Salena Godden is an author and poet, whose latest publication declared that Pessimism Is For Lightweights.

Livewire, a collection of studio recordings spanning nearly 25 years, was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award in 2016.

Salena is also a regular on radio and, in 2018, Radio 4’s Mrs Death Misses Death captured the creation of a new experimental work, in which death is personified as a woman.

We hear this documentary, as well as an earlier gender swapping poetic creation titled A Valentine At Waterloo, which broadcast on Radio 4 as part of an episode of Verse Illustrated in 2011.

Finally, Salena talks about protest and hope, and reads the title poem Pessimism Is For Lightweights, from her latest collection for Rough Trade.

Presented and produced by Ali Gardiner for BBC Radio 4 Extra.

First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2019. Show less