Professor of Poetry

About Professor of Poetry

The Oxford Professor of Poetry holds a public lecture each term. Alice Oswald served as the Oxford Professor of Poetry from October 1, 2019, until September 30, 2023. She was the first woman appointed to this position, marking a significant milestone in the history of poetry at Oxford. The Professor of Poetry lectures were conceived in 1708 by Berkshire landowner Henry Birkhead and began after he bequeathed some money so it could be a valuable supplement to the curriculum. He believed ‘the reading of the ancient poets gave keenness and polish to the minds of young men as well as to the advancement of more serious literature both sacred and human’. The first poetry professor, Joseph Trapp, took as his subject poetry in general. He was mainly concerned with the classical poets – particularly Roman writers. William Hawkins, professor from 1751 to 1756, was interested in drama and more modern works, and was renowned for quoting extensively (in Latin) from the works of Shakespeare during his lectures. Many distinguished men of letters held the Chair in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, including two Thomas Wartons - both father and son - and the poet and religious leader John Keble. However, it was Keble´s godson, the great Victorian poet and critic Matthew Arnold, uniquely elected twice to the Professorship (in 1857 and 1862), who really created the Professorship in its modern form: Arnold spoke about literary matters of contemporary concern, and was the first Professor to deliver his lectures in English, as opposed to Latin. A new Professor of Poetry is appointed every four years. All members of convocation are eligible to vote in the election. He or she must give a public lecture each term and, by convention, the Creweian Oration at the University's honorary degree ceremony every other year.

Publisher

Oxford University

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Dec 2019

Latest episode

16 Jun 2023

Latest episodes

9 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 Jun 2023

   Counterblast! (a manifesto for poetry)

   Alice Oswald's final lecture as the English Faculty's Professor of Poetry.

2. 

   27 Feb 2023

   Anonymous and Onymous

   A professor of poetry talk by Alice Oswald - Hilary Term 2023

3. 

   21 Feb 2023

   Meandering Fortune-Graphs

   A professor of poetry talk by Alice Oswald - Michaelmas 2022. The title of the talk is: Meandering Fortune-graphs – a conversation between the Book of Job and David Jones’ In Parenthesis.

4. 

   23 Jun 2022

   The Life and Death of Poetry

   A distracted walkabout with T.S Eliot and others.

5. 

   14 Mar 2022

   A Lament for the Earth

   This episode will address the challenge to nature poetry.

6. 

   3 Mar 2022

   In Sleep a King

   This is a sleep-talk on the subject of waking up with Sonnet 87 (by Shakespeare) in the background. This talk was given by Alice Oswald on the 25th November 2021.

7. 

   1 Mar 2021

   Lines by Alice Oswald

   It's fifty years since the publication of From the Life and Songs of the Crow (by Ted Hughes). This is a lecture about lines and other sound barriers and how Crow flies straight through them. Alice Oswald is the current Professor of Poetry at the Faculty of English. She took up her post in September 2019. Alice Oswald’s first two lectures as Professor of Poetry are available online: ‘The Art of Erosion’ and ‘An Interview with Water‘ Professor Ros Ballaster, Chair of the English Faculty Board at Oxford, said: ‘Poetry plays an important role in our universities and society. It is a place for reflection in language and about language. ‘The election of Alice Oswald sees the tenure of our first female Professor of Poetry. To adopt the words in her own poetry, it is the fulfilment of long balancing “the weight of hope against the light of patience”. Hers is a remarkable, resonant talent and we count ourselves privileged to host her for four years. A new Oxford Professor of Poetry is elected every four years, and their responsibilities include giving a public lecture each term, as well as an oration at the University’s honorary degree ceremony every other year.

8. 

   8 Jul 2020

   Interview with Water

   This is the first ever online lecture by a Professor of Poetry at Oxford. In the lecture, Alice Oswald explores the strange connection between water and grief.

9. 

   9 Dec 2019

   The Art of Erosion

   Inaugural Lecture of Alice Oswald, Professor of Poetry, held at the University of Oxford Exam Schools.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

25 ratings

Contact Professor of Poetry

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Close Readings

• 

  Between The Covers : Conversations with Writers in Fiction, Nonfiction & Poetry

• 

  London Review Bookshop Podcast

• 

  The LRB Podcast

• 

  World Book Club

• 

  In Our Time