For the second time in the series, Heaney discusses reading poems aloud and the issue of poets reading their own work.

For the second time in the series, Heaney discusses reading poems aloud and the issue of poets reading their own work. He thinks that the medium of radio offers a way of listening actively and accurately. There is a definitive element in a poet's reading. The rasp in Louis MacNeice's voice is related to a similar quality in his writing.