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Made in England - poetry read by the author

Silhouette figure with microphone

Poetry read by the author

Some of England's top poets - past and present - read their work out loud. There's even a recording of Lord Tennyson which was recorded on wax cylinders in 1890.

Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah

The Rasta poet says liberate turkeys from the tyranny of Christmas!

Diary of a Church Mouse by Sir John Betjeman

Life in an English church, as seen from an unusual angle.

You and Me and P.B. Shelley by Ogden Nash

The poet of entertainment contemplates life and PB Shelley.

A March Calf by Ted Hughes

The acclaimed Poet Laureate creates intense imagery on the savagery of nature and the animal world.

Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath

A disturbing monologue on death, rebirth and survival, written four months before the poet's suicide.

The Charge of the Light Brigade by Lord Tennyson

Inspired by The Times' account of a Crimean fiasco. Recorded in 1890.

Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith

Based on a newspaper article about a seaside misunderstanding.

Bessie Smith in Yorkshire by Adrian Mitchell

A surreal fan letter to the Empress of the Blues.

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