You enjoy listening to poems? Responding to them? Discussing them? Even analyzing them?
On every second and fourth Thursday, at 13.06, we do precisely that in a series of programmes, in English.
For example, we read poems by Roger McGough, Liverpool pop poet of the 1960s and now the presenter of BBC Radio 4′ s popular request programme ‘Poetry Please’. And yes, we too at Freirad hope that you will ask for particular poems to be read and discussed.
A taster? Here’s a short poem by Roger:
Once upon a love
we spent our nights
blowing kisses across
the pillow
now we spend them
throwing plates across the kitchen
We hope your relationship is not quite like this! Mind you, it is said to be an old story: « It starts when you sink into his arms, and it ends with your arms in his sink. »
We’ll also be listening to pop songs and talking about them. After all, so many poems are singable. Take Leonard Cohen, for example. Also, many English composers (eg. Benjamin Britten) set poems to music.
In our programmes we will also be running a Poetry Workshop. Here you can learn how to actually write poems. In fact, we will be running a Poetry Competition.
So, « Turn on, tune in and drop out », as the 1960s guru Timothy Leary said!
The signature tune of Poetry Cafe is Erik Satie’s ‘Gymnopedie no. 1’, jazzed up by the Jacques Loussier Trio
