Has anyone been watching? Vote for your favourite poet :)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/poetryseason/captcha
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Has anyone been watching? Vote for your favourite poet :)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/poetryseason/captcha
Yeah I've been watching, it's been really interesting so far
Yes I've been watching too. I loved the programme about Donne last night. We've got Milton tonight. The problem with the vote is I'm torn between at least 5 of the poets. I have more than 1 favourite. My favourites on that shortlist are Byron, Keats, Rossetti, Owen and Browning. The vote seems to go on until September, but I think I would be sussed if I voted for more than 1, unless I do it from different computers, but then there's no point.
Edit: Benjamin Zephaniah is on at a local arts centre near me next week. I think I'll see if there are still tickets. He's great.
Why'd they put Wendy Cope on there, but not Geoffry Hill? Let me take that further: why did they put Wendy Cope up there at all? Surprisingly though, John Donne made the cut, but not Shakespeare or Milton, or any number of major figures. It's also ironic how both Yeats and Heaney are on there - the former being a revolutionary, and the latter only really being born in North Ireland, and something far closer to Irish than English. Then again, Sylvia Plath was 100% American, so they botched that one too (are we counting marrying and having a disastrous relationship with an Englishman being English now?). Still though, it is a tricky choice. I'm tempted to vote Hardy, since I refuse to vote for Yeats on the grounds that he was Irish to 'the deep heart's core.'
Still, the list is more interesting for its description of who is "British", and who isn't. I wouldn't have put Eliot up there, fore instance, but it seems, according to this list, that if you lived in the UK, or are from the UK, you are English, even though someone like Browning spent far more time in Italy, and Sylvia Plath was clearly an American Poet, and Yeats embodied the anti-colonial, anti-British sentiment of his age completely.
As for voting - I don't feel right doing so - it's not my nation's favorite poet after all, so why should I skew the votes.
The great British public only think that two poems have ever been written, Kipling's If and that daffodil one by Wordsworth.
Why do you think Shakespeare was not included in the list? Is he considered only a playwright?
JBI, Milton is on there.
This is too difficult... some of my favorite poets are up, and there is no way I can choose!
I think they've put up the ones that are talked about in the programmes of the poetry season because they don't have Shelley there either. And maybe because they thought we'd all vote for Shakey :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
I think you can vote for up to 5 different people. I voted for Lord Byron (doesn't he look pretty?) and TS Eliot.
Amused by Neely's comment- although I do love 'If'.
It isn't to find the favourite British poet, it's to find Britain's favourite poet. Could be from anywhere... these are simply the shortlist of poets that have been chosen by the arts council and some other folk. And Milton is on that list.Quote:
Originally Posted by JBI
I voted for Heaney, anyway. Was understandably torn but he got my vote in the end.
Shakespeare isn't up there as a poet because, I would say legitimately, his reputation as poet doesn't begin to approach his reputation as a playwright. There are poets more deserving than Shakespeare.
Also, thank god, it's not looking for the 'best' poets. It's looking for people's favourite poets, different thing entirely. A Better thing, as well.
Oh, whew, good... off to vote now...Quote:
Originally Posted by kelby_lake
How about Hardy?Quote:
Originally Posted by meh!
Hmm, Shakespeare is first and foremost a poet and there is no one more deserving than him, but let's not go there, the BBC probably wants to show people 'new' poets riding on the back of the new poet laureate position.Quote:
Originally Posted by meh!
In the spirit of the BBC therefore I voted for Wordsworth because I like that Daffodil poem and Milton because he has a cool wig. :thumbs_up
I don't understand Kelby. It says you can only vote once, but that the maximum amount of votes from an IP address or phone is 5. I haven't done it yet, so do you have to register an e-mail address or something, or is it just a 1-click-of-the-mouse-thing? If I can only do 1, I need to think seriously about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by kelby_lake
As in all these type of lists, they're not going to satisfy everyone JBI. At least it gets people talking about poetry, and I see that as a good thing.
I voted for four different poets. I would vote for one, and then go back to the home page and do the vote over again. So you should be fine!Quote:
Originally Posted by wessexgirl
Done it. Managed to do the 5 I mentioned, that is, the 5 people in the household have voted ;), as I'm sure that's why there are up to 5 allowed from one address/phone.
My vote went to Milton, Thomas, Coleridge, and Blake. I am thinking I might give my final vote to Byron. I have one left!
Are you in the UK Poetic? There is a programme about Milton on tonight which you might enjoy.Quote:
Originally Posted by PoeticPassions
I went for Keats, Byron, Owen, Rossetti and Browning. I'm ashamed to say that I've never read Paradise Lost, but it's up there on my TBR wishlist. I'm sure after the programme I will want to read it even more, as I know a little about it, and how great it's supposed to be, and I love the presenter, (Armando Ianucci), so I'm sure I will trust his judgement as a great writer of political satire himself.
If it is for Britain to choose their favorite poets, should I vote as non-Britain?
Well, I voted for William Blake, Lord Byron, John Donn, William Wordsworth, TS Eliot, John Milton, Robert Browning.
We do not have that program.:(
I watched the movie Wit and I really enjoyed the part where the professor explained DEATH BE NOT PROUD line by line. I so wish someone could do the same of some poems for me. I should take some classes, maybe.
I'm minded to vote for Ted Hughes, because his Moortown Diaries IS my life in poetry. My other contenders are Stevie Smith, Wilfred Owen and John Betjeman.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neely
Or, more likely, seeings as the vast majority of the poets on that list are dead, it's just the honest opinion that his reputation as a poet doesn't compare to his reputation as a playwright. Which is clearly an understandable position to hold.
You can be too dismissive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neely
Not true at all. His reputation as a poet is, I would consider, untouchable. It's a no-brainer. If he was there, I believe, as Kelby said, he would probably win hands down. As the Beeb have done seasons on Shakespeare alone, they probably thought it would be unfair to put him in with the others.Quote:
Originally Posted by meh!
Say, 'Shakespeare?' and people think plays. Hamlet, Othello and The Tempest. That's just how it is. This is the search for the nation's favourite poet. Personally, I find it bizarre that you don't think there are any poets better than Shakespeare but both of our views on him are irrelevant because that's not what this voting is about.
Those plays contain poetry. Shakespeare was a poet.Quote:
Originally Posted by meh!
I know; you're missing the point. Obviously he was a poet, he also wrote poetry independently of his plays, but that is not what he his
known for. However good the poetry in his plays is (and it is) that doesn't take away from the fact that they are plays. They are plays in which poetry plays a role, not the other way around.
So:
In the public eye Shakespeare is primarily a playwright. His poetry plays a secondary role. This is the point.
So when we ask the public about poets, does Shakespeare automatically jump to mind? No. That is why the arts council made the choice they did.
I can't make it clear enough that this has nothing to do with the reality of shakespeare: I have no desire to argue that.
Well, not quite... but I couldn't resist voting, since I do read BBC News and watch the programs quite often. Plus, one of my closest friends lives in London, so I figured I could just vote for her ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by wessexgirl
Ah, and Keats is wonderful too!
Shakespeare is also known for his sonnets. Because he was a playwright does not make him any less a poet. The sonnets are as highly regarded and as well-known as any other poems.
I think there's quite a good mix of poets up there- modern with old, not all men :)
'pparently not!Quote:
Originally Posted by wessexgirl
Try the BBC i player, you should be able to watch it via the internet that way:http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...aven_and_Hell/Quote:
Originally Posted by jinjang
Awesome! I wish they were showing this series in the States.
I'm glad to see Hopkins up there. I think he's a vastly underrated poet. I love his quirky neologisms and his sprung rhythm is very exciting to me. I don't think he'll garner a lot of votes, but hopefully some will show their appreciation.
When I saw Simon Armitage up there, I mistook him for Richard Armitage - the British actor. And my first thought was...he's a poet??? :D But then my brain fart cleared up and I remembered S.Armitage as the translator of the newest translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Anyone read it yet? My Middle English professor actually gave a copy away as a prize for a translation contest...I've been curious to see if it actually deserves all the hype it's getting.