Poetry at Helmsley Arts Centre : The Sunne Rising by John Donne

Chosen and read by David Powley because way back in the mid 1960s it was for him such an exciting discovery : the combination of caressive intimacy with the poet’s delight in playing intellectual games as he builds up his argument against the sun. The sentiment is so relaxed and everyday (for lovers, anyway) yet contained and conveyed in a poem so tightly controlled in its rhythms, phrasing, shape, sound and argument.John Donne, born in 1572 but still very much alive. Do you have a favourite poem? Let us know and why you choose it.