The power of poetry
Rowan Williams, Jay Bernard, Martin Sixsmith and Kate Clanchy discuss the power of poetry with Andrew Marr.
Rowan Williams celebrates The Book of Taliesin – legendary Welsh poems of enchantment and warfare. The former Archbishop of Canterbury tells Andrew Marr how the collection of poems speak of a lost world of folklore and mythology, and the figure of Taliesin is an elusive and exuberant creative poetic fiction.
Martin Sixsmith tells the extraordinary story of the Russian poet Sergei Yesenin at the turn of the 20th century. Yesenin lived through the most turbulent times in Russian history, and during an age when poets were stars, and millions could recite his works by heart.
The poet Jay Bernard has found inspiration in exploring the black British archive, and the enquiry into the New Cross Fire in 1981 which killed thirteen young people. The poems shine a light on an unacknowledged chapter in British history, and find resonance with the horror of the Grenfell tower fire two years ago.
The poet, writer and teacher, Kate Clanchy has seen first-hand poetry’s unique ability to unleash young voices. At the multicultural school in Oxford where she teaches, students speak 30 languages and poetry has become a vital part of bringing pupils together, giving them pride in their work and allowing them to express the reality of their lives.
Producer: Katy Hickman
Image of Jay Bernard, taken by Joshua Virasami
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Rowan Williams
The Book of Taliesin: Poems of Warfare and Praise in an Enchanted Britain, translated byGwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams is published by Penguin Classics
Martin Sixsmith
An Unquiet Heart is published byΒ Simon & Schuster
Jay Bernard
Surge is published byΒ Chatto & Windus
Kate Clanchy
An anthology of the pupils’ poetry, England: Poems from a School was published by Macmillan in 2018. Her book Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me was published earlier this year.
Broadcasts
- Mon 24 Jun 2019 09:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Mon 24 Jun 2019 21:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Podcast
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