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Call Me Watkins


A podcast about English literature texts for senior high students.

I am a teacher of senior English and Literature in Melbourne, Australia but have also taught at schools in New South Wales and in Oxford in the UK. If you're wondering about the title of the podcast, it's a reference to my name, Mrs Watkins and what many regard as the best opening line to a book: "Call me Ishmael" from Herman Melville's "Moby Dick".

Apr 8, 2019

"No man is an island"

Do you know who said this? Most people don't. It was the poet John Donne. He was described by C. S. Lewis as the "saddest and most uncomfortable of our poet" in contrast to T. S. Eliot who said “[a] thought to Donne was an experience; it modified his sensibility.” 

This series will explore the poetry of John Donne with the aim that you can decide whose view is right.

This episode provides an overview of Donne's life, the context for his poems.