In this episode of Words That Burn, poet Maurice Riordan joins Ben to reflect on a career-spanning selection of poems curated by former student and fellow poet Jack Underwood. With the new Selected Poems from Faber and Faber arranged out of chronology, Riordan discusses how themes like rural life, modernity, nature, and time emerge more clearly—and more hauntingly—across decades of work.
Together, they explore how poetry manipulates time, the influence of film and science, the uncanny weight of Irish myth, and what it means to write with one foot in the past and the other in an overcrowded present. From candlelit farmhouses to televised World Cups, Riordan’s work straddles eras, places, and emotional states—always grounded in vivid, startling imagery.
Poems discussed include Rural Electrification, 1956, The Flight, The Lull, Timeout, Gone With the Wind, and Badb, among others.
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
00:06 Maurice Riordan's Selected Poems
00:48 Themes and Evolution in Maurice's Work
03:15 Rural Electrification and Early Influences
06:35 The Power of Imagery in Poetry
12:28 Cinematic Influences on Poetry
17:21 Observations and Domestic Themes
21:23 Exploring Connection with Nature
25:50 The Influence of Irish Mythology
30:24 Reflections on Isolation and Alienation
33:01 Balancing Life Between London and Cork
34:42 The Intersection of Poetry and Science
37:26 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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