The Sri Lanka Podcast: Poetry From The Jungle

The Sri Lanka Podcast: Poetry From The Jungle

Author: The Ceylon Press Language: English Episodes: 89
There’s a particular sound to the jungle-a layered quiet of leaves, birds, and distant water. It’s from within that atmosphere that The Sri Lanka Podcast: Poetry From The Jungle finds its voice. Produced by The Ceylon Press, each episode is recorded at the Flame Tree Estate & Hotel, nestled in the wilds northwest of Kandy. This isn’t a standard literary analysis show; it’s an experience of resonance. Here, timeless poems by renowned authors are read aloud, allowing their rhythms and meanings to intertwine with the ambient sounds of a Sri Lankan forest. The setting does more than provide backdrop-it actively shapes how you hear each word, offering a fresh and quietly profound perspective on verses you thought you knew. This podcast invites a slower kind of listening, where a classic sonnet might be punctuated by a monsoon shower or the call of a hornbill. It’s for anyone who believes place matters, that the environment where a story is told becomes part of the story itself. Tune in for a unique fusion of the literary and the natural, a deliberate retreat into the world of spoken art framed by one of the planet’s most vibrant soundscapes.
Episodes
Philip Larkin.  The Whitson Weddings. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:30
That Whitsun, I was late getting away: Not till aboutOne-twenty on the sunlit SaturdayDid my three-quarters-empty train pull out,All windows down, all cushions hot, all sense Of being in a hurry gone. We ranBehind the ba…
Ovid.  In Summer's Heat. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:31
In summer's heat and mid-time of the day, To rest my limbs upon a bed I lay, One window shut, the other open stood, Which gave such light as twinkles in a wood Like twilight glimpse at setting of the sun, Or night being…
Pablo Neruda.  If You Forget Me. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39
I want you to know one thing. You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if I touch near the fire the impalpable ash or the wrinkled body of the log, everythin…
Nissim Ezekiel.  Goodbye Party For Miss Pushpa T.S. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:24
Friends, our dear sister is departing for foreign in two three days, and we are meeting today to wish her bon voyage. You are all knowing, friends, What sweetness is in Miss Pushpa. I don't mean only external sweetnessbu…
Niyi Osundare.  In The Moon For Love. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:25
The moon is playing hide-and-seek Behind the clouds. A mellow smile Lingers on the lips of the sky Tides tease and tangle At the water's edge. The buck eyes The doe with a deep, alluring passion Sun mo bi, OloguroI am in…
Michael Ondaatje.  The Cinnamon Peeler. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:41
If I were a cinnamon peeler I would ride your bed And leave the yellow bark dust On your pillow. Your breasts and shoulders would reek You could never walk through markets without the profession of my fingersfloating ove…
Meng Haoran.  On Climbing Orchid Mountain In The Autumn To Zhang. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:36
On a northern peak among white clouds You have found your hermitage of peace; And now, as I climb this mountain to see you, High with the wildgeese flies my heart. The quiet dusk might seem a little sad If this autumn we…
Matsuo Basho.  The Cry Of The Cicada. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:57
The cry of the cicada Gives us no sign That presently they will die. ENJOY MORE The Ceylon Press publishes a range of podcasts including The History Of Sri Lanka; the off-grid Jungle Diaries podcast; Island Stories, the…
Rainer Maria Rilke.  What Will You Do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:41
What will you do, God, when I die?I am your jar (if cracked, I lie?)Your well-spring (if the well go dry?)I am your craft, your vesture I—You lose your purport, losing me.When I go, your cold house will beEmpty of words…
Louis Macneice.  The Sunlight On The Garden. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:48
The sunlight on the garden Hardens and grows cold, We cannot cage the minute Within its nets of gold; When all is told We cannot beg for pardon. Our freedom as free lances Advances towards its end;The earth compels, upon…