An Interview with Maurice Riordan

In this episode of Words That Burn, poet Maurice Riordan joins Ben to reflect on a career-spanning selection of poems curated by former student and fellow poet Jack Underwood. With the new Selected Poems from Faber and Faber arranged out of chronology, Riordan discusses how themes like rural life, modernity, nature, and time emerge more clearly—and more hauntingly—across decades of work.Together, they explore how poetry manipulates time, the influence of film and science, the uncanny weight of Irish myth, and what it means to write with one foot in the past and the other in an overcrowded present. From candlelit farmhouses to televised World Cups, Riordan’s work straddles eras, places, and emotional states—always grounded in vivid, startling imagery.Poems discussed include Rural Electrification, 1956, The Flight, The Lull, Timeout, Gone With the Wind, and Badb, among others.00:00 Introduction to the Podcast00:06 Maurice Riordan's Selected Poems00:48 Themes and Evolution in Maurice's Work03:15 Rural Electrification and Early Influences06:35 The Power of Imagery in Poetry12:28 Cinematic Influences on Poetry17:21 Observations and Domestic Themes21:23 Exploring Connection with Nature25:50 The Influence of Irish Mythology30:24 Reflections on Isolation and Alienation33:01 Balancing Life Between London and Cork34:42 The Intersection of Poetry and Science37:26 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsFollow the Podcast:Read the Script on SubstackFollow the Podcast On InstagramFollow the Podcast on X/TwitterFollow the Podcast on TiktokFollow the podcast on Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.