Occasion of the Season

The Shepheardes Calender Podcast

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Occasion of the Season

A journey through the year with Edmund Spenser's poetic shepheards, and some real ones. Sponsored by the International Spenser Society. Listen on substack or: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bn8CejdOfIGqDXUn8kLjn https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/occasion-of-the-season/id1755609916 https://pca.st/ti30si7b occasionoftheseason.substack.com

18 DÉC.

December

I met up with Hannah Crawforth at her office in King's College London, and we became completely immersed for an hour in all the nostalgia and pride and virtuosity of the December eclogue. Hannah - current president of the International Spenser Society - writes about English Renaissance literature, poetry in general, political thought and, in her first book, etymology. This last makes her a particular fan of our friend E.K. Stay until the end to find out her take on his identity. This episode introduces Joseph Minden reading poems not only as Colin but as himself, because he is a poet in his own right, with one book (Poppy) available from Carcanet Press and another out with them next year. You'll hear him reading some of Paddock Calls, a long poem that circulates through the associative grids of nostalgia, teaching, learning and love. Just like, and very unlike, Spenser. He is accompanied by his once and eternal bandmates from Sweat. Thank you to artist Karen Tilley for describing the woodcut, to Hannah Crawforth for sharing so many illuminating thoughts about December, to Joseph Minden for playing Colin and sharing his own work, to N.H. Chaundler for the latest poetic response to Spenser. Thank you to the International Spenser Society for sponsoring this podcast, to Ella Mahony for the art, and to Femi Oriogun-Williams for mixing and mastering. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit occasionoftheseason.substack.com

1 h 29 min
29 NOV.

November

I talked through the November eclogue with Conor Wilcox-Mahon, from the English department at UCL in London, who has thought hard about this poem in terms of conceptions of nature, and time, and what death means in these contexts. You’ll also hear sounds from All Saints Day (November 1st) at the Basilica of St Francis in Assissi, in Umbria. This episode is, thrillingly, the world premier of a song written especially for us in response to the November eclogue, by two extremely talented musicians based in New York: Alexandra Lily Cohen and Edward Lyle Barton. They are holding the candle for the sociability of song. Finally, actor Helen Schlesinger returns to read Shakespeare’s sonnet 126 with inimitable grace. Thank you to Kimberly and Liam for describing the woodcut, to Conor Wilcox-Mahon for a deeply thoughtful conversation, to Joseph Minden for being Colin, to the choir and congregation of the Basilica of St Francis for their beautiful singing, to Joseph, James and Ella, for being my companions in Italy, to NH Chaundler for her seventh poetic response to Spenser from the borders. Thank you to Alex and Eddy for bringing their warmth, generosity and musical talents to the November eclogue. Thank you Helen Schlesinger for bringing sonnet 126 to life. Thank you to the International Spenser Society for their sponsorship of this podcast, to Ella Mahony for the art, and to Femi Oriogun-Williams for mixing and mastering, and advice, and troubleshooting on all fronts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit occasionoftheseason.substack.com

1 h 28 min
25 OCT.

October

This month I conversed with Sukanta Chaudhuri, Professor Emeritus at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Sukanta is an expert in English Renaissance pastoral poetry, and among many other publications, he has brought forth ‘Renaissance Pastoral and Its English Developments’ and more recently ‘English Renaissance Pastoral Poetry: An Anthology and Companion’, from Manchester University Press. It is wonderful to listen as he brings that knowledge of the entire genre to this relatively short eclogue in the series. Interspersed with that you’ll hear the generous and thoughtful voices of members of the Hollingdean Community Poetry Group, who sustain this project in many different ways. And I’ve included a small insight into how sleepy Joseph Minden and I can sometimes be when I remember that we urgently need to record ourselves reading a dense Spenser poem. You’ll also hear Femi Oriogun-Williams, folk musician, sound artist, and another integral part of this project, singing a song called ‘the rustler,’ in a voice note that he sent to me which made my day. Massive thanks to the International Spenser Society for their support and some hugely generous funding that has refloated this podcast in its sixth month. Overall, this episode is my version of an ode to all the people I admire who are building social worlds around poetry - including this small one. Thank you to Seamus for an opening reflection on the point of poetry, to Susanne, Ralph and Lucy for a tripartite ekphrastic description of the woodcut, to Sukanta Chaudhuri for a lovely conversation, to Joseph Minden as always for playing the morose shepherd to my brash, jolly one, to Karen, Susanne, Niki, Julia, Joanna, Christopher, and Reanna for letting me put their thoughts into this episode, to NH Chaundler for the sixth installment of her poetic response from the borderlands, to Ella Mahony for the art, and to Femi Oriogun-Williams for singing ‘the rustler,’ as well as mixing and mastering the episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit occasionoftheseason.substack.com

1 h 24 min
27 SEPT.

September

This eclogue was cracked open for me by Ashley Sarpong, assistant professor of British literature at Stanislaus State University in California. She revealed so much that’s going in this poem at the level of genre, and much that’s funny and delightful about it. It’s a classic eclogue, structurally, in that it starts with an exchange between two temperamentally contrasting shepherds and ends with a little story about sheep and wolves. Thank you to Joe Minden for not only playing the part of Diggon the morose shepherd but also describing the woodcut and taking my recorder on a field trip to Bristol where he asked his expert friend, folk musician Nick Hart, to peruse shepherd-themed folk songs in the Roud index. A huge thank you to Ashley Sarpong for a wonderful conversation, thank you to NH Chaundler for the fifth installment of her continuous response to the shepherds calender from the Scottish borderlands, thank you to Ella Mahony for the logo, thank you to Theo Addis for technical advice and help, and especial thank you to Femi Oriogun-Williams for mixing and mastering the episode, as always, but also for fixing an especially thorny sound problem that would have run us aground, without his help. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit occasionoftheseason.substack.com

1 h 19 min
23 AOÛT

August

This month I spoke to Professor Jeff Dolven, at Princeton University. He reframed the August eclogue for me as an exploration of the playfulness, comradeship, shame and uncertainty of growing up, and a virtuosic experiment in poetic forms. I am also delighted to introduce actress Helen Schlesinger, reading the part of Cuddie, the third shepherd in this eclogue. Helen had to rush off immediately after recording this to her matinee/evening job: playing The Duke of Buckingham in Richard III at Shakespeare’s Globe. There are some sounds in this episode gathered from Brighton’s anti-racism protest early in August. Thank you to Chrissie Dobson for describing the woodcut, and to Jeff Dolven for opening up so many resonances of Spenser’s August, thank you to Helen Schlesinger for playing the part of Cuddie, and Joseph Minden for playing Willye. Thank you to N.L. Chaundler for our latest installment of poetic responses to the Calender from the borderlands of Scotland, and to Bud Beginnings for their words and rhythm at the protest. As ever, thank you to Ella Mahony for the logo and Femi Oriogun-Williams for mixing, mastering and theme music. Please send me your own sounds, suggestions and feedback at kma30@sussex.ac.uk with podcast in the subject line. Thank you to everyone who is already subscribing, and do please share this podcast with anyone you know who would enjoy it! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit occasionoftheseason.substack.com

1 h 21 min
25 JUIL.

July

In this month’s episode I talked with Professor Andrew Hadfield, of Sussex University, about the rich complexities of the seemingly simple July eclogue, peppered with fascinating information about Spenser’s social life and worldviews, more of which is to be found in Andrew’s book Edmund Spenser, A Life. I also visited a beautiful farm where you can take a goat for a walk around the Sussex downs, to find out more about what it is really like to take care of goats, and live alongside them - often in very close proximity! Thank you to Nell Howe for describing the woodcut, to Andrew Hadfield for sharing a representative sample of his vast Spenser knowledge in such an enjoyable form, and to Joseph Minden for playing the role of Thomalin. Thanks to N.L. Chaundler for the latest instalment of her poetic response to the Calender from the borderlands of Scotland, huge thank you to Jenny, Zara, Duncan and their family for welcoming me to Wilbees farm and introducing me to the goats, and to the lovely goats themselves [find out more about how to do a goat walk here]. Thank you as ever to Ella Mahony for the podcast art, and Femi Oriogun-Williams for incredibly skillful mixing, mastering and theme music. Please send me your own sounds, suggestions and feedback at kma30@sussex.ac.uk with podcast in the subject line. Take care! Kat This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit occasionoftheseason.substack.com

1 h 21 min
27 JUIN

June

I am very happy to share the June episode - and once again, just in time! I spoke with Dr Claire Eager - assistant professor of early modern literature at the College of Wooster, in Ohio - about this eclogue in a wonderful conversation that took us through Chaucer and Milton and “the emotionally inaccessible Paradise” and Parnassus and belief and the ethics of despair… Big news! As you’ll see, I now have a delightful logo and thumbnail for this podcast, the work of the always-inspired artist and designer Ella Mahony, whose work you can see more of here. This podcast is currently available on Spotify here, and Apple podcasts, and I am working on the other various apps. Please share with anyone you think would like it, and contact me if you have suggestions. Some of the sounds and snippets of music included in this episode come from soundchecks and performances I stumbled on in the Jardim das Amoreiras in Lisbon on June 13th, during a festival in celebration of the artist Vieira da Silva and the end of fascist rule in Portugal in 1974. The choir is Coro Da Achada; the guitar and singer is Daniel Freire and friends. See the program here: https://fasvs.pt/eventos/vieira-da-silva-em-festa-2024/ Thank you to Verity Spott for describing the June woodcut, to Claire Eager for a fascinating conversation, to Joseph Minden for playing the part of Colin, to Katie Stone for insights into Victorian fairy-lore, to Dorothy Landy for reading out the plaque about the Essex witches, to N.L. Chaundler for her poetic and diaristic response to the June eclogue, to the array of musicians that I stumbled upon on the streets and in the squares of Lisbon, soundchecking, rehearsing and singing to celebrate, among other things, the end of the fascist regime in Portugal 1974, to the artist and designer Ella Mahony for the most beautiful new logo and thumbnail for this podcast, please check it out if you’ve missed it, and to Femi Oriogun-Williams for mixing and mastering, and for making the theme music, it has got a lot of love from listeners already. Please send me your own sounds, suggestions and feedback at kma30@sussex.ac.uk with podcast in the subject line. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit occasionoftheseason.substack.com

1 h 4 min
29 MAI

May

Welcome to Occasion of the Season: The Shepheards Calender Podcast - a year-long series in 12 episodes, taking us through Edmund Spenser’s The Shepheardes Calender (1579) month by month from May to April. I am very happy to share Episode One: May, a conversation with Professor Joe Moshenska, from University College, Oxford University. Here a few bonus bits of audio: * a recording of the May eclogue read by myself and Joseph Minden. * the full version Natasha Allden’s poetic response to the eclogue from the borderlands of Scotland. I hope you enjoy this first foray into The Shepheardes Calender, the perennial question of sheep and goats, the use of all such contrasts, and so much else. Please do write to me with thoughts and ideas, or updates on the unfolding of the season wherever you are! My heartiest thanks to Anna Schwarz for describing May’s woodcut, to Joe Moshenska for such a fun conversation, to Seamus McDavey, coming through from the outer Hebrides to share a fondness for goats and a defence of sheep, to N.L. Chaundler for her poetic reinterpretation of the May eclogue spliced with the flora and fauna of the Scottish borderlands, to Joseph Minden for playing the part of Piers, and to Femi Oriogun-Williams for producing the beautiful music for this podcast, for mixing and mastering it, and for invaluable advice on getting started. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit occasionoftheseason.substack.com

1 h 9 min

8 épisodes

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25 juil.

The Actual Rapper Cam'Ron

Love this pod — I’ve learned so much!

A journey through the year with Edmund Spenser's poetic shepheards, and some real ones. Sponsored by the International Spenser Society. Listen on substack or: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bn8CejdOfIGqDXUn8kLjn https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/occasion-of-the-season/id1755609916 https://pca.st/ti30si7b occasionoftheseason.substack.com

Création

The Shepheardes Calender Podcast
Années d’activité

2 k
Épisodes

8
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Copyright

© Kat Addis
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Occasion of the Season