The Seren Poetry Podcast - Eric Ngalle Charles : 'Homelands'

Eric Ngalle Charles : 'Homelands'

11/24/22 • 58 min

Welcome to The Seren Poetry Podcast, a series of conversations and readings with Seren poets.

In this edition we speak with poet Eric Ngalle Charles. Eric Ngalle Charles was born in the west African state of Cameroon, a country rich in mythology and natural beauty, but with a troubled colonial history. Arriving in Wales as a near-penniless migrant, after being trafficked to Russia by a criminal gang, he has remade his life as a poet/writer, and dazzling performer of his own work. In this conversation we chat to him about his debut poetry collection Homelands.

The podcast is presented by Rhian Edwards

The interviewer is Chris Gregory

Recordings, production, sound design and editing are by Chris Gregory of Alternative Stories

Recordings of Rhian Edwards are by Sarah Johnson

This conversation was recorded on location at the Seren office in Bridgend.

You can follow Eric on Twitter @yomadene https://twitter.com/yomadene

Other books by Eric Ngalle Charles:

‘I, Eric Ngalle’ (Parthian Books) https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/i-eric-ngalle-a-migrant

‘The 3 Molas’ (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch) https://www.waterstones.com/book/3-molas-the/mike-jenkins/eric-ngalle-charles/9781845277512

‘Hiraeth Erzolirzoli: A Wales – Cameroon Anthology’ (Hafan Books) https://hafanbooks.org/2020/09/23/bestsellers/

Find out more about Seren and purchase books featured in this podcast by visiting the Seren website here https://www.serenbooks.com/

Follow Seren on social media

Twitter https://twitter.com/SerenBooks

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/serenbooks/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SerenBooks

Contact them by email at [email protected]

This podcast is produced by Alternative Stories, a spoken word production company specialising in literary podcasts and radio programmes. To find out more about Alternative Stories, follow or hire them please follow the links below https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories

Contact them by email at [email protected]

Please join us next week for the last conversation in our first series. We’ll be talking to Kim Moore, about her Forward Prize shortlisted collection All The Men I Never Married, which will be released on Thursday 1st December. Subscribe in your favourite podcast app to have all future editions delivered to your podcast feed the moment they are released.

Don’t forget to leave us a review is you like what you hear.

Welcome to The Seren Poetry Podcast, a series of conversations and readings with Seren poets.

The podcast is presented by Rhian Edwards

The interviewer is Chris Gregory

Recordings, production, sound design and editing are by Chris Gregory of Alternative Stories

Recordings of Rhian Edwards are by Sarah Johnson

This conversation was recorded on location at the Seren office in Bridgend.

You can follow Eric on Twitter @yomadene https://twitter.com/yomadene

Other books by Eric Ngalle Charles:

‘I, Eric Ngalle’ (Parthian Books) https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/i-eric-ngalle-a-migrant

‘The 3 Molas’ (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch) https://www.waterstones.com/book/3-molas-the/mike-jenkins/eric-ngalle-charles/9781845277512

‘Hiraeth Erzolirzoli: A Wales – Cameroon Anthology’ (Hafan Books) https://hafanbooks.org/2020/09/23/bestsellers/

Find out more about Seren and purchase books featured in this podcast by visiting the Seren website here https://www.serenbooks.com/

Follow Seren on social media

Twitter https://twitter.com/SerenBooks

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/serenbooks/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SerenBooks

Contact them by email at [email protected]

Don’t forget to leave us a review is you like what you hear.

Previous Episode

Preview Fifteen: ‘Homeland’ by Eric Ngalle Charles

Our fifteenth preview podcast features Eric Ngalle Charles introducing and reading his poem ‘Homeland’, the title poem from his debut collection. The poem is read by Eric and was recorded on location at the Seren office in Brigend.
Listen to our in-depth interview with Eric in the next edition of The Seren Poetry Podcast, due to be released on Thursday 24th November.
The Seren Poetry Podcast is a new podcast dedicated to poetry and poets. Over 9 weeks we’ll speak to 9 poets and hear them read their work. We’ll talk influences, writing techniques and inspiration. Focussing on recent Seren collections, we’ll go in-depth with our poets on the themes they have chosen to write about and the people, events and other elements that have influenced them.

Recorded on location in our poets homes, at Seren’s headquarters and from the Wordsworth Centre in Grasmere, you’ll hear from some of the most important poets in the UK, each with an extended interview and a selection of their verse in high quality audio. We’ll speak to Polly Atkin, Kim Moore, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, Rhian Edwards, Eric Ngalle Charles, Ben Wilkinson and more.

The Seren Poetry Podcast is available now on all podcast platforms.

https://www.serenbooks.com/

Next Episode

Kim Moore : 'All the Men I Never Married'

Welcome to The Seren Poetry Podcast, a series of conversations and readings with Seren poets.
In this edition we speak with Kim Moore, winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection 2022. Her winning collection All The Men I Never Married is pointedly feminist, challenging and keenly aware of the contradictions and complexities of desire. The 48 numbered poems take us through a gallery of exes and significant others where we encounter rage, pain, guilt, and love and the ‘easy misogyny’ of everyday life.

The podcast is presented by Rhian Edwards

The interviewer is Chris Gregory

Recordings, production, sound design and editing are by Chris Gregory of Alternative Stories

Recordings of Rhian Edwards are by Sarah Johnson

This conversation was recorded on location at Wordsworth Grasmere in the Lake District.

You can find out more about Kim Moore by visiting her website https://www.kimmoorepoet.co.uk/

Other books by Kim Moore

If We Could Speak Like Wolves (Smith|Doorstop) – Winner of the Poetry Business Pamphlet Prize https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/if-we-could-speak-like-wolves/

The Art of Falling (Seren) – winner of the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize https://www.serenbooks.com/productdisplay/art-falling

What the Trumpet Taught Me (Smith|Doorstop) https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/what-the-trumpet-taught-me/

Find out more about Seren and purchase books featured in this podcast by visiting the Seren website here https://www.serenbooks.com/

Follow Seren on social media

Twitter https://twitter.com/SerenBooks

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/serenbooks/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SerenBooks

Contact them by email at [email protected]

https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories

Contact them by email at [email protected]

We would like to express our thanks to Wordsworth Grasmere and all the staff there for their hospitality during our visit. If you’d like to find out more about the work of Wordsworth Grasmere, get details of how you can visit the museum or attend one of their events please use the links below.
You can visit the Wordsworth Grasmere website here https://wordsworth.org.uk/

And follow them on social media via these links
https://twitter.com/WordsworthGras
https://www.instagram.com/WordsworthGrasmere/
https://www.facebook.com/WordsworthGrasmere/

This is the last interview in series one of The Seren Poetry Podcast. We hope you’ve enjoyed listening! Subscribe in your favourite podcast app to revisit the series so far. We’ll be back in 2023...