The Poetry's Dead Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

A special episode from Poetry's Dead HQ this week as we celebrate the life and work of Dublin's poetic voice, Pat Ingoldsby

We sit and listen to our beautiful community of poetry heads who share their favourite poems of Pat with us so we can share them with you.

We hope this podcast does him justice and people can always come back to this show if they are looking for some warmth, a giggle and a cry all in the same hour

Pat, we were always big fans and thank you for being the lighter voice we need in a world less cheery with you gone

Thanks to Michelle Bossonnett, Danni Cullen, Sean Watmore, Ben MacCaoilte and Steven O'Toole for helping us put this together.

Thanks to everyone who listens, and Pat, take it handy

Ryan and Leon

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Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

We're feeling the spring in our step lads as the days are getting a little longer, and the poems just keep bleedin' coming!

After Brendan Behan's book Confessions Of An Irish Rebel kept Ryan company on a solo trip to Belfast this week, we share a few stories and a tear-jerker poem from a man that we'd all love to share a pint with.

We asked the Dublin Central Library guys if they have any books from Paula Meehan, and they handed us Pillow Talk and we found a beauty all about the changing perspectives we have when we look at our elders.

We have a poem from Beibhinn Thorsch who just released her debut collection 'Libran Liturgy', then we delve into the gay clubs of Dublin where a woman pines and yearns to be able to love her gay best friend, but horses for courses don't allow. A story that goes back to the start of time.

Our Agony Aunt is back and is helping a member of the corporate workforce who would love a few days working from home.

Enjoy, send it to an EX and keep it popping

Poems from the show

Brendan Behan - The Laughing Boy

https://poetscorner.blog/2019/03/20/the-laughing-boy/

Paula Meehan - My Father Perceived As A Vision Of Saint Francis

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-father-perceived-as-a-vision-of-st-francis/

Beibhinn Thorsch - Love With Conjunctions

Instagram - @beibhinnthorsch

Tess McKevitt - I Want A Lavender Marriage

https://www.tessmckevitt.com/

Agony Aunt - Home Office Plea

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Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

If you're here for the cheese addict, stay 'til the end ;)

And if you do, your heart and soul will be filled with a myriad of hopeful poems to bring you through the change in weather as you sniffle your way through the start of winter. 

We shine a light on men's mental health on the show this week, starting with the Movember campaign that poet Daragh Fleming is an ambassador for. Every day this month he's been sharing poems to raise awareness on men's mental health, and he shares one of his favourites on the podcast.

Playright David Gilna gives us one of his belters about youthful friendship and bonds with his poem 'The Boys From The Jacko'. Yup Swords IYKYK.

Barry Currivan, a Dublin poetry scene favourite, gives us a poem from his upcoming collection 'If Not If, What' all about staying young at heart.

We share a piece from Belfast poet Paul Muldoon after our trusted source Suzanne Meehan recommended we have a read of his work before Ryan shares his poem about the unfortunate side effect of falling in love through his piece 'He Let Himself Go'.

Our agony aunt this week comes from someone who is suffering from a lack of restraint when it comes to Gouda. Not really a problem, just a supported hobby in our eyes

Poems from the show:

Stephen Downey - Man Of The House
Instagram - @stephendowney

David Gilna - The Boys From The Jacko
https://www.amazon.co.uk/24-Hours-Day-David-Gilna/dp/1915502918

Barry Currivan - We Make Things Old
Instagram - @barry_currivan

Paul Muldoon - The Loaf
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47992/the-loaf

Ryan Duggins - He Let Himself Go
Instagram - @ryanduggins

Agony Aunt - The Dairy Dilemna

Support the show

Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

The title is as wide ranging as show this week guys but stick with us!

Over 1 million people were on the streets of Dublin last weekend to support the runners taking on the city's marathon, and we think only 800,000 of them were there to perv over Colin Farrell! Leon ran it and has a poem for us.

The next day, Ryan went into The Secret Book Store for the first time, picked up a random poetry collection, opened it at a random page when enjoying a pint at Devitts on Camden Street in a journey that proves that poetry will see you before you see poetry. Enjoy this piece from the late Patricia Monaghan.

We get into the weeds of Irishness next with the work of James Clarence Mangan as Leon has been reading Finding Mangan by Bridget Hourican, a devil of a book going into the deeps of his life. On the flip-side, a man who got a lot of inspiration from Mangan was Shane MacGowan. Ryan is reading his pub-crawl book 'A Drink With Shane MacGowan' at the moment so we share poems from both, and spar over the history of Ireland and the ignorance of education in England about what happened.

We have a lovely end to the show through a short and sweet piece about love by Shiv Hickey. Beautiful work.

If you like the show and would like to join our monthly read-along or would just like to show your support, join our Patreon on the link below:

https://www.patreon.com/c/thepoetrysdeadpodcast

Stay sexy
Ryan and Leon

Poems from the show

Leon Dunne - What Are You Running From?
Instagram - @nomanticz

Patricia Monaghan - The Butterfly Tattoo Effect
https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Chaos-Salmonpoetry-Patricia-Monaghan/dp/1903392276

James Clarence Mangan - Dark Rosaleen
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50353/dark-rosaleen

Shane MacGowan - The Dunes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5UH3Iik8Jg

Shiv Hickey - Loved Out Loud
Instagram - @whisperedwordsaftermidnight

Support the show

Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

For all the men over 30 who listen to the show, we apologise for the intro music.

It's Halloween though, so we had to scare you a little bit and what better way to start the show than with the scariest music ever recorded, the entrance music that wrestler Kane.

Poetry still to this day is hard to come by in popular culture, but The Simpsons in 1991 did something incredible. The creators took Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven' and trusted it to be the centrepiece of their Treehouse Of Horror episode. We wanted to share that this week, narrated by James Earl Jones.

We bounce between ghouls, skeletons, bonfires, murder and throw in a mention of 'THAT' jump scare video where the car drives around the lane. You know the one.

Leon has his own ghost story too that will keep you awake for sure.

If you're in Ireland you'll get this on a bank holiday, so go wash last night's fake blood off that face, go for a walk and take us with you.

(We do not own the rights of any content shared on the podcast)

Poems from the show:

The Raven - Edgar Allen Poe
Taken from The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror 1991

Porphyria's Lover - Robert Browning
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46313/porphyrias-lover

The Visitor - Ian Serallier
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p011lgcd

Suzanne Meehan - The Gurrier's Rite
Instagram - @suzie433

Mary Karr - Field Of Skulls
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43134/field-of-skulls

Theresa McCormack - If I Was A Ghost 
Instagram - @theworldaccordingtot

Leon Dunne - A Ghost Story 
Instagram - @nomanticz

Support the show

Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

It took 6 months for us to mention the movie 'Dead Poet's Society' so give us a break!

On the show this week, we have love, former loves, and all that life offers you in-between so settle in for 40 minutes of poetry and giggles.

Leon had travelled out to Scotland for a wedding between two poets who had set each other a task of writing each other a poem during the getting-to-know you stage of their relationship. We share those poems on the show. Beautiful stuff.

Ryan, from his posing position in Merrion Square, with a notepad in hand wrote a poem that he shares on the show that will put a smile on your face for sure.

We mentioned Allen Ginsberg on the show last week, and the lads didn't know too much about him. We fix that with a poem and a short backstory of that 'Beat Generation' of American poets

Menna Siwan treats us with a poem that sends thanks to someone who crawled back from the edge with a piece called 'For You'.

Our Agony Aunt this week is all about who keeps the friends after a break-up. Spoiler: You might need a few new friends

We have the read-along now live and kicking so if you'd like to join us, sign up to our Patreon. We have a new book every month so get involved you absolute ride.

Poems from the show:

Dave and Sophie McIntyre - Wedding Poems
Instagram: @sm_gruber and @davidrobertmcintyre 

Ryan Duggins - My Favourite Day
Instagram - @ryanduggins

Allen Ginsberg - When The Light Appears
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/01/04/08/specials/ginsberg-obit.html?oref=login

Menna Siwan - For You 
Instagram - @mennasiwan

Agony Aunt - The Split

Support the show

Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

The days are the shorter, and we're here to keep you company

It's getting colder, but the leaves are looking mighty fine out there so take us with you on that walk this week, but grab a scarf.

Georgie Jones gives us a poem this week that paints a picture of a world that we will never see: the feminine power of the women's bathroom.

Seems just yesterday that Dublin was practically on fire and LUAS trains being destroyed, but it was a year ago would you believe. Those dark days are shared through a poem by Sean Walsh.

We are lucky enough to have a lovely community following the show, and luckily for us, poems are always coming out of our folk so we wanted to share poems this week from two very talented community members, Joao Coimbra and Muiris Cloherty.

We received an agony aunt problem since the last show that we just didn't feel qualified at Poetry's Dead HQ to help with, so we drafted in a specialist in the form of the Ireland Poetry Grand Slam champion Anna Doran, who delivers one of our favourite pieces of the show so far. 

We also have the voice of Ethan Hawke, funeral chat (It is an Irish podcast afterall) and a confession that could lead to Ryan losing his university degree.

Our read-along is now live for our Patreon subscribers, so if you'd like to join us read a new poetry collection each month and get an exclusive show about it, you can join us here - https://www.patreon.com/thepoetrysdeadpodcast

Stay savage and enjoy 
Ryan and Leon

Poems from the show:

Georgie Jones - Ode To The Ladies Loo
https://www.tiktok.com/@georgiejonez/video/7205734276208332038

Sean Walsh - Grief
Instagram - @sean.walsh.96

Muiris Cloherty - The Daylight Atheist
Instagram - @muiris_cloherty7

Joao Coimbra - Good And Empty
Instagram - @joaowrites

Anna Doran - Matrescence
Instagram - @annad.poetry

Support the show

Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

After a few weeks apart, the boys are back with a drop of malbec and some bleeding whopper poems for you.

Anyone who dropped into the Leinster Slam poetry competition last week would have witnessed the power of Cormac Fitz, so it only made sense that we celebrated his win on the show with a poem from the man himself.

Rupi Kaur is up next, as Ryan shares the story of when he received her collection from his sister for Christmas as a present, seemingly one of the better gifts he's received from her over the years.

Over in Liverpool, Cilla Black is apparently not the only red-head to wow the crowds as we share spoken word artist Hayley Gordon on this week's show and share the power of the stage as a way to find yourself.

Michelle Bosonnett has her collection coming out this year, published by Luain press, and we wanted to bring one of those poems to the show, and luckily she has sent us a lovely poem about longing.

We woke up our Agony Aunt this week after a few weeks off to help us with a listener problem all about one-side love.

Our Patreon community are going to be treated with a special monthly episode and a read-along with us, so if you'd like a push to get back into reading, sign up to our Patreon for more details.

Loves ya,
Ryan and Leon

Poems from the show:

Cormac Fitz - Waiting
Instagram - @cormfitz

Rupi Kaur - City
https://rupikaur.com/

Hayley Gordon - Lines
Instagram - twistedtales.hlg19

Michelle Bosonnett - Rambling Memories
Instagram - wildflowergirl81

Agony Aunt - Dancefloor Blues

Support the show

Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

What a special episode we have for you this week!

We have taken the time to throve through the archives to bring you some of the best bits of the podcast to date. So sit back, put the kettle on, and take off those shoes, as you relax into 46 minutes of entertainment gold! Or nonsense.. or both.. 

Poems from today's episode: 

Oscar Wilde - The Ballad Of Reading Goal (an exert)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45495/the-ballad-of-reading-gaol

Imelda May - Liberty Belle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQrWiGFtHpw

Jan Brierton- 'You Got Back Your Funny'
https://www.newisland.ie/poetry-drama/what-day-is-it

Ryan Duggins - There Is No Problem
Instagram - @ryanduggins

Leon Dunne - Around Town Most Days
Instagram - @nomanticz

John Cooper Clarke - Bed Blocker IBlues
https://www.clc.sllf.qmul.ac.uk/?p=387

Paddy Downey - Dublin Zoo
@poemsbypaddy On Instagram

Lisa Downey - My Daddy Paddy

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Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey

Today we celebrate the unsung hero of The Poetry's Dead Podcast, our Agony Aunt.

Since we started the show, our resident helper has been penning poems to support all problems we get sent in by our listeners, so today we are putting them all in one giant, whopper Agony Aunt episode.

Do you have a problem you'd like a poem for? You know what to do! Email us at thepoetrysdeadpodcast@gmail.com or if you click our linktree we have an NGL that you can use to send a message anonymously. Just head over to our instagram @thepoetrysdeadpodcast

Stay sound!

Ryan and Leon and our Agony Aunt

Support the show

Original music by Matthew Keating
Artwork by Paddy Downey
Introduction and co-produced by Lisa Downey