the anxious poet’s podcast

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Thirteenth Report

Wed, 27 May 2026 17:25:02 +0200

The books or articles quoted in my commentary are:

The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything: Brian D McLaren

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send them to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my Substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Twelfth Report

Thu, 21 May 2026 15:15:01 +0200

The books or articles quoted in my commentary are:

What Jesus Meant: Garry Wills.

The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything: Brian D McLaren

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send them to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my Substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Eleventh Report

Tue, 12 May 2026 10:45:06 +0200

The books or articles quoted in my commentary are:

A Poor Man Called Jesus by Jose Cardenas Pallares

Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Gospel by Ched Myers

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send them to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my Substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Tenth Report

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:41:14 +0200

The books or articles quoted in my commentary are:

A Poor Man Called Jesus by Jose Cardenas Pallares

The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything by Brian D McLaren.

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send them to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my Substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

Episode 47 - Monica Sutton - The Practicalities of Love

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:53:02 +0200

The two Poems quoted are from A Sheffeild Traipsing, available at my Shop

With huge gratitude to Monica for the hour she spent on the podcast and for her years of friendship.

Any reflections, comments, or thoughts, please send them to me at theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Ninth Report

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:13:43 +0200

The books or articles quoted in my commentary are:

Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Gospel by Ched Myers

Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, by Tom Holland.

The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything by Brian D McLaren.

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send them to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my Substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Eighth Report

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:07:34 +0200

The books or articles quoted in my commentary are:

Binding the Strong Man : A Political Reading of Mark's Gospel by Ched Myers

What Jesus Meant by Gary Wills

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil: The Spiral of Violence - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 -

https://cac.org/daily-meditations/world-flesh-devil-spiral-violence-2015-10-21/

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Seventh Report

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:53:49 +0200

The books quoted in my commentary are:

A Poor Man Called Jesus by Jose Cardenas Pallares

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian D. McLaren

Pope Leo's Homily for Palm Sunday - Read Here

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Sixth Report

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:44:20 +0100

The books quoted in my commentary are:

The Gospel In Solentiname - Ernesto Cardenal

Jon Sobrino - Spiritual Writings - Ed Robert Lassalle-Klein

Christology At The Crossroads- Jon Sobrino

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian D. McLaren

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Fifth Report

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:39:54 +0100

The books quoted in my commentary are:

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian D. McLaren

A Poor Man Called Jesus by Jose Cardenas Pallares

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Fourth Report

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:22:09 +0100

The book quoted in my commentary is:

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian D. McLaren

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send them to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my Substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennings Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Third Report

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:11:08 +0100

The books quoted in my commentary are:

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian D. McLaren

A Poor Man Called Jesus by Jose Cardenas Pallares

The Great Turning - From Empire to Earth Community by David C Korten

Any reflections, comments, thoughts, and perhaps your own idea of a retelling in your setting, please send to me at

theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com

You can read the text and see accompanying material on my substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com

The Jess Jennigs Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Second Report

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:41:28 +0100

The Hermeneutic Circle I mention is from this book: The Liberation of Theology (1976), written by Juan Luis Segundo, S.J., translated by John Drury, and published by Orbis Books. The second book mentioned is The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian D. McLaren. The Third is The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle.

Here is a link to the Good News translation that I reference. Good News Translation

Here is a link to the Message Translation, which is useful if you are very familiar with the text and need a fresh take. The Message Translation

To read along with the test of the reports, go to my Substack - https://adriangrscott.substack.com/

The Jess Jennigs Incident - An Anxious Poet's Miniseries - Report One

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 11:05:09 +0100

With gratitude to Andy Selman for the background music to the Jingle.

With thanks to Wilma Scott for the artwork that she did for the original publication, which I have reproduced here.

Also with gratitude to Mick Donelan, whom I met all those years ago (1980) in Ray Alan Manshops on Pinstone Street in Sheffield.

Finally, thanks to Fr. Christopher Posluszny of St. Mary's Cathedral in Sheffield for inviting me to speak to his catechumens under the title 'Meet the Jesus of the gospels', which gave me the idea in the first place.

If you want to read Mark's Gospel for yourself, the Bible Gateway website is good.

Here is a link to the Good News translation that I reference. Good News Translation

Here is a link to the Message Translation, which is useful if you are very familiar with the text and need a fresh take. The Message Translation

Episode 46 - A Christmas Podcast for 2025

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 15:36:31 +0100

The Poems recited are as follows:

The music we used in the Scared Space for Christmas 2025 that you might want to listen to was:

Shepherds Arise – Kate Rusby |O Antiphons – Floriani |Blake's Lullaby - The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Daniel Hyde & Britten Sinfonia |Little Town - Over the Rhine |Benedictus (The Canticle of Zechariah) (feat. Rebecca De La Torre) - The Modern Psalmist |With This Love - Peter Gabriel |No Body (feat. Matt Maher) - Chris Renzema |Joseph - Kate Rusby |Visita, quaesumus Domine - The Cambridge Singers & John Rutter |Magnificat anima mea Dominum - The Tallis Scholars & Peter Phillips.

The episode of the Grim Up North Podcast can be found here. Series Two - Episode Six

The Caravaggio painting can be viewed here. The Adoration of the Shepherds

Mini Poemcast - What My Migraines Taught Me

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:40:29 +0100

This poem is from my first collection- The Call of the Unwritten this is available by clicking here .

The photo in the podcast episode image is from https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Strider_%28chapter%29

The quote from CG Jung is as follows

“We think we can congratulate ourselves on having already reached such a pinnacle of clarity, imagining that we have left all these phantasmal gods far behind. But what we have left behind are only verbal spectres, not the psychic facts that were responsible for the birth of the gods. We are still as much possessed by autonomous (forces) as if they were Olympians. Today they are called phobias, obsessions, and so forth; in a word, neurotic symptoms. The gods have become diseases; Zeus no longer rules Olympus but rather the solar plexus, and produces curious specimens for the doctor’s consulting room, or disorders of the brains of politicians and journalists who unwillingly let loose psychic epidemics on the world.” (Jung, Cw 13, par. 54)

Episode 45 - The Real Truth

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 13:27:24 +0200

The poems used in this podcast are The Real Truth from The Call Of The Unwritten, Inconsequence and Silence from The Call Of The Unwritten, Death Lodge from Arriving In Magic and No Such Thing As Right And Wrong from The Call Of The Unwritten. The book I mentioned is The Way of the Hermit: My 40 years in the Scottish Wilderness by Ken Smith. The piece about Death Lodges is from this blog Soul Craft Musings by Bill Plotkin This is a link to our film podcast Comparing Apples and Oranges You can purchase my books at Books

Episode 44 - 'What Has Men's Work Ever Done For Us?' with Ben Burns & Simon Bubb

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 18:03:08 +0200

The poem I read at the beginning called Crying For A Vision at Ghost Ranch will be part of a new collection called Where Do Dreams Come From? The poem that Simon reads is A Man Lost By A River by Michael Blumenthal from the anthology, The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart, edited by Robert Bly, James Hillman, and Michael Meade. The poem Ben reads is one of his own and it is called We Need Artists Today. If you want to know more about the Male Journey - the Men's work we have all been involved in go to https://www.malejourney.org.uk/ With massive thanks to Ben and Simon. Here is Ben's - Poet Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/BenBurnsPoet/ Here is Simon's Agent's page https://hatchtalent.co.uk/actors/simon-bubb/

Episode 43 - Mary Marken - Her Belfast Song

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 22:01:41 +0200

If you want to know more about Mary Marken and her novel Belfast Song go to https://marymarkenbelfastsong.com/

For more about the Podcast and my work in general go to www.adriangrscott.com

Episode 42 - Naming Our Myths - Part Two

Mon, 26 May 2025 15:18:22 +0200

The two poems are to be published in my next collection - Where Do Dreams Come From. The books mentioned are The Book Of Symbols - Reflections on Archetypal Images - Taschen, Animal Life in Nature, Myth and Dreams - Elizabeth Caspari, Inner Work: Using Dreams & Active Imagination for Personal Growth: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth - Robert A. Johnson, The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols - Alain Gheerbrant. The App is called Temenos Dream www.temenosdream.com The quote from Hebrew Scripture is from Genesis 32:22-31. If you want to share anything with me about this episode you can email me at adrianscott@mac.com

Mini Poemcast - Advice To Myself In Anxiety

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:00:28 +0100

The poem comes from my collection entitled A Night Sea Journey available by Clicking Here The Poem by Mary Oliver is called Don't Hesitate. Look out for the next full podcast Naming Our Myths Part Two coming soon.

Episode 41 - A Christmastide Podcast

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 16:52:10 +0100

The Poems I read are available on my Website www.adriangorscott.com you can read all four of them there. The carol Diadem is from Kate Rusby's album 'While Mortals Sleep' Listen on Spotify . Thanks for listening in 2024 and I look forward to more chat in 2025.

Episode 40 - Naming Our Myths | Part One

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 13:22:18 +0100

The poems used in this episode are Taking Stock from the Call of the Unwritten - I Am Me And You Are You from Arriving In Magic - Bottle Digging from A Night Sea Journey - all available to buy at www.adriangrscott.com

This is the first quote used

“I suspected that myth had a meaning which I was sure to miss if I lived outside it in the haze of my own speculations. I was driven to ask myself in all seriousness: “What is the myth you are living?” I found no answer to this question, and had to admit that I was not living with a myth, or even in a myth, but rather in an uncertain cloud of theoretical possibilities which I was beginning to regard with increasing distrust. I did not know that I was living a myth, and even if I had known it, I would not have known what sort of myth was ordering my life without my knowledge. So, in the most natural way, I took it upon myself to get to know “my” myth, and I regarded this as the task of tasks…” C.G. Jung

Here is the second

“Every individual in the world, regardless of cultural background or race, has an indigenous soul struggling to survive in an increasingly hostile environment created by that individual’s mind. A modern person’s body has become a battleground between the rationalist mind — which subscribes to the values of the machine age — and the native soul. This battle is the cause of a great deal of spiritual and physical illness.”
Martín Prechtel

You can see some of the items mentioned in the podcast on the cover.

Episode 39 - A Retrospective | Part One

Sun, 18 Aug 2024 19:41:39 +0200

This is a selection of some of the best bits according to how many people downloaded it and the amount of positive feedback they received. They are from, in order, Episode 1, Episode 3, Episode 5, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 15 and Episode 19. Thanks again to Philippe Edwards, Patrick Ryan, Helen Mort and Ray Tonge. For more go to www.adriangrscott.com

Episode 38 - 'The colly-wobbled, jelly-bellied quaking of it all.’

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 15:28:46 +0200

The poem quoted in the first half of the podcast is by Rainer Maria Rilke it is in Rainer Maria Rilke, Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God - the opening lines are 'You are not surprised at the force of the storm'.

Here is list of Adrian's Lessons Learned with the quotes from his poems.

Lessons Learnt from my Breakdown

Breathing

Advice to Myself in Anxiety

‘Breathe slowly into this, Don’t run; stay,

You are moored more firmly than you know.

There is a constancy in you not your own.’

Talking

Anxiety Diary

‘My Jungian therapist said, right at the start,

that this breakdown was the best thing

that had ever happened to me.

I thought it was she that was insane,

and I wanted to stop right there and then.

I think now, she may have been right.’

Walking

Rivelin Valley Vespers

‘By walking this same path,
with a slow and monastic doggedness,
I behold tonight’s road by low sunlight,
all made meaningful and prelude
by the merle blue devotion in my collie’s gaze.’

Writing

Writing as Therapy

‘Now here I am,

sitting in a round of delivery,

speaking lines gleaned from

a dark and no-mooned night,

when only my pen knew its way.’

Seeing

Afterword to a Traipsing

‘Laura Page has walked me around the streets

camera slung, capturing Sheffield with f-stops

and the right shutter-speeds for a city caught

in the headlights of forces it is yet to grasp.’

Sharing

Writing as Therapy

‘In the morning session

I had spared no detail of my breakdown,

all the colly-wobbled, jelly-bellied

quaking of it all.’

Volunteering

We are Bodies

‘We have turned sixty

Volunteering, cooking the cafe

Good soup, vegan and lentil

Aching knees, aching nerves

Bruised by the bruising lives we are

Bludgeoned into, but brightened

By the fellowship of fellow sufferers’

Trusting

A Night Sea Journey

‘This is what the mythologists

call a night sea journey.

I am on a gurney bark sailing

through the dark into

an uncertain dawn.’

Loving

Birdsong on Long Line

‘A sleek throat sounds against the early dusk

a last verse to these long lines of walking,

and my heart welcomes this reckless chorus,

hopefulness beyond my walk’s ending.’

Thanks to Andy Selman for his wonderful accompaniment to the Birdsong poem - the whole Album Made I Sheffield can be heard on Spotify here

Made In Sheffield - Scott & Selman

You can buy Adrian's books here www.adriangrscott.com

If you want to Adrian and Andy perform with the band Dusk Over Rivelin on August 15th in Sheffield click here for tickets.

https://www.wegottickets.com/event/623931

Come along it will be a great evening.

And finally Adrian would like to thank all who have listened and made the 9000 downloads and counting. Bless you all.

Episode 37 - Simon O'Connor - Love Wins

Fri, 03 May 2024 18:45:11 +0200

The poem Writing as Therapy at the beginning is from my collection - A Night Sea Journey available at Buy Here

Simon's poems are copyright to him. If you want to hear more about his poetry you can email him here - stjosephwinsford2012@hotmail.co.uk.

He is parish Priest at St Joseph’s RC Church, Winsford, Cheshire.

Episode 36 - The Sacred Question

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 15:50:29 +0200

The poems used in this episode are - Sometimes by David Whyte (in Essentials) - No Such Thing As Right Or Wrong from The Call of the Unwritten - Accompaniment from Arriving In Magic - Christ Before the High Priest from Arriving In Magic - Thomas Wanted To See Nail Marks from A Night Sea Journey. All my books are available at https://adriangrscott.com/product-category/books/

You can view the painting mentioned 'Christ Before the High Priest by Honthorst on the National Gallery Website https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gerrit-van-honthorst-christ-before-the-high-priest

You can purchase the book The Quest of the Holy Grail (Penguin Classics) on Amazon or any good bookshop.

Episode 35 - Sabbath

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:31:56 +0100

The main book I reference in this episode is Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel. The artwork for this episode is taken from one of the wood engravings in the book by Ilya Schor. It really speaks to me of the way the workaday world holds us captive and the great promise of cessation and rest that the idea of sabbath offers. The first two poems I read are When Will You Be Ready and This Is All The Life You Have from Arriving in Magic. Purchasable at www.adriangrscott.com . The last one - A Moment In Each Day is from A Sheffield Traipsing that will be available on my website from the 15th of March. This is the day of my Book Launch and if you are in Sheffield and want to join me - it will be at 7pm at the Kelham Island Museum ( more details on my website). To book a ticket click here - https://www.wegottickets.com/event/609358

Living Our Own Story with Lara Scott

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 12:05:28 +0100

The Poems used in this episode are Lara's Surgery from Arriving In Magic and Advice to Myself in Anxiety from A Night Sea Journey available to purchase at Books The Novel Lara reads from is Still Life by Sarah Winman Click Here for More

Christmas Podcast - ’Citizens of a Wintry Heaven’

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 15:29:23 +0100

The two poems that I shared Francis and the Crib at Greccio and Winter Drive Along The A66 will be available on my substack page The Anxious Poet's Substack The Kate Rusby song is from her album While Mortals Sleep Listen . The Phamie Gow version of Emily Dickinson's poem “Hope” is the thing with feathers can be heard here Listen. The article by Edward Kessler Jewish-Muslim dialogue: feeling the other’s pain can be found in the Tablet - 7th December 2023. The book by Zambia Malik is called We Are Muslim's Please. Have a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Adrian x

Episode 32 - An American Odyssey - Part Two

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 15:05:32 +0100

You can read a version of this Podcast at The Anxious Poet's Substack The Poem - You Stride On, My Son, Ahead of Us, Up Enchanted Rock is in my book A Night Sea Journey available at www.adriangrscott.com The rest of the poem are on the Substack. The Native American Pipe Music is from R. Carlos Nakai - Canyon Trilogy.

Episode 31 - An American Odyssey - Part One

Sat, 04 Nov 2023 14:12:25 +0100

You can find the poems and photographs in this episode here Adrian's Substack Page The book quoted is The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M Marshall.

Episode 30 - Wild Places - A Source of Solace and Hope

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 11:54:51 +0200

Belden C Lane is Professor Emeritus of Theological Studies, American Religion, and History of Spirituality at St Louis University, He is author of Backpacking with the Saints, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes, and Ravished by Beauty. The poem he quotes is by Wendell Berry.

It is called Our Real Work -

It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.

My prom Aravaipa Canyon is as yet unpublished if you want a copy email me at adriangrscott@me.com

The other Poem is Two Beggars and a Wolf in A Night Sea Journey available at www.adriangrscott.com

The Wordsworth Sonnet is XXXII in his collected works - Surprised by Joy.

Deep thanks to Belden for his robust vulnerability and friendship.

Mini Poemcast - The Call of the Unwritten

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 14:39:20 +0200

This poem can be found in my first collection of the same name - The Call of the Unwritten. https://adriangrscott.com/product/the-call-of-the-unwritten/

Episode 29 - Recovering the Lost Eden through the Friendship of Dogs

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 18:57:58 +0200

The poems used are 'He sings a song of the younger world' as yet unpublished - Gabriel and There is No Such Thing As Right And Wrong from The Call of the Unwritten - The Lost Eden and The Tremor of Silk from A Night Sea Journey all available at www.adriangrscott.com The two books mentioned are The Call of the Wild by Jack London and Never Leave the Dog Behind by Helen Mort.

Episode 28 - This Marriage to Everything You Meet

Tue, 09 May 2023 16:59:22 +0200

The first poem is The force that through the green fuse drives the flower by Dylan Thomas. The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self and Relationship by David Whyte is the book I referred to in this podcast. The story is from The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living by Joseph M. Marshall the 3rd from the chapter on humility. The next poem is We Find Each Other written for Patrick and Sarah on their wedding to be found in A Night Sea Journey and finally the poem Blossom can be found in Arriving in Magic both by Adrian. Purchase at www.adriangrscott.com

Episode 27 - Sensitive Souls

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 14:55:50 +0100

The poems used in this podcast are Initiation from Arriving In Magic, You Stride On, My Son, Ahead of Us, Up Enchanted Rock from A Night Sea Journey, Speaking to Steel Workers about Rites of Passage, as yet unpublished, and Thomas Wanted to See Nail Marks from A Night Sea Journey. The piece about my Dad's experiences on the HMS Hermes is from a book called The Hermes Adventure. The final two pieces by Jack London and Henry David Thoreau are from I Am Coyote - Readings from the Wild Edited by Jay Schoenberger. If you want to comment or share your thoughts with me the email is theanxiouspoetspodcast@gmail.com To purchase any of my work go to www.adriangrscott.com

Shining For Us All To See - Christmas Podcast

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 11:24:40 +0100

Wishing everyone a happy Solstice, a merry Christmas, a safe journey through the dark time of the year. You can find the miner's hymn on any good music platform - it is called Gresford. With heartfelt thanks to Vicky Jones from the Woodhorn Colliery Museum and to Matt Carr my collaborator and friend on the Grim Up North Podcast. You can find the album Made in Sheffield that Andy Selman and I have done on Spotify, or Apple Music. More info at www.adriangrscott.com

Mini-Series | On The Cusp of Two Realms - Episode Four - The Sense of Place

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 16:45:07 +0100

The final episode of this autumn mini series. In it I explore the whole idea of the genius loci - the sense of place - for me that place of synchronicity is Sheffield. The incidental music is by my great friend Andy Selman. The books referred to are Desert Wisdom by Sushi Nomura, A Year with Thomas Merton Edited by Jonathan Montaldo, A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver, The Essential Jung - Selected Writings by Jonathan Storr. If you live near Sheffield and want to come to the Gig at Cafe#9 on the 14th December here is a link to the details on how to book. https://www.wegottickets.com/event/561690

Mini-Series | On The Cusp of Two Realms - Episode Three - A Night Sea Journey

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 11:41:14 +0200

The incidental music is by my great friend Andy Selman. The books referred to are Desert Wisdom by Sushi Nomura, A Year with Thomas Merton Edited by Jonathan Montaldo, A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver, The Essential Jung - Selected Writings by Jonathan Storr. The first volume of my poetry - A Night Sea Journey is available on my website. You can also find some of the works quoted in this episode at www.adriangrscott.com

Mini-Series | On the Cusp of Two Realms - Episode Two - Arriving in Magic

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 12:40:19 +0200

The incidental music is by my great friend Andy Selman. The books referred to are Desert Wisdom by Sushi Nomura, A Year with Thomas Merton Edited by Jonathan Montaldo, A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver, The Essential Jung - Selected Writings by Jonathan Storr. The first volume of my poetry - Arriving In Magic is available on my website. You can also find some of the works quoted in this episode at www.adriangrscott.com

Mini-Series | On the Cusp of Two Realms - Episode One - The Call of the Unwritten

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 19:12:24 +0200

The incidental music is by my great friend Andy Selman. The books referred to are Desert Wisdom by Sushi Nomura, A Year with Thomas Merton Edited by Jonathan Montaldo, A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver, The Essential Jung - Selected Writings by Jonathan Storr. The first volume of my poetry - the Call of the Unwritten is available on my website. You can also find some of the works quoted in this episode at www.adriangrscott.com

Episode 25 - A Big Ol’ Laugh with Eva Scott

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 15:23:29 +0200

The two poems used are Visiting Shawbost and Evacuee from Arriving in Magic. It can be purchased at www.adriangrscott.com

Here is Eva's Spotlight page https://www.spotlight.com/2695-6754-9782

A Minipoemcast - Stations Around Grasmere

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 14:54:54 +0200

The Wordsworth extract is from The Prelude Book 4. My poem is to be found on my website www.adriangrscott.com

Thanks to Andy Selman for the incidental music.

Episode 24 -’the cherished pattern no one can efface’ -The Poetry of Resistance

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 14:49:08 +0200

There will be excerpts from the cycle of poems entitled 'Some Canvasses' on my website www.adriangrscott.com

The poem 'What shall I do with the body i've been given' i from Osip Mandelshtam - Selected Poems - Penguin Modern Classics. Other great poetry can be read in the 'Four of Us - Pasternak, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Mandelshtam'. If you want to read Doctor Zhivago there are some great versions, the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is very good.

Good compilations of poetry are 'The Zoo of the New - A Book of Exceptional Poems from Sappho to Muldoon' or 'A Poem for Every Night of the Year - Edited by Allie Esiri'.

Episode 23 - Truthfulness

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 14:11:43 +0100

The poems and prose used in this podcast are as follows. Digging and A Kite for Michael and Christopher by Seamus Heaney, Thank You for Waiting by Simon Armitage, The Road To Wigan Pier by George Orwell. My poems were The Pond from Arriving in Magic, Sedition from A Night Sea Journey these can viewed or the books purchased at www.adriangrscott.com

Episode 22 - The Turning Wheel of the Seasons

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 13:48:40 +0100

The book I have been reading is The Winter Solstice by John Matthews. The poem Sweet Darkness by David Whyte and its commentary can be read in David Whyte Essentials available at https://davidwhyte.com My poems were The Circle from Arriving In Magic, Taking Stock from The Call of the Unwritten, The Belly Of the Year from A Night Sea Journey, There is One Thing Necessary from The Call of the Unwritten, and Afterword to a Traipsing as yet unpublished. Published poetry available at www.adriangrscott.com The Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem is Frost at Midnight. The Sky Arts show I mention is Wordsworth & Coleridge Road Trip with Frank Skinner and Denise Mina.

Episode 21 - Be Kind to your Shadow

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 09:34:28 +0100

The Poems in this Podcast are Moon Madness from The Call of the Unwritten, This Thing of Darkness from A Night Sea Journey, Married Again and Blossom from Arriving in Magic. The Story is Dream Boy and Shadow Man from A Night Sea Journey. The book by Carl Jung is The Undiscovered Self. To purchase my work go to www.adriangrscott.com

Mini Poemcast - Under the Skin of a Long Day

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 14:32:10 +0200

The poem can be found in A Night Sea Journey - available to buy at www.adriangrscott.com along with my Latest album in collaboration with Andy Selman called Made In Sheffield

Episode 20 - Made In Sheffield

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 19:28:51 +0200

The album Made In Sheffield can be streamed on Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/album/made-in-sheffield/1566765813 or Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/5DJlxhG5Oiz59kKK8Q4fy2

More information about the poems and the album are to be found at www.adriangrscott.com David Whyte's poem The House of Belonging can be found at https://davidwhyte.com

Episode 19 - Invoke the lesson of every suffering - A Conversation with Ray Tonge

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 12:31:45 +0200

Ray is an Integrative psychotherapist working in Rathmines Co. Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. He can be found at https://awarenesscounselling.ie/ray-tonge-counsellor

The Poem used is by John O'Donohue and can be punt in his brilliant book Benedictus and can purchased at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Benedictus-Book-Blessings-John-ODonohue/dp/0593058623/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= it is also available from other booksellers.

The poems by Adrian are Writing as Therapy and Don't Recover Too Soon from A Night Sea Journey available at www.adriangrscott.com

Episode18 The Life Affirming Glory Of Enormous Trees - Turning 60

Sun, 02 May 2021 19:04:23 +0200

The Poems used in this podcast are Poem in October by Dylan Thomas, The Boy Within from The Call of the Unwritten, Arriving In Magic from the collection of the same name, A Raven in my Sleep (as yet unpublished), you can find it on the front page of my website though, Advice to Myself in Anxiety from A Night Sea Journey, A Bigger Picture from Arriving in Magic and finally Birdsong on Long Line (as yet unpublished). You can donate to my birthday appeal at https://www.facebook.com/donate/1737114909826153/ and you can find more about my writing at www.adriangrscott.com

Martins in the Eves - A Mini Poemcast

Sat, 13 Mar 2021 15:40:02 +0100

Martins in the Eves is, as yet unpublished, you can obtain a copy from Adrian - contact him through his website www.adriangrscott.com

The music is by Andy Selman

Episode Seventeen - The Beautiful Ordinariness of Love

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 18:07:31 +0100

In this episode the Anxious Poet looks at the phenomenon of family and what we inherit from them, especially our parents. He explores how it is up to us to appreciate just what has been passed on to us both in terms of our character and how the events of our parents lives shaped them and in turn shape us. The poems used are 'A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London' by Dylan Thomas. The other are all by Adrian - Evacuee from Arriving in Magic, My Daughter Acting from A Night Sea Journey, From the Medals of My Father from The Call of the Unwritten, and Two Photographs from A Night Sea Journey. The Cover Photo is from his parents on their wedding day. To purchase any of Adrians work go to www.adriangrscott.com

Episode 16 - Antiphons, Cribs & Shadows

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 10:45:03 +0100

The first piece of music is by Enya from her 2008 And Winter Came Album. The first poem The Crib at Greccio is, as yet unpublished. The final poem Tofts Lane can be seen with all the others in my Exhibition - A Sheffield Advent at https://www.whirlowspiritualitycentre.org/a-sheffield-advent you can also view the film I made for the exhibition there too.

Thanks again to Andy Selman for the musical the end and to my daughter Eva Scott for reading the Advent Blessing.

All other info can be found at www.adriangrscott.com

Mini Poemcast - Arriving in Magic

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 13:52:26 +0100

This poem can be found in an earlier version in Adrian's book Arriving in Magic. If you want to see the version used in this podcast go to Adrian's Blog at www.adriangrscott.com

Episode 15 - The Frontier In Our Lives

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 18:27:50 +0200

Aravaipa Canyon - the poem used in this Podcast is as yet unpublished. If you want a copy you can contact Adrian through his website www.adriangrscott.com See https://aravaiparanch.com for more about the ranch and the canyon. The directors cut of Dances With Wolves is available on DVD as a three disc special edition. For more on Animals in dreams and as symbols see Barbara Hannah The Archetypal Symbolism of Animals and The Cat, Dog and Horse Lectures.

Mini Poemcast - This is Sheffield

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 15:43:10 +0200

This piece comes from a collection I am writing about my life and experience of the city of Sheffield. I hope to publish this in 2021 alongside a series of photographs. The music is by Andy Selman. The article mentioned can be found at https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/aug/21/tragic-story-of-sheffield-park-hill-bridge The production of Standing at the Sky's Edge was at the Crucible and they are hoping to reprise it in November. https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/standing-at-the-skys-edge-1

Mini Poemcast - This Is All The Life You Have

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 17:10:59 +0200

This poem is taken from my collection entitled Arriving In Magic and is available on Amazon or from my website adriangrscott.com

Thanks to Andy Selman for the musical accompaniment.

Episode 14 - Fiona Watson - A Mindful Conversation

Sat, 27 Jun 2020 15:59:34 +0200

Fiona Watson is a Mindfulness Practitioner in Sheffield. You can find more about her at http://www.fionawatsonmindfulness.com The poems used are Easdale Tarn from A Night Sea Journey, Haste from Arriving in Magic, www.adriangrscott.com The Wendell Berry Poem is called The Peace of Wild Things and can be found in his selected poems. Many thanks to Fiona for joining me. The conversation was recorded on Zoom so apologies for the quality.

Mini Poemcast - Silence

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 16:25:09 +0200

The poem Silence is to be found in Adria's Book Arriving In Magic. The Music used was composed for the piece by Andy Selman - local Sheffield musician. Adrian and Andy are beginning to collaborate on music and poetry projects. They are hoping to produce an album of poems and music in the future and (when things are safe) to do some live gigs. www.adriangrscott.com

Mini Poemcast - The Terrible Invitation

Wed, 06 May 2020 16:05:55 +0200

A slightly longer mini-ish Poemcast for my birthday - reflecting the time of lockdown we are living through. Thanks to my old friend Graham H Nash for the music. The poem used is from my latest collection - A Night Sea Journey available from www.adriangrscott.com

Episode 13 - A Moment in Each Day

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 20:18:00 +0200

The poems read in this Podcast are The Real Truth from The Call of the Unwritten by Adrian Scott, Incertus by Seamus Heaney, from New and Selected Poems 1966-1987, A Dream of Trains by Pablo Neruda from Five Decades :Poems 1925-1970, Iron Hans by Anne Sexton from Transformations, an unpublished poem called A Moment in Each Day by Adrian Scott, and Taking Stock from The Call of the Unwritten by Adrian Scott. The film mentioned is Il Postino (the Postman) available on amazon prime. The book about Ruskin is To See Clearly - Why Ruskin Matters by Suzanne Fagence Cooper.

Mini Poemcast - There is a certain kind of vow - from Arriving in Magic

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 14:35:02 +0100

The Music is called Priveghiati si va Rugati by Angela Gheorghiu, the Romanian National Choir "Madrigal-Marin Constantin", the London Philharmonic Orchestra & Ion Marin. The title means watch and pray. This is often chanted on Holy Thursday after the service and remembers Jesus in the garden of gethsemane and his words to the his friends as they struggled to stay awake.

Mini Poemcast - Sedition - from A Night Sea Journey

Sat, 14 Mar 2020 17:09:12 +0100

The second Poemcast, a short period of poetic reverie, for as William Blake says "There is a Moment in each Day that Satan cannot find Nor can his Watch Fiends find it, but the Industrious find This Moment & it multiply. & when it once is found It renovates every Moment of the Day if rightly placed." (Milton, Plate 35:42-3)

In this difficult and frighteningly uncertain time we have not only to face our outer fears but our inner ones too. This inner journey introduces us to parts of ourselves that we are unfamiliar with and need to be negotiated with, to be dialogued with, to have secret talks with. Then we will be better fitted to face this changing world as it unfolds with resilience and vulnerability.

Go well in these more isolated and solitary times. Adrian (the anxious poet).

(the Music is from Baraka)

Mini Poemcast - Falling - from Arriving in Magic

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 15:34:31 +0100

This is a new initiative for the Anxious Poet's Podcast - Poemcasts, a short sharing of one poem as a way of pausing in a busy day and opening ourselves up to another economy. To the slow work of reverie, of musing and absorption. This is the poem Falling from the book Arriving in Magic, to be found on Amazon or at www.adriangrscott.com The Music is by a good friend of mine Graham Nash (not of Crosby Stills Nash and Young vintage, rather a lovely musician from Sheffield.

Episode Twelve - Vulnerability - Keel Hauling and House Martins

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 14:03:11 +0100

This episode explores the twin phenomena of vulnerability and resilience. Adrian uses five poems, Keel Hauled from The Call of The Unwritten, All At Sea from A Night Sea Journey, When Will You Be ready and There is a Certain Kind for Vow from Arriving in Magic, House Martins in the Eves is a new piece. The rest are available on www.adriangrscott.com Brenee Brown's work can be found at https://brenebrown.com

Episode Eleven - The Season of the Holly King

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 00:03:32 +0100

In this episode Adrian speaks of Christmas and the Solstice Season. With his own poetry and that of Charles Causley, Kristian Evans, and Dylan Thomas he leads us into the season of the Holly King and the dark of winter.

Episode Ten - Dylan Thomas - entering the round Zion of the water bead.

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 10:46:08 +0100

In this podcast Adrian is working with the poetry of Dylan Thomas the welsh prophet who lived in the middle part of the 20th Century. Using his own and Dylan's poetry he explores the ways in which we wrestle with the dark and the light, with life and death, with innocence and experience. The pain we experience that creates many of our mental health issues is faced, both head on and avoided with addiction in Dylan's tempestuous life. This allows us to explore these issues through the lyrical and mysterious lines of this enigmatic poet.

Francis of Assisi - An Anxious Saint?

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 11:56:50 +0200

In this episode Adrian explores the life of someone who was and is a great friend to him in his travails with anxiety and mental health issues. Although Francis of Assisi lived 800 years ago Adrian shows just how relevant his life is now. Especially when he is stripped of some of the religiosity and hagiographic accretions that have but up around him over the years. The poems come from Adrian's last collection - A Night Sea Journey available on Amazon or at www.adriangrscott.com The Leonardo Boff book mentioned is St.Francis: A Model for Human Liberation. Also check out the new film about his visit to the Sultan - https://www.sultanandthesaintfilm.com

Two Anxious Poets and Alfie - With Poet and Writer Helen Mort

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 22:33:02 +0200

Helen Mort's latest novel is Black Car Burning published by Chatto & Windus. Her website is http://www.helenmort.com She read Mountain and The Fear from No Map Could Show Them again published by Chatto and Windus. I read The Tremor of Silk and Rivelin Valley Vespers from A Night Sea Journey published by Authorhouse, The book by Sarah Wilson is First, We Make the Beast Beautiful published by Corgi 2019 a great read for anxious people and those who live with us!

Episode Seven - The Bird Singing Path of Enchanting Difficulty

Sat, 10 Aug 2019 13:48:28 +0200

The first piece I recite is the title poem from The Call of the Unwritten available on Amazon or from my website www.adriangrscott.com The second poem 'A Fairytale Ending?' is, as yet, unpublished. Email me at adriangrscott@me.com for a copy. The piece of the prelude is available at https://wordandsilence.com/2018/05/24/william-wordsworth-need-i-say-dear-friend-that-to-the-brim-my-heart-was-full/ . This is the website of Mobile Power that my good friend Jono West is part of https://www.mobile-power.co.uk This is the link to the book by Sarah Wilson on Anxiety I mentioned http://www.sarahwilson.com/books/

Thanks to all the people who have recently listened to these offerings and given such generous and vulnerable feedback. I look forward to more conversation around anxiety, poetry and vulnerability.

Sixth Episode - Vincent and the barred window's field

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 16:37:23 +0200

Adrian explores the Vincent Cycle of poems from his last collection - A Night Sea Journey. Drawing out the implications for our mental health and creativity he delves into the life of this solitary, visionary, trouble and prolific artist. The films mentioned are At Eternity's Gate 2019 - Loving Vincent 2018 - Exhibitions on Screen https://exhibitiononscreen.com/films/vincent-van-gogh-a-new-way-of-seeing/ . You can buy A Night Sea Journey at www.adriangrscott.com

Episode Five - In Conversation with Patrick Ryan - Childhood Loss

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 13:08:35 +0200

Apologies for the length of this podcast but it seemed a shame to edit it as the conversation was a rich one. This is a seminal theme for me and it was great to explore it childhood loss with a friend who had a similar test different experience.

Episode Four - Your place in the family of things.

Thu, 21 Feb 2019 19:37:45 +0100

In this episode Adrian explores the way the natural world has a curative effect on us. He looks at the way we interact with that world and that, after all we are animals ourselves and we are an integral part of the ecosystem we live in, especially if we are prepared to listen to it, rather than ignore it. We will then find our place in the family of things.

There is a bonus song on this podcast, a Donavan composition for the Zeffirelli Film Brother Sun and Sister Moon. It is sung by Wilma Scott; Adrian's wife. The books mentioned are, Wild Signs and Star Paths: The keys to our lost sixth sense by Tristan , Becoming Animal by David Abrams, Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible by Simon Barnes, The Reluctant Saint by Donald Spoto. My third collection of poetry is called A Night Sea Journey and is available with my other works at www.adriangrscott.com.

Episode Three - In conversation with Philippe Edwards - An Anxious Actor

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 14:17:19 +0100

Phil is currently appearing in Trial By Laughter at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester and on tour with the play. I first met him when he was training at LAMBDA (London Academy of Dramatic Arts) with my eldest daughter Eva Scott. They were in a Terrance Rattigan play called Flare Path and I was really impressed with his work. He contacted me having listened to the my first two podcasts to say how good it was to hear someone talking about anxiety, mental health and the arts. So here is an anxious poet talking to an anxious actor. The piece off Music Phil refers to is Arbakkinn by Ólafur Arnalds from the 2016 album Island Songs. Here are links to Phil's work. http://www.jessicacarneyassociates.co.uk/philippe-edwards/ https://britishtheatre.com/trial-by-laughter-tour/ Thanks to Phil for a great chat.

Episode Two - Solvitur Ambulando

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 11:10:54 +0100

Solvitur Ambulando - It is solved by walking. In this second episode the Anxious Poet explores the curative properties of walking. With poems, thoughts and feelings he looks at the way that going out of the front door and putting one foot ahead of another can, gradually, have beneficial effects on anxiety and all its attendant maladies.

Here is the link to the Isabel Hardman piece on the BBC iPlayer mentioned in this episode. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0952ph0

Episode One - The Poetry of Anxiety and Recovery

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 14:32:33 +0200

This is Adrian G R Scott's first podacst in his new venture entitled The Anxious Poet. Adrian has published three collections of poetry and the most recent A Night Sea Journey is a poetic account of a breakdown he expereinced four years ago and his continuing struggles with anxiety. They can be purchased at www.adriangrscott.com This podcast is a way for him to explore poetry and our mental health and ways of moving towards a happier life. He also will draw others into the conversartion.

There are a number of references in the podcast. The Nadiya Hussain piece can be found at https://www.stylist.co.uk/long-reads/nadiya-hussain-panic-attacks-disorder-anxiety-mental-health-symptoms-diagnosis-tips-self-care-bake-off-reality/215594 . The Calre Foy piece can be found at https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/sep/29/claire-foy-my-anxiety-was-a-tool-to-survive . The Andreas Schweizer book is called The Sungod's Journey htrough the Netherworld.