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Alice Oswald's Weather Anthology, What a Carve Up!, Memoir writing

Alice Oswald on her new Weather Anthology; What a Carve Up! from the page to streaming; the art and popularity of memoir writing.

We can't go to the movies for a fix of action now. We can, though, witness spectacle that even the biggest budget blockbusters can't match - by simply going outside into the weather. 'Use should be made of it,' wrote Virginia Woolf. 'One should not let this gigantic cinema play perpetually to an empty house.' The poet Alice Oswald discusses Gigantic Cinema: A Weather Anthology that she's compiled with editor Paul Keegan, capturing writing about the weather, from the deluge in Gilgamesh, the earliest known poem, to 'Billie's Rain' one written a few years ago, about sitting in a van listening as rain hammers on the roof.

Missing the stage? Don鈥檛 despair - three regional theatres just got together to stage a lockdown-proof digital production of Jonathan Coe鈥檚 classic 1994 satirical novel What A Carve Up! They鈥檝e re-imagined it for 2020, and added an all-star cast from Tamzin Outhwaite to Sharon D Clark, with cameos from Stephen Fry and Derek Jacobi. Katie Popperwell reviews.

In recent years, the growing popularity of Life Writing - creative writing based on autobiography or memoir - can be seen across book awards shortlists as well as the sheer number of creative writing courses dedicated to the subject. As the annual Spread the Word Life Writing Prize opens for entries, we talk to judge Frances Wilson about the kind of work the prize is seeking as well as the latest developments in this type of writing. She鈥檒l be joined by Poet and teacher Anthony Anaxagorou, whose book How to Write It - published this month by Stormzy鈥檚 publishing imprint, Merky Books - aims to encourage budding writers to tell their story.

Presenter Ben Bailey Smith
Producer Jerome Weatherald

Available now

28 minutes

Alice Oswald's weather anthology

Alice Oswald's weather anthology
edited by Alice Oswald and Paul Keegan is out now in paperback and as an Ebook.
Main Image: A hurricane seen from space.聽聽Image to the Left: Alice Oswald,聽 image credit: Kate Mount聽

What A Carve Up

What A Carve Up
聽until 29 November 2020.
Image: Alfred Enoch in What a Carve Up! a co-production by Barn Theatre, Lawrence Batley Theatre and New Wolsey Theatre.

Memoir writing

Memoir writing
Find out more about the Life Writing Prize.聽 聽 聽 聽 聽聽
by Anthony Anaxagorou is out now in paperback, as an audio download or Ebook.聽 聽 聽 聽聽聽Image:聽 聽Image credit: Naomi Woddis聽

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  • Wed 4 Nov 2020 19:15

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