Love and Death: Elegies for Poets by Berryman, Lowell and Bishop
· 13 min · S14 E5
Episode Love and Death: Elegies for Poets by Berryman, Lowell and Bishop
The confessional poets of the mid-20th century considered themselves a ‘doomed’ generation, with a cohesive identity and destiny. Their intertwining personal lives were laid bare in their work, and Robert Lowell, John Berryman and Elizabeth Bishop returned repeatedly to the elegy to commemorate old friends and settle old scores.In this episode, Mark and Seamus turn to elegies for poets by poets, tracing the intricate connections between them. Lowell, Berryman and Bishop’s work was offset by a deep commitment to the literary tradition, and Mark and Seamus identify their shared influences and anxieties.
Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe:
Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrld
In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsld
Further reading in the LRB:
Mark Ford: No One Else Can Take a Bath for You
https://lrb.me/ldpoets1
Karl Miller: Some Names for Robert Lowell
https://lrb.me/ldpoets2
Nicholas Everett: Two Americas and a Scotland
https://lrb.me/ldpoets3
Helen Vendler: The Numinous Moose
https://lrb.me/ldpoets4
LRB Audiobooks
Discover audiobooks from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiobooksld
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.