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Adventures in Poetry

Programme exploring the background, effect and lasting appeal of some well-loved poems

Adventures in Poetry: Series 11

Adventures in Poetry: Series 11: Episode 1: Not Waving but Drowning

Episode 1

Episode 1: Not Waving but Drowning

Series 11

Not Waving but Drowning

BBC Radio 4 - Adventures in Poetry, Series 11, Not Waving but Drowning

Peggy Reynolds opens a new series of Adventures in Poetry with "Not Waving but Drowning".

Peggy Reynolds opens a new series of Adventures in Poetry by asking what it is about Stevie Smith's poem "Not Waving but Drowning" which has kept it relevant since 1957.

"Adventures in Poetry" returns to unpack a new series of classic poems whose lines or images have entered our national consciousness.

This week, presenter Peggy Reynolds asks what it is about Stevie Smith's poem "Not Waving but Drowning" which has kept it relevant since 1957. The phrase itself turns up endlessly in newspapers, both red-tops and broadsheets, and is particularly loved by writers on sports pages - not, you might think, the obvious place to look for soul-searching poetry. But underneath the snappy economy of the first line runs a complex and universal emotional truth, examined here by a Samaritan, a sports writer and Stevie Smith's biographer.

Produced by Christine Hall.

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Peggy Reynolds explores the background, effect and lasting appeal of some well-loved poems

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Series 11

Episode 1: Not Waving but Drowning

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