麻豆约拍

John McCarthy is joined by painter Ken Currie to explore the act of encountering our own self-image.

This craving to come face to face with ourselves - to see what we really are at the bottom of our souls, to discover our identity and meaning - is perhaps the work of our lives.

Sometimes pleasurable, occasionally surprising or reassuring, often strangely disconcerting, this act of looking at oneself in a reflective surface is so fundamental in our ongoing assessment of ourselves. It might be just a quick glance to check, "Do I look OK in this jacket? Do I look as tired as I feel?" Or a longer stare to assess the progress of the wrinkles around the eyes or emergence of grey in one's hair.

But sometimes we take a long look. Perhaps at times when we're disconcerted by life - apprehensive, frightened or ill. Then we ask questions like, "Is this what the world sees when it sees me? Is this really me?"

The programme includes readings from works by Angela Carter, Ted Hughes, and Elizabeth Jennings. There's music by Britten, Bill Evans and Debussy. The readers are Michael Lumsden and Chetna Pandya.

Produced by Rosie Boulton
A Whistledown production for 麻豆约拍 Radio 4.