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Professor of Poetry

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Professor of Poetry
The Oxford Professor of Poetry holds a public lecture each term. The current Professor of Poetry is A.E.Stallings.

The Professor of Poetry lectures were conceived in 1708 by Berkshire landowner Henry Birkhead and began after he bequeathed some money so it could be a valuable supplement to the curriculum. He believed ‘the reading of the ancient poets gave keenness and polish to the minds of young men as well as to the advancement of more serious literature both sacred and human’.

The first poetry professor, Joseph Trapp, took as his subject poetry in general. He was mainly concerned with the classical poets – particularly Roman writers. William Hawkins, professor from 1751 to 1756, was interested in drama and more modern works, and was renowned for quoting extensively (in Latin) from the works of Shakespeare during his lectures.

Many distinguished men of letters held the Chair in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, including two Thomas Wartons - both father and son - and the poet and religious leader John Keble. However, it was Keble´s godson, the great Victorian poet and critic Matthew Arnold, uniquely elected twice to the Professorship (in 1857 and 1862), who really created the Professorship in its modern form: Arnold spoke about literary matters of contemporary concern, and was the first Professor to deliver his lectures in English, as opposed to Latin.

A new Professor of Poetry is appointed every four years. All members of convocation are eligible to vote in the election. He or she must give a public lecture each term and, by convention, the Creweian Oration at the University's honorary degree ceremony every other year.

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Professor of Poetry homepageFaculty of English Language and Literature

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 episodes
Episode Description People Date Captions
Counterblast! (a manifesto for poetry) Alice Oswald's final lecture as the English Faculty's Professor of Poetry. Alice Oswald 16 June, 2023
Anonymous and Onymous A professor of poetry talk by Alice Oswald - Hilary Term 2023 Alice Oswald, Lorna Hutson 27 February, 2023 Captions
Meandering Fortune-Graphs A professor of poetry talk by Alice Oswald - Michaelmas 2022. Alice Oswald 21 February, 2023 Captions
The Life and Death of Poetry A distracted walkabout with T.S Eliot and others. Alice Oswald 23 June, 2022 Captions
A Lament for the Earth This episode will address the challenge to nature poetry. Alice Oswald 14 March, 2022 Captions
In Sleep a King This is a sleep-talk on the subject of waking up with Sonnet 87 (by Shakespeare) in the background. This talk was given by Alice Oswald on the 25th November 2021. Alice Oswald 3 March, 2022 Captions
Lines by Alice Oswald It's fifty years since the publication of From the Life and Songs of the Crow (by Ted Hughes). This is a lecture about lines and other sound barriers and how Crow flies straight through them. Alice Oswald 1 March, 2021
Interview with Water This is the first ever online lecture by a Professor of Poetry at Oxford. In the lecture, Alice Oswald explores the strange connection between water and grief. Alice Oswald 8 July, 2020 Captions
The Art of Erosion Inaugural Lecture of Alice Oswald, Professor of Poetry, held at the University of Oxford Exam Schools. Alice Oswald 9 December, 2019
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 episodes

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