Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,940 playable programmes from the BBC

Front Row

Last Flag Flying director, literary fiction in decline, poet Danez Smith

Duration: 30 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW

Available for over a year

Director Richard Linklater discusses his new film Last Flag Flying, starring Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Carell, about three former US servicemen who re-unite in 2003 for a road trip to bury the son of one of the men, killed in the Iraq War.

A recent Arts Council England report into literary fiction shows that sales, advances and prices have slumped over the last 15 years with the average writer earning around £11,000 a year - less than the minimum wage. The Arts Council have responded by pledging more support for authors including possible tax breaks for small publishers. The co-editor of the online magazine Books Brunch Neil Denny, critic Alex Clark and publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove discuss the report's implications for the future of literary fiction.

In a new collection Don't Call Us Dead, young American poet Danez Smith muses on their experiences as a black HIV positive and genderqueer person living in America today.

Presenter: Stig Abell
Producer: Hannah Robins. Show less

Contributors

Presenter:
Stig Abell
Interviewed Guest:
Richard Linklater
Interviewed Guest:
Neil Denny
Interviewed Guest:
Alex Clark
Interviewed Guest:
Sharmaine Lovegrove
Interviewed Guest:
Danez Smith
Producer:
Hannah Robins

About this data

This data is drawn from the data stream that informs BBC's iPlayer and Sounds. The information shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was/is subject to change and may not be accurate. More