Nods: Bad Poetry by Good Poets." Until this season, our readings ...

S16E6: "Summer" by Christina Rossetti

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the final episode in Season 16 of The Well Read Poem podcast! Since summer is upon us, we thought it right to present six poems written on ...

S16E5: "On the Move" by Thom Gunn

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 16 of The Well Read Poem podcast! Since summer is upon us, we thought it right to present six poems written on one subject or a...

S16E4: "Adlestrop" by Edward Thomas

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 16 of The Well Read Poem podcast! Since summer is upon us, we thought it right to present six poems written on one subject or a...

S16E3: "July, 1964" by Donald Davie

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 16 of The Well Read Poem podcast! Since summer is upon us, we thought it right to present six poems written on one subject or a...

S16E2: "The Lonely Hunter" by William Sharp

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Season 16 of The Well Read Poem podcast! Since summer is upon us, we thought it right to present six poems written on one subject or a...

S16E1: "Summer Sun" by Robert Louis Stevenson

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcom to Season 16 of The Well Read Poem podcast! Since summer is upon us, we thought it right to present six poems written on one subject or another...

S15E6: "Happy the Man, Who, Like Ulysses" by Joachim du Bellay trans. by Richard Wilbur

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this fifteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems in translation, written by a variety of ancient and modern poets. We hope th...

S15E5: "Ask Not (Odes I.11)" by Horace (trans. by John Conington)

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this fifteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems in translation, written by a variety of ancient and modern poets. We hope th...

S15E4: "I Do Not Like Thee, Doctor Fell" by Martial, trans. by Tom Brown

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this fifteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems in translation, written by a variety of ancient and modern poets. We hope th...

S15E3: "The Cat" by Charles Baudelaire (trans. by Roy Campbell)

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this fifteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems in translation, written by a variety of ancient and modern poets. We hope th...

S15E2: "Marsyas" by Jose-Maria de Heredia (trans. by Thomas Banks)

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this fifteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems in translation, written by a variety of ancient and modern poets. We hope th...

S15E1: "On His Brother's Death" by Catullus (trans. by Aubrey Beardsley)

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this fifteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we want to thank Emily Williams Raible, who suggested the theme "Poems in Translation" to us*, who pr...

S14E6: "Christmas" by John Betjeman

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we are reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this fourteenth season of the Well-Read Poem. We have selected cer...

S14E5: "Noël" by Théophile Gautier

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this fourteenth season of the Well-Read Poem. We have selected...

S14E4: "Good King Wenceslas" by Vaclav Svoboda, trans. by John Mason Neale

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this fourteenth season of the Well-Read Poem. We have selected...

S14E3: "Christmas Carol" by Sara Teasdale

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this fourteenth season of the Well-Read Poem. We have selected...

S14E2: "Mistletoe" by Walter de la Mare

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this fourteenth season of the Well-Read Poem. We have selected...

S14E1: "The Magi" by William Butler Yeats

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As befits the time of year, we will be reading six poems of Advent and Christmas during this fourteenth season of the Well-Read Poem. We have selected...

S13E6: "The English War" by Dorothy L. Sayers

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the thirteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we will be reading six poems about war. War is, of course, one of the oldest subjects that has inspir...

S13E5: "The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna" by Charles Wolfe

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the thirteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we will be reading six poems about war. War is, of course, one of the oldest subjects that has inspir...

S13E4: "Into Battle" by Julian Grenfell

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the thirteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we will be reading six poems about war. War is, of course, one of the oldest subjects that has inspir...

S13E3: "To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars" by Richard Lovelace

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the thirteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we will be reading six poems about war. War is, of course, one of the oldest subjects that has inspir...

S13E2: "To Pompeius" Ode 2.7 by Horace, trans. by John Davidson

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the thirteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems about war. War is, of course, one of the oldest subjects that has inspired t...

S13E1: "David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan", 2 Samuel 1, KJV

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the thirteenth season of the Well Read Poem, we will be reading six poems about war. War is, of course, one of the oldest subjects that has inspir...

S12E6: Idea 61, "Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part" by Michael Drayton

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the twelfth season of the Well-Read Poem, we are reading four poems by William Shakespeare, whose genius as a lyric poet is best appreciated in hi...

S12E5: Delia 45, "Care-charmer Sleep, son of the sable Night" by Samuel Daniel

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the twelfth season of the Well-Read Poem, we are reading four poems by William Shakespeare, whose genius as a lyric poet is best appreciated in hi...

S12E4: Sonnet 138, "When my love swears that she is made of truth"

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the twelfth season of the Well-Read Poem, we are reading four poems by William Shakespeare, whose genius as a lyric poet is best appreciated in hi...

S12E3: Sonnet 106, "When in the chronicle of wasted time" by William Shakespeare

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the twelfth season of the Well-Read Poem, we are reading four poems by William Shakespeare, whose genius as a lyric poet is best appreciated in hi...

S12E2: Sonnet 18, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" by William Shakespeare

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the twelfth season of the Well-Read Poem, we will be reading four poems by William Shakespeare, whose genius as a lyric poet is best appreciated i...

S12E1: Sonnet 1, "From fairest creatures we desire increase" by William Shakespeare

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the twelfth season of the Well-Read Poem, we will be reading four poems by William Shakespeare, whose genius as a lyric poet is best appreciated i...

S11E6: "On Shakespeare" by John Milton

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our final poem in this eleventh season of the Well-Read Poem! In this series we have been reading poems about writers, by writers, som...

S11E5: "Edward Lear" by W.H. Auden

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to another season of the Well-Read Poem! In this series we will be reading six poems about writers, some of them well-known, some of them...

S11E4: "To Walter de la Mare" by T. S. Elliot

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to another season of the Well-Read Poem! In this series we will be reading six poems about writers, some of them well-known, some of them...

S11E3: "The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel" by John Betjeman

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to another season of the Well-Read Poem! In this series we will be reading six poems about writers, some of them well-known, some of them...

S11E2: "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" by John Keats

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to another season of the Well-Read Poem! In this series we will be reading six poems about writers, some of them well-known, some of them...

S11E1: "The Lost Leader" by Robert Browning

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to another season of the Well-Read Poem! In this series we will be reading six poems about writers, some of them well-known, some of them...

S10E6: "The British Journalist" by Humbert Wolfe

26 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this tenth season of The Well Read Poem podcast, we are reading six poems about the blessings and curses of labor. Work is a thing we both enjoy an...

S10E5: "The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this tenth season of The Well Read Poem podcast, we are reading six poems about the blessings and curses of labor. Work is a thing we both enjoy an...

S10E4: "Surgeons must be very careful" by Emily Dickinson

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this tenth season of The Well Read Poem podcast, we are reading six poems about the blessings and curses of labor. Work is a thing we both enjoy an...

S10E3: "The Song of the Shirt" by Thomas Hood

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this tenth season of The Well Read Poem podcast, we are reading six poems about the blessings and curses of labor. Work is a thing we both enjoy an...

S10E2: "Men Who March Away" by Thomas Hardy

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this tenth season of The Well Read Poem podcast, we are going to read six poems about the blessings and curses of labor. Work is a thing we both en...

S10E1: "Fanfare for the Makers" by Louis MacNeice

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this tenth season of The Well Read Poem podcast, we are going to read six poems about the blessings and curses of labor. Work is a thing we both en...

S9E6: "Loveliest of Trees" by A. E. Houseman

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this ninth season, we are reading six poems about the four seasons of the year. English verse especially is abundant in celebrations, odes, and med...

S9E5: "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this ninth season, we are reading six poems about the four seasons of the year. English verse especially is abundant in celebrations, odes, and med...

S9E4: "To Autumn" by John Keats

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this ninth season, we are reading six poems about the four seasons of the year. English verse especially is abundant in celebrations, odes, and med...

S9E3: "Bed in Summer" by Robert Louis Stevenson

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this ninth season, we are reading six poems about the four seasons of the year. English verse especially is abundant in celebrations, odes, and med...

S9E2: "Sumer is I-cumin In" by Anonymous

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this ninth season, we are reading six poems about the four seasons of the year. English verse especially is abundant in celebrations, odes, and med...

S9E1: "The Rhodora" by Ralph Waldo Emerson

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this ninth season, we are going to read six poems about the four seasons of the year. English verse especially is abundant in celebrations, odes, a...

S8E6: "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this eighth season of The Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems about birds. Since antiquity, birds have supplied rich material to poets, being ...

S8E5: "Old Adam, the Carrion Crow" by Thomas Beddoes

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this eighth season of The Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems about birds. Since antiquity, birds have supplied rich material to poets, being ...

S8E4: "Le Corbeau et le Renard (The Crow and the Fox)" by Jean de la Fontaine

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this eighth season of The Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems about birds. Since antiquity, birds have supplied rich material to poets, being ...

S8E3: "The Oven Bird" by Robert Frost

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this eighth season of The Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems about birds. Since antiquity, birds have supplied rich material to poets, being ...

S8E2: "The Eagle" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this eighth season of The Well Read Poem, we are reading six poems about birds. Since antiquity, birds have supplied rich material to poets, being ...

S8E1: "Les Hiboux (The Owls)" by Charles Baudelaire

21 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this eighth season of The Well Read Poem, we will be reading six poems about birds. Since antiquity, birds have supplied rich material to poets, be...

S7E6: "Love Poem" by John Frederick Nims

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this seventh season, we are reading six poems about romantic love. Love may seem to be the most fundamental subject for poetry, but interestingly, ...

S7E5: "O Tell Me the Truth About Love" by W. H. Auden

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this seventh season, we are reading six poems about romantic love. Love may seem to be the most fundamental subject for poetry, but interestingly, ...

S7E4: Remember Me by Christina Rossetti

31 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this seventh season, we are going to read six poems about romantic love. Love may seem to be the most fundamental subject for poetry, but interesti...

S7E3: "Mother, I cannot Mind my Wheel" by Walter Savage Landor

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this seventh season, we are going to read six poems about romantic love. Love may seem to be the most fundamental subject for poetry, but interesti...

S7E2: "Sonnet 130: My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" by William Shakespeare

17 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this seventh season, we are going to read six poems about romantic love. Love may seem to be the most fundamental subject for poetry, but interesti...

S7E1: "A Farewell to Arms" by George Peele

10 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this seventh season, we are going to read six poems about romantic love. Love may seem to be the most fundamental subject for poetry, but interesti...

S6E6: "A Sonnet (Two Voices Are There)" By James Kenneth Stephenson

13 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this sixth season of The Well Read Poem, we will read a number of examples of classic satire in verse. English poetry is particularly rich in satir...

S6E5: "A Satire Against Mankind" by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this sixth season of The Well Read Poem, we will read a number of examples of classic satire in verse. English poetry is particularly rich in satir...

S6E4: "To a Poet, Who Would Have Me Praise Certain Bad Poets, Imitator of His and Mine" by William Butler Yeats

29 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this sixth season of The Well Read Poem, we will read a number of examples of classic satire in verse. English poetry is particularly rich in satir...

S6E3: "Zimri" from "Absalom and Achitophel" by John Dryden

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this sixth season of The Well Read Poem, we will read a number of examples of classic satire in verse. English poetry is particularly rich in satir...

S6E2: "Atticus" by Alexander Pope

15 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this sixth season of The Well Read Poem, we will read a number of examples of classic satire in verse. English poetry is particularly rich in satir...

S6E1: "On a General Election" by Hilaire Belloc

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Season 6 of The Well Read Poem podcast. In this season we will explore a series of satirical poems. Satire has been defined as literary rid...