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Leonard Cohen, BalletBoyz, Contemporary war poetry

An archive interview with the late Leonard Cohen, BalletBoyz directors on their WWI dance film Young Men, and Kevin Powers and Daljit Nagra on contemporary war poetry.

With news of the death of Leonard Cohen at the age of 82, we broadcast a rare interview the singer-songwriter did with Front Row in 2007, on a visit to Manchester for the opening of an exhibition of his art.

To mark Armistice Day, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, artistic directors of the all-male dance troupe BalletBoyz, discuss Young Men, the film of their stage production which explores the soldiers' experience of the First World War, and why they felt it was important to shoot the film in the cold, rain and mud on location in northern France.

And poetry from the battlefield. When we use the term 'war poet' we immediately think of WWI but what about verse inspired by more recent conflict? How do contemporary war poets compare to the likes of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke and Isaac Rosenberg? American Iraq War veteran and poet Kevin Powers, and Radio 4's poet-in-residence Daljit Nagra, discuss modern war poetry.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Ella-mai Robey.

Available now

30 minutes

Chapters

  • BalletBoyz

    Duration: 08:35

  • Contemporary War Poetry

    Duration: 07:46

  • Leonard Cohen

    Duration: 09:50

BalletBoyz

BalletBoyz

BalletBoyz, a dance film about a group of young men brought together by the brutality of war, is on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ 2 at 8.30pm on 12 November 2016.

Image: Matthew Rees (Centre) in BalletBoyz

Contemporary War Poetry

Contemporary War Poetry

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Image credits:

Daljit Nagra: Hayley Madden for The Poetry Society

Kevin Powers: Christine Whitney

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Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

Images:

Main image above: , credit Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

Smaller image to the left: Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen'sΜύlatest album: Μύ

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Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Lang
Interviewed Guest Leonard Cohen
Interviewed Guest Michael Nunn
Interviewed Guest William Trevitt
Interviewed Guest Kevin Powers
Interviewed Guest Daljit Nagra
Producer Ella-mai Robey

Broadcast

  • Fri 11 Nov 2016 19:15

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