Michael Symmons Roberts & Hannah Westland on John Burnside

The Empire of Forgetting (Cape) is the final collection of the Scottish poet, novelist and essayist John Burnside, who died in May last year. Fellow poet Kathleen Jamie describes him as ‘a titan of literature…. His passing leaves a gap not only in our literature, but in our ability to exist in the world. He increased the possible ways of our being.’ To coincide with this publication, Cape are reissuing Burnside’s three volumes of memoir, A Lie About My Father, Waking Up in Toytown and I Put a Spell on You with new introductions. Poet and essayist Michael Symmons Roberts and editor Hannah Westland paid tribute to Burnside and celebrated his life and work.

You can listen to Michael Symmons Roberts & Hannah Westland on John Burnside online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Michael Symmons Roberts & Hannah Westland on John Burnside is an episode from London Review Bookshop Podcast by London Review Bookshop.

This episode is 60:17 long.

This episode was published on Apr 8, 2026.

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