Award-winning poet Emily Berry joins us to consider the work and troubled life of Anne Sexton. We focus on her brilliant second collection All My Pretty Ones (1962). Sexton was a trailblazing American poet of the so-called 'confessional' school of the 1960s, one whose writing continues to provoke controversy and debate; her friends and contemporaries include ... Show More
Jul 7
Summer Reading 2023 - Rerun
Over here in the UK, we are well and truly into summer: some of us have World Cup fever, and others... have not. To celebrate the continuing balm, we are rerunning one of our classic summer reading episodes from 2023, where John, Andy and Nicky choose six books, old and new: O Ca ... Show More
1h 4m
Jun 23
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard - Rerun
Recorded back in 2018 at Port Elliot festival, Andy and John are joined on stage by writer, actor and comedian Ben Moor, author of More Trees to Climb (Granta) and whose comedy show ‘Book Talk Book Talk Book’ first premiered at that years Festival, and writer and journalist Cathy ... Show More
58m 14s
Dec 2023
573 A Conversation with Anne Enright, Winner of the Man Booker Prize | My Last Book with Christopher Morash
After taking a look at Emily Dickinson's Poem #269 ("Wild Nights - wild nights!"), Jacke talks to novelist Anne Enright about growing up in Ireland, her writing career, and her new book The Wren, The Wren. PLUS Dublin literary historian Christopher Morash (Dublin: A Writer's City ... Show More
57m 56s
Jul 2023
Take A Walk On The Wild Side
This week, AE Stallings, the new Oxford professor of poetry, on the lives of poets; and Ann Kennedy Smith considers the different faces of Cornwall.'Sleeping on islands: A life in poetry', by Andrew Motion'The American poet laureate: A history of US poetry and the state', by Amy ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 2025
Best of Design Matters: Lucy Sante
Renowned writer, cultural critic, and scholar of the demimonde Lucy Sante joins to discuss her career and a new memoir, “I Heard Her Call My Name,” reflecting on her transition and self-actualization in her sixties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
59m 19s
Mar 2023
Toni Morrison
Today we are celebrating Women’s History Month and looking at the pioneering writer, Toni Morrison. From her poem, ‘Someone leans near’ to her debut novel, ‘The Bluest Eye’, Susie and Gyles delve into the books, poetry, and legacy of the Nobel Literary Prize winner. We encounter ... Show More
34m 52s