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Simon Curtis's "Satie, at the End of Term" · The Daily Poem

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to The Daily Poem, a podcast from Goldberry Studios.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Sean Johnson, and today is Friday, June 13th, 2025.
• 0:11
  Today's poem is by the 20th century poet Simon Curtis,
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  and it's called Sati at the End of Term.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's an odd sort of niche poem imagining the French composer,
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  SPEAKER_00: Eric Satie,
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  SPEAKER_00: writing a song that captures the mood at the end of an academic term.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: And as bizarre as that setup sounds,
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  I think it's pretty relatable to people who have been through
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  some serious academic
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  SPEAKER_00: study,
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  SPEAKER_00: especially some intense courses in philosophy or literary theory.
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  And it explains quite well why I feel the need at the end of a
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  difficult academic
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  SPEAKER_00: season to pick up something by P.G.
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  SPEAKER_00: Woodhouse.
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  SPEAKER_00: And maybe why I find so much solace in A Little Light First on a Friday.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Here is Simon Curtis's Satie at the End of Term.
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  The mind's eyes ache from Henry James,
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  like arms from heavy cases lugged for miles.
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  SPEAKER_00: Theme and structure, imagery and tone.
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  From Lawrence,
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  too,
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  how hard I dug for insights sunk,
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  yards deep in turgid prose.
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  SPEAKER_00: Theme and structure, imagery and tone.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Web of necessity in Daniel Doronda, gloom in Dorrit, gloom in Flaubert.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: One more week to go at theme and structure, imagery and tone.
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  SPEAKER_00: So, fitful fresh as April's sun, you're welcome, clown.
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  Your good melodic dissonance will pierce low clouds of syllabus
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  with humorous
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  SPEAKER_00: grace,
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  SPEAKER_00: mercy of irreverence.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: This has been The Daily Poem.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
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  SPEAKER_00: We'll be back next week with more poetry for you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Until that day comes,
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  you can always find us at dailypoempod.substack.com where you
• 2:18
  can listen to our
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: past episodes,
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: subscribe and support the show,
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: and join in a conversation about each day's poem.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: For all of us at Goldberry Studios,
• 2:27
  especially the hardworking Logan Green who makes all of these
• 2:31
  episodes sound as
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: good as they possibly could,
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Sean Johnson wishing you happy reading.