Poems in the porch

"Between 1953 and 1957, John Betjeman read a series of poems on 'The Faith in the West' program airing on the BBC's West of England Home Service. This series, which was called Poems in the Porch, was so popular that Betjeman received constant requests to publish the poems. Although he deprecatingly referred to the poems as mere 'verses', Betjeman at last capitulated to the public. The result was a slim volume of six poems, entitled Poems in the Porch. What few people now realize is that Betjeman read at least 20 original poems on the radio in this series, perhaps even more. Although the haphazard records of both the BBC and Betjeman himself make it difficult to reconstruct this series with complete accuracy, Kevin Gardner has now provided the first history of this important chapter in Betjeman's career." "Kevin Gardner has collected 22 of these poems that he has been able to identify. He recounts the story of Betjeman as a radio poet and discusses the artistry of these poems. Most have never been published and currently exist only in manuscript. Despite the gap between the BBC records on the one hand and the printed and manuscript texts on the other, he has been able to construct a reliable edition of Betjeman's Poems in the Porch."--BOOK JACKET.