Readings from the Pavilion End

S2 Ep 4: To Autumn by John Keats

This sensuous poem is the final work in Keats's '1819 odesto' - recall the Nightingale from Season 1, Episode 5. The abundance of autumnal harvests is set against an undercurrent of unease and transience. Notice how the florid descriptions of nature is set against the formal rhetoric associated with odes.This also poem marks the poet's own autumn as he succumbed to tuberculosis in 1821 at just 25. 

S2 Ep 3: Life by Anna Laetitia Barbauld

We are nearing the end of September - alas! Today's poem is an extract that reminds us of how mysterious life is. The opening lines of the poem, not narrated in this episode is 'Animula, vagula, blandula' or, 'Charming little soul, hastening away' purportedly attributed to a dying Emperor Hadrian. 
Read the full poem and a commentary here. 

S2 Ep 2: September 1, 1939 by W. H. Auden

Today's poem is a dense and complex work written at the beginning of WWII. Composed of 99 lines, it addresses the bleakness of war and violence, ancient and modern, and responds to the threat of annihilation through an eerily tidy structure.
A poem that Auden would try (and fail) to revise, describing it as "infected with an incurable dishonesty", it nonetheless continues to resonate 85 years later. 

S2 Ep1: A conversation with Imran Khwaja, Deputy Chair of the International Cricket Council

We begin season 2 with a chat from the Pavilion End from the insightful Imran Khwaja (International Cricket Council). We have a wide ranging discussion, beginning from his love for cricket to issues like the effects of inequality of membership statuses on elite performance, and musings on the future of test cricket. Enjoy!

Ep 14: We are such stuff As dreams are made on.. Prospero's soliloquy, The Tempest, Act 4 by William Shakespeare

Prospero addresses Ferdinand and Miranda's after their wedding masque. The temporary revelry of the masque is compared to the fleetingness of life. It is commonly interpreted as an autobiographical reflection on the temporality of Shakespeare's own theatrical career as, based on scholarship, the play was his last solely conceived play.
Find the text and a short commentary here. 

Ep 13: Little Red Riding Hood by Roald Dahl

In celebration of Singapore's National Day, we're bringing you something a bit different today: a cheeky narrative poem by the legendary children's writer Roald Dahl. He offers a twist on the classic tale, adding his signature wit and dark humor. As we take a day off to celebrate Singapore's birthday, with red proudly displayed on the flag, enjoy this delightful retelling.
Find the full poem here.

Ep 12: Sea-Fever by John Masefield

Today is a Sea Sunday, where we remember the seafarers who make so many of our modern day conveniences possible. We've got a classic British poem today, by John Masefield (1878-1967) who was English Poet Laureate from 1930-1967 and published Sea-Fever in 1902. Listen to the way the poem propels readers forward, as if calling us to join him to go along to the seas too!
Find the full poem here. 

Ep 11: This Be The Verse by Philip Larkin

Today's poem was recorded in May 2020, a tongue-in-cheek request from Sarah to little Josh who would be about four now. Find the full poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48419/this-be-the-verse

Ep 10: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Today's poem is a well-known but often misinterpreted piece. Interestingly, the poem was written after Robert Frost took a walk with Edward Thomas. Coincidentally, we've just published a poem by Thomas in Episode 8 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken). 
Find the poem here: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken

Ep 9: A conversation with Abbas Ali Baig

Today we have a special interview with the legendary former cricketeer Abbas Ali Baig.
https://billpavilionend.com/you-must-remember-this/