Podcast appearances and mentions of Owen Sheers

Ian McMillan is joined by poets and poetry lovers for this celebration of language recorded at this year's Hay Festival. The actor, Harry Potter star, Dickens virtuoso and national treasure Miriam Margolyes shares one of her favourite poems, the 19th century poet Robert Browning's 'My Last Duchess'. Miriam invites listeners to imagine the Duke, who is the speaker in the poem, as being like 'Hannibal Lecter' from 'The Silence of the Lambs' - a good planner, who has killed his wife.Irish novelist Kevin Barry has written three novels and four collections of short stories - a master of dialogue, and a beloved voice in the New Yorker magazine. He explores the poetry of the language in his most recent novel 'A Heart in Winter'.Gwenno has won awards and acclaim for her haunting and groundbreaking song-writing and performances. Gwenno's albums Le Kov and Tresor are in Cornish (she has a Welsh mother and a Cornish father). She joins Ian to share her love of the Welsh artist and poet Edrica Huws, who achieved fame late in life as a visual artist. Her poem 'Vingt-et-un' has stayed with Gwenno, and she explains why Edrica is a creative inspiration.The poet Owen Sheers explores a poem with a stand-out line (what we call on The Verb the 'Neon Line'). This week the poem explored is 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' by the Irish poet W.B. Yeats. Is it the 'bee-loud glade' that has caught Owen's attention, or something else? Ian finds out. Owen has an acute ear for language, with writing often inspired by his interviews with real people, for books like 'The Green Hollow'.

Ian McMillan discusses the enduring appeal of the novel and explores how poetry and prose can collide to create a new kind of language; with Jacqueline Crooks, whose debut novel 'Fire Rush' is a tale of music and parties and love and life in late 1970s and 80s London; Liv Little, founder and former CEO of Gal-dem, a sadly now defunct online and print magazine run by women of colour, whose first book 'Rosewater' is an exploration of how it is to live a creative life in London when time and money and history all seem to conspire against you; Lemara Lindsay-Prince, the senior commissioning editor of Merky Books, the publishing house set up by rapper and grime artist Stormzy to nurture under-represented and marginalised writers; and poet, film-maker and dramatist Owen Sheers.

What if we educated young people in how to change the world?Black Mountains College is the world's first college dedicated to the climate crisis. The inaugural Bachelors, Sustainability: Arts, Ecology and Systems Change launches this September, aiming to educate young people in how to navigate the polycrisis, and how to steer us to safety. Set in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, BMC focuses on the challenge of our times: how to build a fair and just society within safe planetary boundaries.Owen Sheers, the college co-founder joins me to discuss the college and its aims. Owen is a writer and professor in creative practice at Swansea University. Along with his co-founder, Ben Rawlence, they've put creativity and systems thinking at the heart of this educational experiment, firmly believing that unlocking the imagination of young people—along with teaching them the connectivity and complexity of the natural world—will give our future leaders the knowledge and ideas we need to implement to build a better world.“The climate crisis, the ecological crisis, is a wicked problem. You can't address it by following a single discipline, it's entirely interrelated, and our learning in the face of it has to be as well. This isn't going to work if we stay within our silos.”Planet: Critical investigates why the world is in crisis—and what to do about it. Support the project with a paid subscription.© Rachel Donald Get full access to Planet: Critical at www.planetcritical.com/subscribe

In the fourth episode of the Church Times Poetry Podcast for Lent, Mark Oakley reflects on “Winter Swans” by Owen Sheers, published in his collection Skirrid Hill (Seren Books, 2005). “Those with a religious belief are as human as everyone else,” Mark says. “They live with the ebb and flow of the heart, as well as the pain of what the past is up to in the present. "Deep within the heart of Christian faith, though, is the belief that human beings were made for relationship, and that, although many things work against this — past traumas, present stresses, future doubts — it is an elemental part of the human adventure to seek to place our relationships in good order, integrated with honesty, freedom, and mutual concern.” Canon Mark Oakley is the Dean of St John's College, Cambridge. His book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press) won the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Artwork by Emily Noyce Producer: Ed Thornton Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

Michael Winterbottom discusses writing and directing a SKY TV drama, This England, starring Kenneth Branagh as Boris Johnson during his tumultuous first months as Prime Minister and the first wave of the COVID pandemic. GALWAD, an ambitious, multiplatform arts project set in Wales, imagines what it would be like if we could receive messages from people living in 2052. Audiences can follow the story as it unfolds across the week, both online and on social media, and watch a broadcast of the whole event on Sky Arts. The lead producer Claire Doherty and lead writer Owen Sheers, explain why they wanted to push the boundaries of storytelling. The literary critic John Mullan and the novelist Katherine Rundell discuss the life and work of Hilary Mantel.

Suzan-Lori Parks, the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on her play White Noise, which has its the UK premier tonight. Life is not so bad for four liberal friends, two couples, black with a white partner, until Leo has a run in with the cops and it all begins to unravel. The poet, playwright, and novelist, Owen Sheers, has written a new BBC One drama, The Trick. He talks to Samira about exploring what became known in 2009 as Climategate, when the emails of Professor Philip Jones, Director of the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University, were hacked and doubt cast on the research into climate change. For Front Row's regular Tuesday Arts Audit today we're exploring ongoing debates around the questionable provenance of artefacts housed in some of the world's most famous museums with Malia Politzer from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and Alexander Herman, Assistant Director of the Institute of Art and Law. How can broadening the representation of scientists on the page, screen and stage drive diversity among scientists and increase public trust in science itself? Andrea Sella, broadcaster and professor of chemistry at University College London and award-winning debut novelist Temi Oh join Samira live in the studio on Radio 4's Day of the Scientist. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Kirsty McQuire

Coming Home By Owen Sheers

This episode we speak to some of the creatives behind Pink Mist by Owen Sheers. We speak to  Co- Directors, Nigel Cole and Gita Singham-Willis together with Mike Elgey (Lighting) and Harry Jacobs (Sound) on the unique challenges of putting on this production and how this amazing piece came together.

Owen Sheers, author, poet and playwright and Professor in Creativity at Swansea University, reveals his selection of ten inspiring writers asking the questions that will shape our future, as part of the International Literature Showcase. In this conversation with award-winning jouranlist Chitra Ramaswamy you'll discover the details of Owen's list, including his introduction to each writer and the reasons why he finds their work to be so important – spanning topics including the environment, structural inequality and the role of a writer at times of transition and change. What role can writers play in shaping a more just world, and how do we ensure that we don't go back to ‘business as usual' after such a catastrophic event? The ILS is a partnership project between the National Centre for Writing and British Council, supported by Arts Council England and Creative Scotland. Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Find out more about the International Literature Showcase: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ils Check out everything we do: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk Music by Bennet Maples.

The bestselling children’s book series The Snow Spider has been adapted for TV by award-winning writer, poet and playwright Owen Sheers. It is a fantasy drama that follows nine-year-old Gwyn as he discovers his magical powers and his family connection to the Welsh myths of the Mabinogion. Owen tells us how he adapted a much-loved classic. Booker longlisted author Nikita Lalwani discusses her new novel You People, which tells the story of a London pizzeria that employs and supports refugees and illegal immigrants. But what happens when moral decisions are left at the hands of a man beyond the law? Nikita reveals the inspiration behind the story and her research into the refugee crisis and Britain’s hostile environment. With book festivals cancelled, Amazon book stocks about to run out and self-employed authors facing difficult financial circumstances, book publicist Georgina Moore joins us to discuss how the literary world is adapting to the challenges of Coronavirus. Looking for a creative project while self-isolating? Writers Nikita Lalwani and Owen Sheers give us a masterclass in how to write a novel. As well as being award-winning authors, Nikita and Owen also teach creative writing – Nikita is a Senior Lecturer on the MA Creative Writing course at Royal Holloway and Owen is a Professor in Creativity at Swansea University. Presenter: Shahidha Bari Producer: Edwina Pitman and Lucy Wai Main image: Fflynn Edwards as Gwyn Griffiths in The Snow Spider Image credit: Leopard Pictures

Jon Gower, writer and keen walker of the Welsh mountains, explores the unique characteristics of each of Wales's five ranges and reflects on what they mean to the people who live among them. For many people, Wales is synonymous with its mountains. They occupy a unique place in the country's ancient mythology, its history and its culture, defining who rules the country, who lives in it, and how they survive. But each of the mountain ranges of Wales has its own unique character. In this series of The Essay, Jon Gower paints a detailed portrait of the landscape of these higher places, and in doing so, explores how they've shaped the country's psyche. In ‘The Black Mountains', Jon looks at the way these hills, benign and balmy on some occasions, at others beset by fierce weather, have attracted writers and poets to it like a honeypot, from Owen Sheers to Jan Morris: just as Ordnance Survey maps are covered in contour lines, so too is the landscape around here seemingly covered in lines, of poetry. Producer: Megan Jones for BBC Cymru Wales

Jon Gower, writer and keen walker of the Welsh mountains, explores the unique characteristics of each of Wales' five ranges and reflects on what they mean to the people who live among them. For many people, Wales is synonymous with its mountains. They occupy a unique place in the country's ancient mythology, its history and its culture, defining who rules the country, who lives in it, and how they survive. But each of the mountain ranges of Wales has its own unique character. In this series of The Essay, Jon Gower paints a detailed portrait of the landscape of these higher places, and in doing so, explores how they've shaped the country's psyche. In the first essay Jon considers Snowdonia as a place of refuge, from the Welsh princes that built their castles here to take advantage of the natural defensive system, to the rare plants finding sanctuary on almost unscalable ledges. In ‘The Black Mountains', Jon looks at the way these hills, benign and balmy on some occasions, at others beset by fierce weather, have attracted writers and poets to it like a honeypot, from Owen Sheers to Jan Morris: just as Ordnance Survey maps are covered in contour lines, so too is the landscape around here seemingly covered in lines, of poetry. Jon sees the Brecon Beacons as being all about water - from their formation by gargantuan glaciers, rumbling slowly across the land gouging valleys and shuffling rocks ever onward, to the many waterfalls tumbling into space. The most remarkable of these is Sgwd yr Eira, the ‘fall of snow', a veritable avalanche of spume and rush where you can actually walk behind the curtain of water. In his essay on Epynt, Jon reflects on a landscape that offers meagre grazing for animals, dotted with small ponds and peat bogs, and which remains haunted by the eviction of many inhabitants by the War Office in 1939. Given over to military training, the scything of wind through the tough grasses is for most of the year punctuated by the sound of mortar fire, anti-tank weaponry and machine guns. And in ‘The Preseli Mountains', Jon explores the most mystical range of mountains, which are barely mountains, though the highest of them, Foel Cwmcerwyn, stands tall and sentinel enough to have guided the sailors of west Wales safely to shore. On a clear day you can see not only the patterned field tapestries of Pembrokeshire – shot through with the gold threads of gorse hedges – but also nine other Welsh counties, and the charcoal edge of Ireland across the sea. Producer: Megan Jones for BBC Cymru Wales

This is the Writers’ Rebellion: Are You Here For This? The Extinction Rebellion Podcast is back to normal length; with an episode perfect to kick back to during the post rebellion regenerative period. It features a feast of stories and poems from the Writers' Marathon in Trafalgar Square, London (on the 11th of October, 2019). From Salena Goddens’ call to action, to Philip Hoare’s face-to-face encounter with a whale, Owen Sheers' poem to his daughter in the womb, to Natasha Walter and Tom Bollough’s recollections of being arrested for Extinction Rebellion. Oh, and there is also an interview with Booker Prize co-winner, and author of "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Testaments", Margaret Atwood. Other writers featured in this episode include: Ali Smith, Naomi Alderman, Anjali Joseph, Irenosen Okojie, Robert Macfarlane, Romesh Gunesekera, Simon Schama, and comperes Simon McBurney and AL Kennedy. Extinction Rebellion has three demands. 1) Tell the Truth - Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change. 2) Act Now - Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. 3) Beyond Politics - Government must create and be led by the decision of a Citizens' Assembly on climate and ecological justice. Producer / Presenter: Jessica Townsend Editor / Sound Engineer : Lucy Evans Social Media: Barney Weston

We chat about Loserville. Bare. West End Eurovision. Pink Mist. Unicorn’s Almost. Laines. Jersey Boys. Mamma Mia. Present Laughter. Old Vic. Central. Army At the Fringe. Bristol Old Vic. Homos or Everyone In America. Ashley Luke Lloyd. Duncan Leighton. Robbie Boyle. Dale Evans. Michael Vincent. Ross William Wilde. Owen Sheers. John Retallack. Tyrone Huntley. Harry McEntire. Josh Seymour.

Owen Sheers talks about his novel I Saw A Man with James Naughtie and a group of readers at the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea. After the sudden loss of his wife, Michael Turner moves from Wales to London to start again. Living on a quiet street in Hampstead, he develops a close bond with the Nelson family next door: Josh, Samantha and their two young daughters. The friendship between Michael and the Nelsons at first seems to offer the prospect of healing, and then one Saturday afternoon in June 2008 Michael steps through the Nelsons’ back door, thinking their house is empty and everything changes. Meanwhile thousands of miles away, just outside of Las Vegas, a man is setting in motion a change of events which eventually come to puncture life on that Hampstead Street. And Michael finds himself bearing the burden of grief and a secret. Presenter : James Naughtie Producer : Dymphna Flynn September's Bookclub Choice : The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (2011)

Gail Honeyman talks about her novel Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine which won the 2017 Costa First Novel Award and has been a runaway success since. Gail was inspired to write her debut novel after reading an article in which a young woman described her lonely life. On the outside, her life was a success, with her own flat and a good job but the reality was she often went home on Friday evening and returned to work on Monday morning without speaking to a soul all weekend. Gail created her own version of this story with the character Eleanor Oliphant, who leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend. She speaks to her mother every Wednesday evening on the phone. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. One simple act of kindness shatters the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Gail describes how Eleanor becomes the agent of her own destiny and the change, learning how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted - while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she's avoided all her life. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a heartwarming story about loneliness, loss and the possibility of change. Presenter : James Naughtie Producer : Dymphna Flynn August's Bookclub choice : I Saw A Man by Owen Sheers (2015)

They say that everyone has a book in them. But not everyone manages to write it. The Rathbones Folio Sessions 'How To Write a Book in a Day' took place on 19 May 2019 at the British Library, and gathered some of the best writers at work today, to discuss the joys and pitfalls of their practice and process. The all-day sessions were chaired by writer, performer and comedienne A.L. Kennedy.    Part Three: The End features Carys Davies, Raymond Antrobus and Owen Sheers. 

This New Writing North podcast was recorded at Durham Book Festival 2018. In this episode poet, author and playwright, Owen Sheers talks to Professor Stephen Regan about The Green Hollow, his moving and beautifully rendered film poem about the 1966 Aberfan mining disaster. The two discuss the way the disaster affected the community of Aberfan, and how it created a ‘radical culture of the betrayed.’ Durham Book Festival is commissioned by Durham County Council and produced by New Writing North. Find out more about the festival at durhambookfestival.com.

This podcast features composer Owen Roberts who is part of the creative team behind concluding work in the 14-18 NOW season - the UK's cultural commemoration of the WW1 centenary. Owen has composed the music that accompanies an immersive theatrical experience in Swansea 'Now the Hero'. The production opens the Swansea International Festival on 29th September. Owen Roberts has joined forces with Welsh artist Marc Rees, writer Owen Sheers and the choir Polyphony to create and perform Now the Hero. In this podcast - recorded at the Southbank Centre on Monday 10 September - Owen discusses who and what inspired him to compose, his training at Durham University, and his work with the late award-winning composer Johann Johannsson. For more of Owen's work, follow him on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/owenrobertsounds) or [Soundcloud](https://soundcloud.com/owenroberts-1).  'Now the Hero' is supported by the Welsh Government, Arts Council Wales, the Taliesin, National Lottery Fund, Swansea Council, Swansea University and Colwinston Charitable Trust.

Owen Sheers is a novelist, poet and playwright. Here he recites a poem written for his daughters. His BAFTA and Grierson nominated film-poem, 'The Green Hollow' has recently been published by Faber, who in July 2018 will also be publishing his forthcoming BBC film-poem to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS, 'To Provide All People'. His one man play 'Unicorns, almost', about the life and poetry of WWII poet Keith Douglas, will be produced by The Story of Books in Hay-on-Wye during this year’s Hay Festival of Literature in May. ‘I Saw A Man’ was published by Faber in June 2015. He is Professor in Creativity at Swansea University. A stage version of Owen’s verse drama 'Pink Mist' premiered at Bristol Old Vic in July 2015. 5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each. Learn more about 5x15 events: http://5x15stories.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/5x15stories

In 2017 the Hay Festival turned 30 and it also marked the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. To commemorate both of these events the Hay Festival invited a series of leading writers to imagine a different world in conversations, lectures and essays called the 30 Reformations. We spoke to 3 of the authors: Dr Peter Frankopan- a leading historian and author of The Silk Road; Owen Sheers – a poet, playwright and author from Wales; and Tahmima Anam - the author of The Bengal Trilogy. We asked them to tell us about their chosen ‘reformation’. To find out more about Hay Festival visit http://www.hayfestival.org or follow the festival on Twitter @hayfestival. Find out more: https://literature.britishcouncil.org/blog/2017/hay-festival-2017-podcast-30-years-of-the-festival-and-30-reformations-by-authors

Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by Owen Sheers, Jatinder Verma, James Brown and Eline Van Der Velden for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Omar and John Shuttleworth. Producer: Sukey Firth.

Artes Mundi was established in 2003 as a biennial contemporary visual arts initiative - the poet, author and playwright Owen Sheers and Catherine Fletcher, historian and New Generation Thinker, report back on the exhibition opening in Cardiff this week with work by the chosen artists including Britain's John Akomfrah, Nástio Mosquito and Bedwyr Williams.Amitav Ghosh argues that fiction writers need to be bolder in tackling the big themes of today's world and why thinking about Climate Change is proving a challenge.Harriet Walter has played Brutus and the King in Phyllida Lloyd's all-female Shakespeare productions of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and Henry IV; now she takes on Prospero in The Tempest. She talks to Anne McElvoy about giving herself permission to take on roles still normally given to men and the never-ending wonder of Shakespearian verse as the entire trilogy opens in London.Plus - ahead of the American Presidential election, New Generation Thinker and historian, Ed Richardson pops up with the mesmerising story of how Hillary Clinton is very far from being the first ever female Presidential candidate.Artes Mundi 7 runs at the National MuseumWales: Cardiff 21.10.16 – 26.02.17The Shakespeare Trilogy: The Tempest, Henry IV and Julius Caesar are at the Donmar's King's Cross Theatre in London Sept 23rd - 17th December 2016Harriet Walter's book: 'Brutus and Other Heroines: Playing Shakespeare's Roles for Women'Amitav Ghosh 'The Great Derangement: Climate Change and Thinking the Unthinkable'.Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Da ist sie, die zweite Folge von Papierstau. Besprochen wird heute „Fahrenheit 451“ von Ray Bradbury, „Rheinsberg – Ein Bilderbuch für Verliebte“ von Kurt Tucholsky und „I saw a Man“ von Owen Sheers. Des Weiteren merkt man uns die Hitze nur dezent an und wir steigern unsere Chancen, bei Itunes den „Explicit“ – Button zu ergattern. Viel Spaß!

Owen Sheers' career as a poet began aged 10, when he won a competition at Abergavenny Show for a poem in which he found a rhyme for "orange" - a mountain in the Brecon Beacons called the Blorenge. He says: "I won 50p and thought, 'there's money in this poetry game'. I've since been proved wrong." He persisted with the poetry, publishing his first volume fresh out of university, and rapidly becoming one of Britain's most successful poets, as well as writing prolifically for theatre, television and radio and enjoying great success as a novelist - his latest book I Saw a Man was published earlier this year. Owen Sheers is a writer who likes to get away from his desk, and he tells Michael about his delight at being Artist in Residence at the Welsh Rugby Union, and about his collaboration with composer Mark Bowden, which took him to Cern's Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. He has chosen music from Haydn's Creation, one of Bach's Celllo Suites (which features in his first novel), music by Keith Jarrett and a favourite Welsh folk song. Producer: Jane Greenwood A Loftus Production for BBC Radio 3.

Damian talks to Owen Sheers about his thrilling new novel I Saw A Man. Recorded live at Mondrian London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Start the Week is at the Hay Festival for a discussion about what has made homo sapiens so successful. The historian Yuval Noah Harari looks back a hundred thousand years ago when at least six human species inhabited the earth and explores why only one came to dominate. Science was a key breakthrough and Beth Shapiro pushes at the limits of knowledge with her book on how to clone a mammoth. The writer Colm Tóibín reveals how much he owes past writers in his introduction to the enigmatic American poet, Elizabeth Bishop, while Owen Sheers explores the themes of loss and redemption in his latest novel. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Owen Sheers' novel I Saw A Man deals with loss, grief, guilt and attempted redemption Japanese director Yukio Ninagawa has directed Hamlet 8 times. His latest production is playing at The Barbican in London - how well does this 17th Century English play transfer to a setting in 19th Century Japan? Manchester has a brand new arts centre: Home. What will it add to to Manchester's vibrant arts scene? Francois Ozon's film The New Girlfriend is based on a Ruth Rendell novel. How does the cross-dressing of the main character - a young widower - affect his friends, male and female? Dan Snow presents Armada, 12 Days To Save England on BBC2; taking a fresh modern look at the great Elizabethan sea battle - the reasons as well as the results.

In the last regular podcast to feature the founder host of the Scottish Poetry Library podcast, Ryan Van Winkle looks back at some of his favourite interviews since he started the podcast in 2008 as part of his Reader in Residence position at the SPL. Featuring Robert Pinsky, Caroline Bird, Sarah Broom, Owen Sheers, Jed Milroy, Matthew Zapruder, Jane Hirshfield, Golan Haji, Sabreen Khadim, Krystelle Bamford, John Glenday, Mark Doty, Paula Meehan, Adam Zagajewski and Mary Ruefle. This podcast was produced by Colin Fraser @kailworm and presented by Ryan Van Winkle @rvwable of Culture Laser Productions http://www.culturelaser.com @culturelaser

The Booker prize winning novelist Pat Barker, author of the Regeneration Trilogy on the subject of the First World War, and the poet Owen Sheers discuss writers', musicians' and painters' responses to war including the work of Keith Douglas, UA Fanthorpe, David Jones, Alun Lewis and the paintings of CW Nevinson. The reader is Samuel West. This programme was recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of the BBC Proms. To find out further information about the events which are free to attended go to bbc.co.uk/proms

Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by agony aunt Irma Kurtz. 10 year old blogger Harry Hamer talks about missing his grandparents when they moved abroad, Jean Singfield describes why a set of rosary beads are the Thing About Her, Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark reveals her secret love of tapestry, author Stephen Armstrong celebrates Ibiza, comedian Jack Whitehall shares his Inheritance Tracks, and veteran servicemen Darren 'Swifty' Swift discusses his reinvention as an actor, and listeners Sally, Liz and Jacqui, say 'thank you' for a past kindness large or small.Irma Kurtz reflects on 40 years of dispensing advice, why being a grandmother is so great, why she's ended up without that special soulmate and her new book 'My Life In Agony'.Journalist Kirsty Wark tells JP Devlin how she inherited a love of tapestry from her mother. Kirsty's new novel is 'The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle'.Stephen Armstrong explains why Ibiza has always been the place to party. He's currently updating his book about Ibiza 'The White Island'.For his Inheritance Tracks Jack Whitehall chooses plainchant from the Monks of Ampleforth Abbey and Rollin' by Limp Bizkit. He and his father Michael have written a book called 'Him and Me'.Former servicemen Darren 'Swifty' Swift charts his journey from military service to the stage. He's currently appearing in Owen Sheers' play 'The Two Worlds of Charlie F' which is touring the UK. Producer: Maire Devine.

Libby Purves is joined by engineer Sam Etherington; Royal Marine turned actor Cassidy Little; ceramicist Emma Bridgewater and anthropologist and writer Professor Merry 'Corky' White. Sam Etherington recently joined Britain's engineering Hall of Fame for his pioneering work on wave energy. The 24-year-old engineer follows in the footsteps of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, George Stephenson, Barnes Wallace and other great British engineers. Sam came up with his design for a multi-axis wave converter after being buffeted by waves while out kitesurfing. Cassidy Little is a former Royal Marine turned actor. He plays the title role in Owen Sheers's play, The Two Worlds of Charlie F, which tells the story of modern warfare from a soldier's perspective. Cassidy studied performance and dance in the US before joining 42 Commando Royal Marines. It was while serving on his second tour in Afghanistan in 2011 that he lost a leg in an IED blast. The Two Worlds of Charlie F is touring the UK. Emma Bridgewater is a pottery designer who founded her ceramics company in Stoke-on-Trent in 1985. Her book, Toast and Marmalade and Other Stories, tells the personal stories behind her pieces - she is known for her quintessentially British designs such as trailing sweet peas, blue hens, tumbling roses, plump figs and black toast. Today the business remains committed to the manufacture of British pottery. Toast and Marmalade and Other Stories is published by Saltyard Books. Merry 'Corky' White is professor of anthropology at Boston University. Her book, Cooking for Crowds, celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new edition. Corky was a student and single parent when she started catering for Harvard academics to earn money in 1970. Every week she catered one or two dinners for 25 and one lunch for 50. She credits Julia Child with saving her from her early kitchen nightmares. Cooking for Crowds is published by Princeton University Press. Producer: Paula McGinley.

The idea of a nation coming into being: in the track and weave of an oval ball. Owen Sheers' new sound poem explores the complex, often difficult relationship between rugby and modern Welsh identity. "Re: Union" fuses the violent, lyrical soundscape of Welsh rugby and its culture with a meditation on the social, historical and cultural signifiers of the national sport. A collaboration between between radio producer Steven Rajam and Welsh writer Owen Sheers, this new radio poem explores the complex, often difficult, links between modern Welsh identity and rugby union, Wales' national sport. Sheers' new poem is told from the perspective of a young rugby player, about to make his debut for Wales. As he makes the mental and physical journey from the training pitch to the national stadium, he reflects on the experiences, the people and the deeply-knotted histories that have led him to the threshold of that hallowed first cap. Realised for the radio by Steven Rajam, the poem is woven around the sounds and sensations of a real international matchday: the violence of the training pitch, the crowds thronging to the centre of Cardiff, the intensity of the stadium - and much more. Complementing the young player's story are contributions from social historians, the groundsman at the Millennium Stadium, a player turned acclaimed poet, and 7-year-old superfans Dylan and Alfie - who show us how real Welsh rugby should be played - with a team of their teddies. Voiced by Scott Arthur, and featuring contributions from Peter Stead, Ceri Wyn Jones and Martin Johnes.

Richard Coles and Suzy Klein with poet Owen Sheers, Guantanamo artist Molly Crabapple, South Seas travellers Rosemary and Douglas Hadfield, 17 year old Lauren who found herself without a home, Elisa Berry who found herself looking after JFK's nieces on the day he was assassinated, and actor Mat Horne's Inheritance Tracks.Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Libby Purves meets poet and playwright Owen Sheers; Stephen Grady, a former member of the French Resistance; musical star Michael Ball and brewer Ffion Jones. Owen Sheers is a poet, author and playwright. In 2012 he spent a year as artist-in-residence for the Welsh Rugby Union. His book, Calon - A Journey to the Heart of Welsh Rugby, uses his unprecedented access to players and coaching staff to discover what drives a Welsh rugby player. Calon - A Journey to the Heart of Welsh Rugby is published by Faber and Faber. Stephen Grady was 14 and living in Northern France when the Second World War began. His English father worked for the Imperial War Graves Commission. At 16, Stephen was recruited by the French Resistance and took part in a series of daring missions for which he was later awarded the Croix de Guerre. His memoir, Gardens of Stone - My boyhood in the French Resistance, is published by Hodder and Stoughton. Michael Ball is one of Britain's leading musical stars in the West End and on Broadway. He recently appeared in the title role of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He donned a fat suit to play Edna Turnbald in Hairspray for which he won a Laurence Olivier Award. His new album Both Sides Now is released on Union Square Music. Ffion Jones has just been appointed the first female brewer at SA Brain brewery in Cardiff. The company was founded by Samuel Arthur Brain and his uncle Joseph Benjamin Brain in 1882. After passing her exams earlier this year, Ffion has just brewed her first beer - a braggot flavoured with honey and spices. Producer: Paula McGinley.

Dawn French talks about her latest novel Oh Dear Silvia. Authors CJ Sansom and Owen Sheers look at why the Second World War era appeals to the writer's imagination. And Ian Sansom discusses Paper: An Elegy, his book exploring our relationship with paper.

With John Wilson. Author Eoin Colfer reveals the reason that he decided to put an end to the saga of his best-selling hero Artemis Fowl, despite his publisher's wishes. Tonight is the start of the BBC Proms 2012 - but what's it like being a world-class classical soloist? Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, violinist Maxim Vengerov and trumpeter Alison Balsom reveal some of the pressures they face, and Colin Lawson, director of the Royal College of Music, discusses whether students can be prepared for life on the international stage. To mark the 250th anniversary of the coup d'état which placed Catherine the Great on the Russian throne, the National Museum of Scotland is holding an exhibition exploring how she used artworks to express her power. Dr Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, explains what the collection tells us about Catherine herself. John revisits Afghan war veterans Rifleman Daniel Shaw and Sapper Lyndon Chatting-Walters, as they prepare to go on tour with Owen Sheers' play The Two Worlds of Charlie F. John first met them in rehearsal, and they now reflect on their stage nerves and their readiness to take to the road. Producer Ellie Bury.

From Dickens’ London to Wordsworth’s Lakes via the painter George Shaw’s suburban “edgelands”, the British landscape has long permeated writing and visual art. On the opening of the British Library’s exhibition Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands, Jan Dalley talks to the poet Owen Sheers; the exhibition’s curator Jamie Andrews; and FT art critic Jackie Wullschlager. The travel writer Robert Macfarlane is on the line. Plus, Faber's 1998 recording of Harold Pinter reading his poem “Joseph Brearley 1909-1977” © Faber & Faber Produced by Griselda Murray Brown See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dylan Thomas, arguably Wales's most famous poet, comes under scrutiny on Great Lives. A man famous both for his linguistic exuberance and his chaotic, alcohol-fuelled private life, Dylan Thomas is proposed by another Welsh poet in a specially recorded programme at Bristol's More Than Words Listening Festival. Owen Sheers is one of Britain's brightest young writers and the author of Resistance, and he is keen to bust some myths about his fellow Welshman's reputation. Joining him on stage is presenter Matthew Parris along with Damian Walford-Davies of Aberystwyth University. The programme includes archive recordings of Dylan Thomas's famous voice, and also Richard Burton reading the opening of Under Milk Wood. The producer is Miles Warde.

With John Wilson Soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq are starring in The Two Worlds of Charlie F, a play in London's West End written by the poet Owen Sheers and inspired by the soldiers' own stories. John Wilson talks to Rifleman Daniel Shaw, a soldier in the Infantry who lost both legs in Afghanistan, Sapper Lyndon Chatting-Walters, a combat engineer who suffered serious spinal injury in Afghanistan and to Owen Sheers. Blues Singer and Radio 2 presenter Paul Jones pays tribute to the singer Etta James whose powerful and evocative voice has inspired audiences and singers alike, most recently Adele and Amy Winehouse cited her as an influence. Award-winning TV documentary maker Norma Percy discusses her latest project - Putin, Russia and the West - which began last night. Vladimir Putin, current Prime Minister of Russia, is the focus of the four-part series, which includes interviews with members of Putin's inner circle as well as leading figures from the West, including Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, and Tony Blair's former Chief of Staff, Jonathan Powell. Placido Domingo and Joyce DiDonato are starring at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in The Enchanted Island - an opera inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest and featuring the lovers from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The British composer and director Jeremy Sams has created the piece using original Baroque arias by Handel, Vivaldi and Rameau. David D'arcy reviews. Producer Erin Riley.

With Kirsty Lang The Riots, a new play by Gillian Slovo, draws on 55 hours of interviews with people who were involved in the disturbances earlier this year, ranging from policemen to the rioters themselves. She reflects on whether theatre can help to uncover the truth behind the unrest. A sound designer won the prize for Best Design at last night's Evening Standard Theatre Awards, winning against three set designers. Adam Cork discusses the soundscapes he created for productions including Derek Jacobi's King Lear. Resistance is a new film based on a novel by Owen Sheers, which imagines that Britain is under Nazi occupation. In a Welsh valley, the farmers' wives wake up one morning in 1944 to discover that all their men have disappeared. Mark Eccleston reviews. Oliver Messel was perhaps the most celebrated theatrical designer Britain has ever produced. His white-on-white design in 1932 for Helen, an updating of Offenbach's operetta, caused a sensation not just on stage but in the world of fashionable society, when people began painting their walls white - a previously unused colour in interior design. Thomas Messel, Oliver's nephew, has edited the first-ever study of Messel's complete work and explains why his uncle's approach was so new. Producer: Lisa Davis.

Owen Sheers is in Worcestershire to learn about the Druidic custom of gathering in the mistletoe. Each year it is harvested and blessed at the Mistletoe Festival in the town of Tenbury Wells. Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Author and poet Owen Sheers visits South Wales, the setting for his book Resistance, which was inspired by the tales he heard growing up of a secret rural army trained to hold off a potential German invasion during the second world war. Owen meets one of the last surviving members of the rural auxiliary unit and speaks to some of the people who had no idea that members of their family were highly trained to move silently through the surrounding countryside, ensuring it became a difficult and hostile environment for the German army to infiltrate. Finally Owen heads underground into one of the secret bunkers, where ammunition was hidden in the Monmouthshire countryside.

In our anniversary edition we look back on the podcasts we've produced over 52 episodes. Featuring a few excerpts from the past year including the Itinerant Poetry Librarian at StAnza, Kim Edgar's musical response to John Glenday, Owen Sheers, Kei Miller, Kapka Kassabova and David O'Docherty. We also feature a brand new Halloween track - the Erlking - by a great friend of the Forest and the podcast, White Heath. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Poets Guide to Britain presenter Owen Sheers visited the Scottish Poetry Library recently to talk about his critically acclaimed TV series and its accompanying book. In the first of our two acts we feature an excerpt from the event where Owen discusses landscape poetry, verse on film and the problems of the poetic persona. In act two, Ryan manages to extract some unusual facts from Owen's past. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Follow us on Twitter: @anonpoetry & @byleaveswelive. Mail us: splpodcast@gmail.com