Clay
The joys and perils of clay. With Chinese-American writer Huan Hsu, Irish ceramic artist Claire Curneen and British geologist Tim Jones.
It is one of Earth's oldest building materials, a natural seal against water, useful for paper making, medicine and lots of other things. Bridget Kendall and guests discuss clay. Why it is so useful, why so many cultures treasure it but why it can also be a source of serious ill health. Chinese-American writer Huan Hsu explains the importance of porcelain in China, Irish ceramic artist Claire Curneen introduces us to the powerful visual language of clay, and British geologist Tim Jones studies a particular type of clay which causes a debilitating illness affecting millions of people in the developing world.(Photo: Guardian by Claire Curneen. Credit: Dewi Tannatt Lloyd).
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Jingdezhen: a city built on porcelain shards.
Huan Hsu goes shard-hunting in the Chinese porcelain capital. (illustration: Shan Pillay)
Huan Hsu
Huan Hsu’s new book, The Porcelain Thief, documents his travels through China in search of his family’s lost porcelain collection. In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Huan Hsu’s great-great-grandfather Liu's hometown Xingang, Liu was forced to bury his priceless antique pots. Seven decades on Huan embarks on a quest to find them. Huan's award-winning essays and fiction have appeared in Slate, The Literary Review, Seattle Weekly and Washington City Paper. He teaches creative writing at Amsterdam University College.
Claire Curneen
And you can see some of Claire's work in the gallery on the right-hand side of this page
Tim Jones
Broadcast
- Sat 8 Aug 2015 11:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 FM