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The Essay Podcast

The Essay

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Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.

The Essay: InterRail Postcards

The Essay: InterRail Postcards: Episode 2: Roma Tearne

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InterRail Postcards

Episode 2

Episode 2: Roma Tearne

Roma Tearne

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Roma Tearne on InterRail travel and her interest in frontiers and national identity.

Sri Lanka-born writer Roma Tearne describes how memories of InterRail travel are inextricably bound up with her interest in frontiers and national identity.

The Inter-rail Pass recently turned 40 and to mark the anniversary, five writers recall personal journeys and explore how new technology and the altered state of Europe have changed student travel forever.

It's just over forty years since the Inter-rail Pass was introduced - restricted to travellers of 21 or younger and covering 21 countries for a month's train travel. 

For the Sri Lankan-born writer Roma Tearne, memories of Inter-rail travel are inextricably bound up with her interest in frontiers and national identity. While she mourns the loss of a true sense of passing from country to country when she travels in Europe today, she has no regrets for her memories of frequently being ordered off trains and interviewed by border guards simply because she was Asian. And she delights in her memory of shaking off the dull travelling companion whom her anxious parents considered a suitable chaperone for a young woman's first adventures in Europe. 

Producer: Beaty Rubens

First broadcast in June 2011.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Series in which writers discuss how new technology has changed student travel forever

As the Inter-rail Pass turns 40, five writers recall personal journeys and explore how the changing shape of Europe and the advent of new technology have changed student travel forever

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