On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we talk to poet and editor Paul Stephenson about his debut collection, Hard Drive, that has been shortlisted for the Polari Book Prize this year. Paul has previously published three poetry pamphlets (Those People, The Days that Followed Paris and Selfies with Waterlillies), and he occasionally teaches for the Poetry School.

We discussed absurdity and the limitations of language, poetry as a source of healing in times of grief and Paul’s broad use of form.

Timestamps:

0.05 – Intro

0.54 – Writing on trains and while travelling

2.07 – Paul reads ‘Anglepoise’, ‘The Thesis’, ‘Signature’, ‘Collecting you from Golders Green’ and ‘The Hymn of Him’

7.38 – Poetry as healing in times of grief

10.31 – Use of form: Oulipo restraints

12.03 – Logistics of putting together a poetry collection

15.08 – Absurdity, Auden and Alice Notley: the limitations of language

19.06 – Humour and emotion in poetry

22.32 – How to edit a poetry collection

26.00 – Labelling the collection as a ‘queer’ book

28.09 – The numerous meanings of the title: ‘Hard Drive’

29.29 – Things that had to be left unsaid in the collection

30.45 – The next book? Contemporary dating and situationships…

33.37 – Poets and art Paul’s been enjoying recently

35.22 – Paul reads ‘Writing to your Mother’