How do you tell the story of 1,300 years of English history? Through verse, according to cultural

historian Catherine Clark. In this episode of the History Extra podcast, she takes Lauren Good on a

poetic journey through time, from the Black Death to

literal bumfodder. Along the way, they explore why we've got W.H. Auden's funeral blues all wrong,

how Elizabeth Barrett Browning use poetry as a platform for social change, and how such works

offer uniquely human insights into key moments in history.

Hi, Catherine. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Hi, good to be here.

Your book, A History of England in 25 poems, does what it says on the tin.

It covers the history of England from the 8th century to the present day in 25 poems. Now, Catherine, that's quite an

undertaking. When did you think, you know what, I'm going to summarise England's history in this

way? I think poems have a real magic for taking us like time machines inside moments in the past,

because, and these are poems written between the 8th century and the present day, so they cover

1,300 years of England's history. And that magic of poetry is that it takes us into the events

of history, you know, the landmark events, the milestones. So in the book, there's the Battle of

Agincourt, World Wars, the Great Fire of London. But crucially, poems also take us inside the feelings, the imaginations,

the experiences of people living and breathing through history. So that, I think, is the magic

telling sometimes familiar stories of England's history, sometimes uncovering really

surprising new stories, but taking us right inside. And the other thing I think is

that poetry can allow us to connect with familiar voices and perspectives, but also some much less

well-known voices and perspectives. And sometimes those stories that have been marginalised or

silenced in the archive. I love this idea of poetry acting as

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