logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
50m 21s

A Bengali Polymath and an ‘Accidental Mo...

THE TLS
About this episode

This week, Thea Lenarduzzi and Lucy Dallas are joined by Rosinka Chaudhuri, the author of ‘The Literary Thing: History, poetry and the making of a modern cultural sphere’, to discuss Rabindranath Tagore, who, in 1913, became the first non-white and non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature – since which he has been largely overlooked; Kate Kennedy, the author of ‘Dweller in the Shadows’, a new Life of the war poet Ivor Gurney, considers the “peculiarly direct, urgent intensity” of the later work, composed while confined in an asylum; plus, let’s hear it for independent bookshops


'Rabindranath Tagore' by Bashabi Fraser 

'The Cambridge Companion to Rabindranath Tagore', edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri


A special subscription offer for TLS podcast listeners: www.the-tls.co.uk/buy/pod


Producer: Ben Mitchell


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Jul 30
Moving Pictures
This week, we meditate on childhood memories with TLS Ackerley Prize-winner Geoff Dyer; and Ben Street on the tricky business of artists at the cinema.'Homework', by Geoff Dyer'The Hollywood History of Art', by Christopher FraylingProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See ... Show More
47m 56s
Jul 23
Earthing Emily
This week, Claire Harman explores the self-possession and vigour of the youngest of the Brontë clan; and Lily Herd on musical brothers at war in a new play.'This Dark Night: The life of Emily Brontë', by Deborah Lutz'Hit Machine', by Jonathan Caren, Soho Theatre, London, until Au ... Show More
48m 44s
Jul 16
The Art of Chaos
This week, Carrie Cracknell joins us to talk about the delights and challenges of directing Tom Stoppard's Arcadia; and Hirsh Sawhney on the empathetic brilliance of Sigrid Nunez.'Arcadia', by Tom Stoppard, Duke of York's Theatre, London, until September 12 2026'It Will Come Back ... Show More
46m 47s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2021
Rabindranath Tagore: The Bard of Bengal
So prodigious was the polymath Rabindranath Tagore, there’s a saying in Bengal that one lifetime is not enough to consume all of his work. Poet, playwright, thinker, activist, educator, social reformer, composer, artist… the list of his talents is long. Today his name is known al ... Show More
39m 33s
Jul 2017
Tagore’s Nobel Prize Theft
Rabindranath Tagore, the celebrated Bengali writer, is one of the greatest figures in modern South Asian history. In 1913, Tagore became the first non-westerner to win a Nobel Prize, but just over a decade ago, his Nobel medal was stolen – and still hasn’t been found. This episod ... Show More
16m 17s
Aug 2022
The Bard of Bengal
In August 1941, one of the greatest poets India has ever produced died. Known as the "Bard of Bengal", Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.Farhana Haider spoke to Professor Bashabi Fraser, Director of the Scottish Centre of Tagore St ... Show More
9 m
May 2015
Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. He has been called one of the outstanding thinkers of the 20th century and the greatest poet India has ever produced. His Nobel followed publication of Gitanjali, his English version of some of hi ... Show More
46m 36s
Oct 2013
Jhumpa Lahiri
This month a chance to hear Pulitzer Prize winning Indian American writer Jhumpa Lahiri, whose new novel The Lowland has just been shortlisted for the British Man Booker Prize. With presenter Harriett Gilbert and a studio full of readers Lahiri talks about her acclaimed short sto ... Show More
52m 58s
Apr 2022
Hanif Abdurraqib with Nihal Arthanayake
<p>This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by award-winning writer and poet, Hanif Abdurraqib</p><br><p>Hanif speaks to Nihal about his most recent work of nonfiction, <em>A little Devil in America</em>, which won the 2021 Gorden Burn Prize. They also discus ... Show More
34m 14s
Jun 2022
Damon Galgut with Nihal Arthanayake
<p>This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by Booker Prize-winning novelist and playwright, Damon Galgut.</p><br><p>Recording from the legendary literary festival at Hay, Nihal talks to Damon about his latest novel, The Promise, which was awarded the 2021 Bo ... Show More
41m 8s
Jan 2022
378 Liu Xinwu and the "Scar Literature" of China (with Jeremy Tiang) | Bharati Sneak Preview (with Mira Sundara Rajan)
In this episode, Jacke talks to Jeremy Tiang about his new translation of The Wedding Party, a Chinese classic contemporary novel written in the early 1980s by Liu Xinwu, one of the originators of what has been termed "scar literature." PLUS we feature a sneak preview of our conv ... Show More
49m 26s