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Erebus
A poetic drama by Jo Shapcott about the search for the North-West Passage. The 1845 expedition led by John Franklin was lost in the ice and never returned. The mysteries remain. In the intervening time rescue and, subsequently, archaeological expeditions have gone in search of clues as to what went wrong.
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Published January 12, 2012
About the author
Jo Shapcott
28 books18 followersShe was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Dublin. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway College, University of London, where she teaches on the MA in Creative Writing. She is the current President of The Poetry Society.
Her Book: Poems 1988-1998 (2000), consists of a selection of poetry from her three earlier collections: Electroplating the Baby (1988), which won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for Best First Collection, Phrase Book (1992), and My Life Asleep (1998), which won the Forward Poetry Prize (Best Collection). She has also won the National Poetry Competition twice. Together with Matthew Sweeney she edited an anthology of contemporary poetry in English, but gathered from around the world, entitled Emergency Kit: Poems for Strange Times (1996).
Jo Shapcott has worked with a number of musicians on collaborative projects. She has written lyrics for, or had poems set to music by, composers such as John McCabe, Detlev Glamert, Nigel Osborne, Alec Roth, Erollyn Wallen, Peter Wiegold and John Woolrich. Her poems were set to music by composer Stephen Montague in The Creatures Indoors, premiered by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London in 1997. From 2001-2003, during the BBC Proms season, she presented the weekly 'Poetry Proms' on Radio 3.
Her book Tender Taxes, a collection of versions of Rainer Maria Rilke's poems in French, was published in 2002. The Transformers, due for publication in 2010, is a collection of public lectures given by Jo Shapcott as part of her Professorship at Newcastle, and she is co-editor (with Linda Anderson) of a collection of essays about Elizabeth Bishop. Her translation, with Narguess Farzad, of Poems by Farzaneh Khojandi was published in 2008.
Her latest book of poems is Of Mutability, published in 2010, shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize (Best Poetry Collection of the Year) and overall winner of the 2010 Costa Prize.
In 2011 Jo Shapcott was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.
Her Book: Poems 1988-1998 (2000), consists of a selection of poetry from her three earlier collections: Electroplating the Baby (1988), which won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for Best First Collection, Phrase Book (1992), and My Life Asleep (1998), which won the Forward Poetry Prize (Best Collection). She has also won the National Poetry Competition twice. Together with Matthew Sweeney she edited an anthology of contemporary poetry in English, but gathered from around the world, entitled Emergency Kit: Poems for Strange Times (1996).
Jo Shapcott has worked with a number of musicians on collaborative projects. She has written lyrics for, or had poems set to music by, composers such as John McCabe, Detlev Glamert, Nigel Osborne, Alec Roth, Erollyn Wallen, Peter Wiegold and John Woolrich. Her poems were set to music by composer Stephen Montague in The Creatures Indoors, premiered by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London in 1997. From 2001-2003, during the BBC Proms season, she presented the weekly 'Poetry Proms' on Radio 3.
Her book Tender Taxes, a collection of versions of Rainer Maria Rilke's poems in French, was published in 2002. The Transformers, due for publication in 2010, is a collection of public lectures given by Jo Shapcott as part of her Professorship at Newcastle, and she is co-editor (with Linda Anderson) of a collection of essays about Elizabeth Bishop. Her translation, with Narguess Farzad, of Poems by Farzaneh Khojandi was published in 2008.
Her latest book of poems is Of Mutability, published in 2010, shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize (Best Poetry Collection of the Year) and overall winner of the 2010 Costa Prize.
In 2011 Jo Shapcott was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 29, 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0196td4Description: A poetic drama by Jo Shapcott about the search for the North-West Passage. The 1845 expedition led by John Franklin was lost in the ice and never returned. The mysteries remain. In the intervening time rescue and, subsequently, archaeological expeditions have gone in search of clues as to what went wrong. Fragments of evidence have been found in the ice and latterly frozen bodies too. Why did the mission fail, did the sailors resort to eating their colleagues, were there encounters with Inuit and if so what did the local ice-experts make of the men who carried an organ and a library of books with them as they struggled from their ice-bound ships looking for help?
With Russell Boulter, David Birrell, Peter Marinker, John Mackay and Jasmine Hyde. Music by Jon Nicholls. Produced by Tim Dee.
November 29, 2016
From BBc Radio 4 - Afternoon Drama:
A poetic drama by Jo Shapcott about the search for the North-West Passage. The 1845 expedition led by John Franklin was lost in the ice and never returned. The mysteries remain. In the intervening time rescue and, subsequently, archaeological expeditions have gone in search of clues as to what went wrong. Fragments of evidence have been found in the ice and latterly frozen bodies too. Why did the mission fail, did the sailors resort to eating their colleagues, were there encounters with Inuit and if so what did the local ice-experts make of the men who carried an organ and a library of books with them as they struggled from their ice-bound ships looking for help?
With Russell Boulter, David Birrell, Peter Marinker, John Mackay and Jasmine Hyde. Music by Jon Nicholls. Produced by Tim Dee.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0196td4
A poetic drama by Jo Shapcott about the search for the North-West Passage. The 1845 expedition led by John Franklin was lost in the ice and never returned. The mysteries remain. In the intervening time rescue and, subsequently, archaeological expeditions have gone in search of clues as to what went wrong. Fragments of evidence have been found in the ice and latterly frozen bodies too. Why did the mission fail, did the sailors resort to eating their colleagues, were there encounters with Inuit and if so what did the local ice-experts make of the men who carried an organ and a library of books with them as they struggled from their ice-bound ships looking for help?
With Russell Boulter, David Birrell, Peter Marinker, John Mackay and Jasmine Hyde. Music by Jon Nicholls. Produced by Tim Dee.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0196td4
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews