Welund’s Lament
The third poem in the Hello Dolly triptych. Recorded at the poet’s home in Sheffield, February 2011.
Hello Dolly
Andrew Hirst discusses the poems in his triptych Hello Dolly. A robust defence of Hirst’s aesthetic, animated by his uncompromising views on Robert Browning, Patty Hearst and Teddy Kennedy; politics and poetics; and the (mis)management of culture. All poem-excerpts from Hirst’s ‘Chappaquiddick, 1980’ (the second poem in Hello Dolly). Recorded in Sheffield, 26 June 2012. Edited by Brian Lewis.
Night Walks: 2
The second of Andrew Hirst’s ‘Three Night Walks’ (from the forthcoming Longbarrow Press anthology The Footing). This recording (the first public reading of the poem) was made in Grimsby on 16 October 2010.
Night Walks: 3
The third (and last) of Andrew Hirst’s ‘Three Night Walks’ (from the forthcoming Longbarrow Press anthology The Footing). This recording (the first public reading of the poem) was made in Grimsby on 16 October 2010.
Frome II
‘Frome II’ first appeared in the first of Andrew Hirst’s ‘Frome’ pamphlets, Frome I-XII (Longbarrow Press, 2007). This recording was made at the poet’s home in autumn 2008. Released on the Longbarrow Press 3″ CD anthology The Field (2008).
Frome X and IX
Two poems (‘Frome X’ and ‘Frome IX’) from Andrew Hirst’s Frome sequence. Recorded at dusk in a back street near Grimsby docks, Saturday 16 October 2010.
Frome XIV
From the Longbarrow Press pamphlet Frome XXIV (2008). Recorded in Sheffield city centre, September 2009.
Frome XIX
From the Longbarrow Press pamphlet ‘Frome XXIV’ (2008). Recorded in Sheffield city centre, September 2009.
Frome XXII
‘Frome XXIII’ first appeared in the second of Andrew Hirst’s Frome pamphlets, ‘Frome XXIV’ (Longbarrow Press, 2008). This recording was made at the poet’s home in autumn 2008. Released on the Longbarrow Press 3″ CD anthology The Field (2008).
‘Yi Sha visits me…’
From Songs to Make & Mend (Longbarrow Press, 2008). Recorded in Sheffield, autumn 2008.
‘Lay down quietly now…’
From Songs to Make & Mend (Longbarrow Press, 2008). Recorded in Sheffield, autumn 2008.
Ungodly Hour (by Matthew Clegg and Andrew Hirst)
One-off collaboration between Matthew Clegg and Andrew Hirst performed live at The Fat Cat, Sheffield, August 2009 (as part of the ‘Dreamers’ series of readings, performances and presentations). The performance begins with Hirst reading a Clegg poem, ‘His Heart’ (from the 2008 sequence Rag & Bone Shop); continues with an arrangement of Robert Frost’s ‘Acquainted With The Night’ and Jacques Prevert’s ‘Breakfast’ in which the texts (and the speakers) gradually meet, interweave and separate; and concludes with Clegg reading the final poem in Hirst’s ‘Frome’ sequence (from Frome XXIV, 2008).
Sideways & Familiar (Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones)
Recorded in several locations in and around Sheffield city centre, Sunday 13 September 2009. This sequence was issued as a limited 3″ CD and presented to the audience for the poetry walk led by Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones on 17 October 2009. The walk began at the main train station in Sheffield (with readings in the goods yard), continuing to Brown Street (via a stepped passageway) for a further reading, on to a semi-enclosed space adjacent to FirstPoint (near Norfolk Street) for the third reading, through the Winter Gardens and into Upper Chapel courtyard for the fourth reading, past Sheffield Cathedral and down a side street for the fifth reading, and through a series of narrow passageways opening into Paradise Square for the final reading (where the poets were accompanied by the musician Kerry McMullen on violin).
Sideways & Familiar (Andrew Hirst, Chris Jones, Kerry McMullen)
The final section of the ‘Sideways & Familiar’ Sheffield poetry walk led by Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones and joined in Paradise Square by the musician Kerry McMullen. The walk, which started from the central train station, was designed to illuminate some of the iconic and historic sites of the city and explore the lesser known walkways that cut through the centre. The audience was guided to Paradise Square via a narrow, winding passage, to be met by the unexpected sight and sound of McMullen’s music filling the otherwise deserted square. Poems in order of appearance: Chris Jones: ‘Beyond the City’ (excerpt); Andrew Hirst: ‘Frome XI’; Chris Jones: ‘Ones That Get Away’. Recorded in Sheffield, Saturday 17 October 2009.
Sideways & Familiar II (Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones)
The penultimate section of the ‘Sideways & Familiar’ Sheffield poetry walk led by Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones. This section was recorded in a small, busy back street off Campo Lane. Poems in order of appearance: Chris Jones: ‘Porter’, ‘Early’; Andrew Hirst: ‘Frome XIX’. Recorded in Sheffield, Saturday 17 October 2009.
Longbarrow Press 