Sheffield Almanac is a long poem I wrote in the mid-2010s which became the first standalone publication in my name. First, it’s back in print. Second, I’m discussing it – and its key influence, Louis MacNeice’s Autumn Journal – in a new podcast.

First published in 2017 as a pamphlet from Longbarrow Press, the Almanac is a single, 36-page poem in four chapters, corresponding to the seasons of the year. Can you have chapters in a poem, or should they be called cantos or something? I suppose it’s my poem so I can call them what I like. Chapters it is, then.

Anyway, a second edition is available from Longbarrow now, featuring a new afterword and an updated design. The initial print run sold out a couple of years ago, so if you didn’t manage to get hold of a copy then, now’s your chance to put that right. You can read more about the poem here, and see an extract here, and order a copy of the new edition for six of your Earth pounds, with free delivery by hand if you live in Sheffield.

The Two-Way Poetry Podcast is a series in which the guests share both a poem of their own and one by another poet which influenced it. When the host and producer, Chris Jones, invited me on, the commonalities between Sheffield Almanac and Autumn Journal ­– in terms of form, focus and approach – made my choice an obvious one.

If you’re not familiar with Autumn Journal, get familiar with it! As the second world war looms and the army fells trees on Primrose Hill to accommodate anti-aircraft guns, MacNeice surveys both the political and cultural landscapes of the late 1930s and his own personal life in one of the greatest English language poems of the 20th century. I know because I’ve read every single one.

So please give the episode a listen, and subscribe to the pod while you’re at it. Other episodes so far have featured Rob Hindle, Suzannah Evans, Pam Thompson, James Caruth and Matthew Clegg and it’s been absolutely fascinating.