Bedtime Stories for the End of the World

The final episode of our current series explores myths of creation, with poets Anthony Anaxagorou and Chloe Elliott joining our host Eleanor Penny. Chloe gives her interpretation of the ancient Chinese story of Pan Gu, the first living creature, who was trapped inside an egg with the forces of Yin and Yang. Meanwhile Anthony reimagines Cypriot myths about the creation of Cyprus’ Pentadaktylos, or five-fingered, mountain. If you’ve enjoyed the series, you can buy the book Bedtime Stories from the End of the World which is available from all good bookshops, or by following the link on our website at endoftheworldpodcast.com Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

This week we have an unusual episode of Bedtime Stories as two poets each provide different reimaginings of the same traditional story. Poets Nina Mingya Powles and Maggie Wang join our host Eleanor Penny to each present their versions of the story of Chang’e, the Chinese goddess of the Moon. They explore the story itself, and discuss the connection between loneliness and womanhood, represented in Chang’e’s exile on the Moon. Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Joining Eleanor Penny this week are poets Antosh Wojcik and Alice Frecknall. They have chosen to reimagine stories from the Victorian and Edwardian era, which themselves drew on traditional tropes. Antosh reads and discusses his take on AH Wratislaw’s The Spirit of a Buried Man; while Alice draws inspiration from JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, to explore aging and memory. Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

This episode welcomes Vanessa Kisuule and Jack Bigglestone who have each revived a millennia-old monster. Jack lands the mythical figure of the Basilisk in contemporary life, whilst Vanessa retells the Ugandan myth of the first man Kintu, and the mysterious death-like figure of his brother-in-law Warumbe. They join our host Eleanor Penny to share their reinterpretations and discuss their approaches. Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

This week, poets Mona Arshi and Amara Amaryah join Eleanor Penny to discuss their reinterpretations of traditional stories. Mona imagines the experience of one of Scheherazade’s unfortunate predecessors, a young woman sent to marry the Emperor and meet her death in the Arabian Nights. Amara meanwhile explores the historical figure Queen Nanny of the Maroons, an eighteenth century Jamaican leader who led a guerilla war against the slave-owning, colonial British rule; allegedly involving supernatural powers. Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Joining Eleanor Penny this week are poets Momtaza Mehri and Jamie Hale who each explore a number of traditional characters. Jamie has chosen to reimagine figures and moments from Aruthurian myths; whilst Momtaza looks at the figures of Gog and Magog, versions of whom appear in ancient British legend as well in Biblical and Quranic texts. Momtaza and Jamie join host Eleanor Penny to read and discuss their retellings. Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Today’s episode features poets R. A. Villanueva and Fathima Zahra. They each retell a traditional story of a powerful female figure, imagining Penelope before her wedding to Odysseus, and recounting the tale of Keralan resistance figure, Nangeli. Joining host Eleanor Penny, they read their poems and discuss how they explore the silences and erasures around how we remember women in story and history. Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

This week’s guests joining Eleanor Penny are poets Luke Palmer and Joe Dunthorne. Luke reimagines the traditional Grimm’s fairytale of Hansel and Gretel, whilst Joe explores the trope of water-monsters, who appear in traditional stories across the world under many names such as: kelpie, Loch Ness monster, selkie, siyakoy, ceffyl dwr and vodnik. Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

The Bedtime Stories for the End of the World podcast is back for another series, asking leading poets to reimagine traditional stores for our apocalyptic age. Joining Eleanor Penny this week are poets Fiona Benson and Remi Graves. They each retell the story of a mythical figure: the old woman Babushka from Eastern Europe, and Mami Wata, a gender fluid spirit from African mythology. Over the coming 9 episodes, we have 18 writers sharing brand new work, and discussing the stories they want to preserve for future generations. Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

**NEW ILLUSTRATED BOOK - RELEASED 19 NOVEMBER** We bring you exciting news that Bedtime Stories for the End of the World has partnered with Studio Press and illustrator Inkquisitive to create a wonderful illustrated book featuring stories from Malika Booker, Kayo Chingonyi, Inua Ellams, Will Harris, Helen Mort and Joelle Taylor. We speak to the writers and give a sneak preview of their stories ahead of the book's release on 29 October. To buy a copy, visit bit.ly/InkTales Find out more about the podcast and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com

Our final episode of the current series looks at power and control. Joining Eleanor Penny this week are poets Jack Underwood, Amina Jama and Oliver Fox. They share reimaginings of the Jörmungandr or Norse World Snake; King Cnut; and the Somali Queen Arawelo. Find out more and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com @goodbyeworldpod

Joining Eleanor Penny this week are poets Sabrina Mahfouz, Geraldine Clarkson and Stuart Buck. Together they explore our relationship with mythical characters; re-imagining stories of Prometheus, Bluebeard, and the little-known Lob Lie-by-the-fire, who'll do your housework in return for a saucer of milk. Find out more and catch up with Series One at: endoftheworldpodcast.com @goodbyeworldpod

In our fourth episode poets Ella Frears, Annie Hayer and Andrew McMillan join our host Eleanor Penny to discuss traditional tales of love and relationships. They re-imagine Eurydice, wife of Orpheus; the mythical half-seal half-women Selkie; and Jesus, who emerges as a dancefloor-parting queer icon. Find out more and catch up with Series One at: endoftheworldpodcast.com @goodbyeworldpod

Our third episode explores monsters, outlaws and home invaders, as our host Eleanor Penny sits down with poets Helen Mort, Romalyn Ante and Tice Cin. Their mythic re-imaginings include the vampiric Fillipino Manananggal, the Turkish Cypriot fugitive Hasan Buli, and trespasser and porridge-thief Goldilocks. Find out more and catch up with Series One at: endoftheworldpodcast.com @goodbyeworldpod

This week poets Malika Booker, Natalie Linh Bolderston and Olga Dermott-Bond bring to life traditional stories of powerful women. We hear about the West Indian temptress La Diablesse, Vietnamese Warrior Triệu Thị Trinh, and the Irish giant-trickster Oonagh McCool. Find out more and catch up with Series One at: endoftheworldpodcast.com @goodbyeworldpod

In the first episode of Series Two, we’re facing environmental catastrophe in its various forms. Joining Eleanor Penny, are Forward Prize winning poet Kei Miller and young poets Gboyega Odubanjo and Joshua Judson. They share re-imaginings of the ‘meme’ of the Green Man, the Book of Revelation and the Jamaican Story of the Dry River. Find out more and catch up with Series One at: endoftheworldpodcast.com @goodbyeworldpod

Bedtime Stories for the End of the World returns on Monday 16 September, bringing you another six episodes of poetry for our apocalyptic age. Each episode will feature brand new poetry from some of the best UK poets, including: Malika Booker, Andrew McMillan, Sabrina Mahfouz, Kei Miller, Helen Mort, Jack Underwood and many more. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss en episode. For more information visit endoftheworldpodcast.com, or contact us on Twitter or Instagram @goodbyeworldpod

Jay Bernard, Simran Uppal and Rhian Edwards dive into some of the world's most iconic compendiums of myth: The Arthurian Legends, the Ramayana and the Mabinogion. This week we bring you stories about the Hijra, third-gender people blessed by Rama for their loyalty and devotion. We revisit the myth of Blodeuwedd, a woman crafted from flowers to be the wife of the hero Lleu Llaw Gyffes. And we excavate a little-known myth in the Arthurian canon: Sir Morian, the Moorish son of one of the Knights of the Round Table. Find out more: endoftheworldpodcast.com twitter.com/goodbyeworldpod

Kate Denereaz revisits the story of Melusine: a half-woman, half-serpent hiding her curse from her human husband and their children. Leke Oso Alabi brings Menelik I into modern London, asking what the offspring the Queen of Sheba and the biblical King Solomon would make of our divided times. Rachel Long explores the uses of storytelling and survival through her own family mythology. Find out more: endoftheworldpodcast.com twitter.com/goodbyeworldpod

This week we're roaming around the borderlands, where towns and cities meet the wild. Miriam Nash pulls up a seat at the fire with the Nine Mothers of Heimdallr. Leonardo Boix leaves gifts of rum and cigars for the forest-dwelling spirit Pombero, Señor De La Noche. The story of Baucis and Philemon teaches Nick Garrard to be kind to strangers, just in case they're vengeful gods in disguise. Find out more: endoftheworldpodcast.com/episode-four twitter.com/goodbyeworldpod