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The Poetry's Dead Podcast

The Poetry's Dead Podcast

Ryan Duggins and Leon Dunne

Ryan and Leon are delighted to bring you your NEW favourite poetry podcast, exploring the work of poets old and new, with a little bit of craic mixed in.
We'll share our love of poetry every week, taking you on a journey through work from poets you'll have heard of, as well as poets you may not have heard of and even people you had no idea wrote poetry.!
We'll also help with our Agony Poet part of the show where we'll accept any challenge of solving a problem with a poem. Nothing is too trivial or too serious.
Ryan Duggins is a published English poet based in Dublin, with work found in journals Dreich, Flare and his first collection 'You're Never Too Old To Know Better' was published in April '23. He's also performed at Electric Picnic and is a regular on the open mic scene in Dublin
Leon Dunne is a spoken word artist and cornerstone of the poetry scene in Ireland. He is the 2022 All Ireland Poetry Slam Champion and co-founder of Rising Tide, an events company hosting the best spoken word performers the country has to offer out of Pearse Street library
Both of them are more fun than these descriptions would have you believe
Give us a follow, leave us a review, send this to your Ma' and join us :)
Original music by Matthew Keating
Introduced and co-produced by Lisa Downey

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Top 10 The Poetry's Dead Podcast Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Poetry's Dead Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Poetry's Dead Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Poetry's Dead Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Poetry's Dead Podcast - W.H Davies, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Online Dating
play

06/17/24 • 45 min

This one is a little loose people, so get ready!
Reason being: The sun was shining and we enjoyed a few garggles before going into the world of poetry this week, so if you fancy grabbing yourself a scoop before you listen, you'd be absolutely so welcome.
Speaking of enjoying yourself, we start the show with the iconic 'stand and stare' line from the poem 'Leisure' by W.H Davies. You have to enjoy yourself people, and the Welsha 'supertramp' makes sure we know it.
Weirdly, pirate life gets a few mentions on today's show. No idea why, but adding to that 'Yo Ho Ho' vibe is the 'The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (I know, we are bloody cultured on this show, and so are you for listening) and his tale of spooky goings on aboard the ship.
Sean Urell shares his frustration about that one guy that loves using all his words when he could just use one with 'The Overexplainer'. This ones a right giggle so stick around for it.
We were also ever so grateful and thankful for the words of speech writer Alison Mooney who gives us a lovely intro for the show as well as shares her poem 'Europa' as a reminder of how important it is for nations to be on the same page. Such a good poem.
Our Agony Aunt poem this week is to help someone who just doesn't want to be on the dating apps, but wants to find love. We have a little chat about love in the digital world, as we like to do.
We also have a final call for The Poetry's Edit competition which wraps up this week so get over their Instagram and get your poems. Such a great response so far.
Thanks again for all your support, we are always grateful you're here
Poems from the show
W.H Davies - Leisure
https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/leisure
Samuel Taylor Coleridge - The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834
Sean Urell - The Overexplainer
Instagram @SEAN_U.R.L
Alison Mooney - Europa
Instagram - @alison_mooney_
Leon Dunne - Back On The Grindr
Instagram - @nomanticz

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

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast - Allen Ginsberg, Wedding Poetry and Sharing Friends With Your Ex
play

10/21/24 • 40 min

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

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

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast - Pamela Anderson, John Cummins and Being Guided By Al Capone
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02/17/25 • 53 min

We always knew deep down that Pamela Anderson was a poet, sure why did you think we had her on our walls?

OK worth a try, and we're as surprised as you are that we are kicking the show off this week with not one but TWO poems from Pamela, which if we didn't know, could easily be the work of Albert Camus. I know, but listen to the podcast and see for yourself.

We have a beautiful story of Michelle White who, 40 years after her mother's death, has started to share her late mom's work to continue the legacy on. Sharron White's poem 'If Houses Could Talk' is one of many we could have shared.

Al Capone wouldn't be on top of many lists of inspiring men, but Alice Rhodes tells us why she has him guiding her through life and gives us a poem about him to boot. Interesting.

We also have a romance poem taken from a school poetry competition that almost retires us both from writing, before we wrap up with the magical John Cummins and a musical performance to blow you away.

Like, review, tell your mates down the pub and thanks for listening.

Poems from the show:

Pamela Anderson - Poems from her memoir 'Love, Pamela'

https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/lovepamela

Alice Rhodes - Merciless Man

Instagram - @alicesliterarylife

Sharron White - If Houses Could Talk

Instagram - @mymomspoetry

Student from Ellenfield, Whitehall - Love Will Never Last

John Cummins - Project At Lingo Festival

https://www.othervoices.ie/artists/john-cummins

Support the show

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

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast - Georgie Jones, Sean Walsh and Postnatal Depression
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10/14/24 • 46 min

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

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Mass is in session this week on the podcast with banger poems replacing hymns.
Now we've both watched and essentially been shook by the movie Small Things Like These, we get into why that movie hits so hard and wind poetry around the experience of the film to help us understand how to navigate that tricky world of church and religion in Ireland.
Before that, as Leon had spent 24 hours in Sligo and Ryan had been watching the show 'Rivals' where rough and ready Declan O'Hara enjoys reciting poetry from WB Yeats, we thought we'd share a poem from him, recited by Cillian Murphy.
We get into the history of the Irish church and box that off with a poem written by Leon. Warning: This isn't a light one.
It's not all bad with the church in Ireland so we try and add meat to that bone with the poem 'Solitude' by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Hopefully that helps as we navigate the blessings and historical curses around religion in Ireland.
Nate Gladdin from the Whiskey And Ink podcast gave us a belter of a poem that takes us right into a world where a town used to be something and isn't now. Apologies for any County Clare folk but we dig out the town Tulla in this chat, don't hate us.
One of the highlights of the year we've had living and breathing poems was seeing Rachel Mulqueen perform at the storytelling tent Seanchoíche. We share her poem and tribute to her male friends 'A Belated Thank You To My Boy Friends (remix)' a reboot and homage to Hollie McNish's poem of the same (ish) name. Lovely piece.
We received an Agony Aunt all about longing love and missed opportunities so enjoy that one.
If you'd like to join our second read-along, sign up to our patreon and get involved. We have teamed up with The Winding Stair Bookshop for the read-along with the team there picking the collections moving forward and giving us a discount on the books if you buy from them. Means we can join the excitement of not knowing what we're reading, savage.
Let us pray. Amen. Blessed be the fruit and all the other stuff they say in church.
Ryan and Leon
Poems from the show
WB Yeats - When You Are Old (read by Cillian Murphy)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43283/when-you-are-old
Leon Dunne - Raimcha na blathnana
Instagram - @nomanticz
Ella Wheeler Wilcox - Solitude
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/solitude/
Nate Gladdin - French Valley
https://open.spotify.com/show/4nNbc0ImIHdGjYpmQOcS1J
Rachel Mulqueen - A Belated Thank You To My Boys (remix)
Instagram - @rach_mulqueen
Patreon for read-along:
https://www.patreon.com/c/thepoetrysdeadpodcast

Support the show

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

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast - Oscar Wilde, Dylan Thomas And Taylor Swift
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05/13/24 • 44 min

We are finally showing just how basic we both are with this latest episode guys, so be warned!
We've been putting Oscar WIlde on the back burner since the show launched, but today's the day we give him a proper segment with a journey around his one-liners, plays, fictional works and poetry.
A little moan about Dylan Thomas being a bit 'up himself' doesn't get in the way of us gagging to share one of our most favourite poems ever published, and thank Taylor Swift for mentioning him in the new album 'The Tortured Poets Society that pushed us to feature the pompous Welshman.
Colm Keegan wants us to see the world through a horse's eyes, which we then do through his poem 'Howya Horse'.
A little bit of sad-girl poetry from Jose Cameron proceeds our Agony Aunt where we help someone who has been caught in the middle of two gossip queens at work.
Get in touch with us on Instagram, TikTok or email ([email protected]) and keep an eye out for our Patreon that we'll launch that will give exclusive access to our upcoming book club and ways to contact other members of the podcast 'poetics', which is the name we're now calling you.
Hope you love this one guys.
(Go Taylor Swift )
Poems from the episode:
Oscar Wilde - The Ballad Of Reading Goal (an exert)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45495/the-ballad-of-reading-gaol
Dylan Thomas - Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
https://allpoetry.com/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night
Colm Keegan - How'ya Horse
Instagram - Colm_Keegan
Josie Cameron - Your Favourite Jumper
TikTok - josiecameron1
Leon Dunne - Woes At Work

Support the show

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

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast - Maya Angelou, Seán Watmore and STI's

Maya Angelou, Seán Watmore and STI's

The Poetry's Dead Podcast

play

03/01/24 • 28 min

The teasing is over. The flirting is done. Time to grab the coats and hail down a cab.
Welcome to the first full episode of The Poetry's Dead Podcast.
In episode one, we kick things off by sharing our thoughts and love for two of the greats, Maya Angelou and Charles Bukowski. We had to have the big cynic in episode one.
We then share a piece from Irish writer Seán Watmore, as well as a treat of a love poem from Mumbles Poet.
We wrap it up (so to speak) with the proof that a poem can solve any ailment as our Agony Aunt has received something in the mail from a man with an issue downstairs.
Get in touch with us with your poetry, someone else's poetry or a question for our Agony Poet at [email protected]
Poems from today's episode:
Maya Angelou - Phenomenal Woman
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48985/phenomenal-woman
Charles Bukowski - Go All The Way
https://consciouslyinspired.com/go-all-the-way-charles-bukowski-poem/
Seán Watmore - Parachutes
Instagram - @seanwatmorepoetry
@mumblespoet (Instagram) - She's My Girl
John Greeleaf Whittier - Don't Quit
https://www.virtuesforlife.com/poem-dont-quit/
Leon Dunne - The Clinic
Instagram - @poetrysdeadpodcast
Ryan and Leon

Support the show

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

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast - Pam Ayres, Charity Shop Books And Staying On The Right Path
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05/06/24 • 47 min

This. One. Was. Fun
We parade around the fun and freeing mind of Pam Ayres, as she gives us a lovely spring in our steps with her warm and giggly poetry.
We share some tips on getting back into reading, and our love of spending time in charity shops and picking up a book for a euro.
David Hynes comes in with his Perfectly Polished Poem flooded with P's like an overflowing pub urinal of poetry.
Our agony aunt is all about how to to stay on the right track, and finding out what that track is.
We also gush over Matthew McConaughey, share a theory about Roddy Doyle and read out a message from a listener that had us both in tears. Oh, we talk about tears as well.
We basically talked way too much on this one lol.
As always, get in touch with us on Instagram @thepoetrysdeadpodcast or email us at [email protected]
Poems from the episode:
Dave Jones - Among The Fools
Instagram - @davedelirious
Pam Ayres - Geriatric Juliet
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/43520176
Leon Dunne - Lidl Siblings and Ed's Keys
Instagram - @nomanticz
David Hynes - Porter Price
Instagram - @hynestein1
Ryan Duggins - The End
Instagram - @ryanduggins

Support the show

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

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast - Emily Dickinson, Harry Baker And A Tribute To Paddy Downey
play

04/22/24 • 41 min

A special PACKED episode for you after a short break which we are very excited to share.
We pay tribute to our own Paddy Downey, who not only created the logo for our show, but was also a poet himself. We heard the incredibly sad news that Paddy had passed a few weeks ago, so we asked his daughter Lisa (who is the voice of our show's intro) to come on and talk about her dad, which she did beautifully.
After a touching start, we talk about Emily Dickinson as a influence on society even if she wasn't able to see her own work land the way it did during her own lifetime.
Harry Baker shows us how its done next with a snippet from his latest book 'Wonderful' that makes us all look very amateur, indeed.
We giggle in the words of Aine Budds, who brings to our table (she's a chef, get it!) a bit of seasoning that we need in our lives with her poem, 'Greasy Love'
Fingal Poetry Slam winner Kev Kennedy comes through with his piece Mankee Candle, before Leon answers our Agony Aunt section with a poem to help someone struggling with keeping to a routine
We missed you, and we hope you kinda missed us too :)
Ryan and Leon
Poems from the show
Paddy Downey - Dublin Zoo
@poemsbypaddy On Instagram
Lisa Downey - My Daddy Paddy
Emily Dickinson - 'Hope' Is The Thing With Feathers
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42889/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-314
Harry Baker - Ingrid
https://www.harrybaker.co/store
Aine Budds - Greasy Love
@flowerbudds On Instagram
Kev Kennedy - Mankee Candle
@heavy_keavvy_ On Instagram
Leon Dunne - Routine

Support the show

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

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast - Whitney Hanson, Kim Kardashian and Reality Television
play

06/03/24 • 46 min

Wake up slowly on this Bank Holiday Monday (here in Ireland) my child and allow us to soothe you back into life with another fun episode of The Poetry's Dead Podcast!
We whizz around every conversational topic known to man on this one like two ADHD teenagers having their first pint, and we had a great time with it.
Our patreon community's first featured poem on the show comes from Fin Brennan, sharing his poem of affection to his pals with the poem 'Both My Friends Are Scientists'.
Our first non-native speaking poet on the show comes in the form of Juan De Dios Peza who explains to us how everything is not always what it seems when people pretend they are doing great. His poem is called Reir Llorando, or 'To Laugh While Crying' for most of us.
The incredible Whitney Hanson, with 3 books published at just 22 years old, helps us through grief with her poetry collection Harmony, a friend in need for millions of people already. We talk about TikTok as a platform for creatives too, and throw aside any of the old brigade of snobs that my poo-poo poets like Hanson.
Jo Spivey takes us back to 'Madchester' in the 90's with his tribute to rave culture titled 'There Used To Be A Rave There', which then leads us to the story of how the song DARE by The Gorillaz became DARE and not THERE thanks to Shaun Ryder.
Adele Leahy brings some necessary craic (quite literally) with a poem of sympathy for the owner of, probably, the most famous bum on the planet with 'Kim Kardashian's Arse'
We reveal the details of our poetry competition at the end of the show where we are teaming up with the team at The Poetry Edit (Instagram @the_poetryedit) to run a poetry competition with a chance of being featured on the show, which who knows, might lead to bigger stuff. We're massive in Sweden, don't you know!
Thanks as always for your love and support, and have a belter of a Bank Holiday Monday.
Ryan and Leon
The Poetry's Dead Podcast
Poems from the show:
Fin Brennan - Both My Friends Are Scientsists
Instagram - finbrennanpoetry
Juan De Dios Peza - Reir Llorando
https://aliciamblair.squarespace.com/work/2016/8/17/rer-llorando-by-juan-de-dios-peza
Whitney Hanson - Harmony
https://www.easons.com/harmony-whitney-hanson-9781529432633
Jo Spivey - There Used To Be A Rave There
Instagram - joe_spivey
Adele Leahy - Kim Kardashian's Arse
Instagram - adele_leahy

Support the show

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

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Poetry's Dead Podcast have?

The Poetry's Dead Podcast currently has 40 episodes available.

What topics does The Poetry's Dead Podcast cover?

The podcast is about Poetry, Culture, Ireland, Writers, Podcasts, Books, Arts and Performing Arts.

What is the most popular episode on The Poetry's Dead Podcast?

The episode title 'Pam Ayres, Charity Shop Books And Staying On The Right Path' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Poetry's Dead Podcast?

The average episode length on The Poetry's Dead Podcast is 43 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Poetry's Dead Podcast released?

Episodes of The Poetry's Dead Podcast are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Poetry's Dead Podcast?

The first episode of The Poetry's Dead Podcast was released on Feb 28, 2024.

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