The British Council has supported these recordings as part of the Shakespeare Lives in 2016 programme celebrating the work of William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death.

A Call

“ That was her ringing. Saying we should come

At half-past twelve for coffee and sandwiches.

Then there’s to be a short symposium

With actors, directors and celebrities

It would help you to meet. And they’d be sure

To enjoy meeting you, seeing they rarely get

The chance to talk with someone from somewhere

The theatre’s so incredible…” – And yet

What I most remember is you had to have

A picture with her! She said Yes, on one condition,

–That any photograph she agreed to give

Should only ever be used with her permission.

— You observed that. It was only brought out today,

One in your last publicity display.

from On Shakespeare’s Sonnets: A Poets’ Celebration edited by Hannah Crawforth & Elizabeth Scott-Baumann (Bloomsbury, 2016), © Alan Brownjohn 2016, used by permission of the author

Alan Brownjohn in the Poetry Store

The free tracks you can enjoy in the Poetry Archive are a selection of a poet’s work. Our catalogue store includes many more recordings which you can download to your device.

Glossary

Featured in the archive

Close