An Interview with Belfast Poet Matthew Rice

In this episode of *Words That Burn*, the poetry podcast dedicated to literary analysis and poetic interpretation, I sit down with Belfast poet Matthew Rice to discuss his new collection *Plastic:* a book-length poem mapped across a single night shift in an invented plastics factory. It's published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. Born from his PhD at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen's University Belfast, *Plastic* sits at a rare intersection in contemporary poetry: a deeply personal account of fifteen years working factory floors, fused with literary devices and techniques drawn from medieval romance, Gothic literature, and pop culture. We discuss the historical context behind the collection, tracing Rice's place within a tradition of working-class and "factory poets" like Philip Levine and Larry Levis, and explore how *Sir Gawain and the Green Knight* becomes a recurring avatar for the speaker's own quest through the night. This conversation doubles as a poetry education in itself, perfect whether you're new to contemporary poetry or already fluent in poetic analysis. We chat about: - How timestamps and form mirror the malleability of plastic itself - The Gothic undercurrents running through a hyper-modern, industrial setting - Literary allusion: from Wolverine comics to Kubrick's Gotham to Fassbender's *Prometheus,* and how pop culture deepens poetic meaning - The poet biography behind the book: Rice's journey from factory worker to MA and PhD in poetry - A live reading of two poems from the collection, including the recurring Gawain sequence Whether you're after rigorous poem discussion, a beginner-friendly entry point into poetry interpretation, or simply want to hear from one of the most original voices in Irish poetry and Global poets writing today, this episode of this poetry podcast offers a rich, accessible deep-dive into a genuinely singular collection. ### Follow Matthew Rice: On Instagram Buy His Collection ### Follow the Podcast: Read the Interview on Substack Follow the Podcast On Instagram Follow the Podcast on X/Twitter Follow the Podcast on Tiktok Follow the podcast on Bluesky **Time Stamps:** 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:40 Inside the Book Plastic 02:17 Factory Poetry Gap 03:40 Molds and Poetic Form 06:05 Long Poem in Sections 07:38 Poetry as Escape 11:23 Dream Time and Imagination 12:34 Mapping Time on Shift 16:19 Gawain on the Factory Floor 19:47 Reading a Gawain Poem 21:00 Reviews and New Meanings 22:55 Pop Culture Allusions 24:14 Fosse One Sentence Novel 25:05 Wolverine And Prometheus 27:37 Factory As Monster 29:31 Kubrick City Character 31:28 Flesh Meets Machine 36:01 Gothic Hauntings And Swift 38:12 Gotham Politics And Capital 42:12 Prologue Ritual And Verbing 45:54 Hidden Easter Egg Poem 47:44 Final Thoughts And Thanks * * * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.