On this episode of the podcast, Malcolm Guite talks to Rachel Mann about his new book, Galahad and the Grail, part one of a planned four-volume poem sequence, Merlin’s Isle, a retelling of the tales of King Arthur.
In a review of the book in the Church Times, Dr Michael Wheeler describes Galahad and the Grail as “a poem of sacramental re-enchantment, grounded in the holy eucharist”.
Galahad and the Grail: Merlin’s Isle Volume 1 is published by Canterbury Press at £30 (Church Times Bookshop £27).
The Revd Dr Malcolm Guite is a Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and writes the weekly Poet’s Corner column for the Church Times.
The Ven. Dr Rachel Mann, also a priest-poet, is the Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford, in the diocese of Manchester. Her second collection of poetry, Eleanor Among the Saints (Carcanet), was shortlisted for the 2024 T. S. Eliot Prize (Books, 25 April 2025).
Click the play button above to listen to this podcast. You can also listen to the Church Times Podcast on the Church Times app for iPhone and iPad, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and most other podcast platforms. Music for the podcast is by Twisterium.