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BBC Radio 4 Extra

Poetry Extra

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Weekly opportunity for listeners to revisit the riches of the BBC radio poetry archive

A brand new poetry slot on Radio 4 Extra gives listeners a weekly opportunity to revisit the riches of the BBC radio poetry archive

Poetry Extra: Crazy For Love - Layla and the Mad Poet

15/05/2016

Crazy For Love - Layla and the Mad Poet

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Poetry Extra, Crazy For Love - Layla and the Mad Poet

Daljit Nagra introduces Crazy for Love, one of the greatest Middle East love stories.

4 Extra Debut. Daljit Nagra introduces Crazy for Love, which is about one of the greatest love stories of the Middle East - 'Layla and Majnun'. From September 2010.

BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'Crazy for Love - Layla and the Mad Poet'. 

The inspiration for Eric Clapton's seminal pop song, 'Layla and Majnun' is said to be the most beautiful poem in the Arab world and beyond. 

Pre-empting Romeo and Juliet by centuries, Layla and Majnun is the classic Middle East love story. Sitting at the heart of pre-Islamic Arab culture, its message is universal and it has since crossed borders and transcended language barriers even spreading as far as India and Turkey. 

Based on a tale of thwarted love and poetry sent on the wind, Anthony Sattin tells the tale of its creator - Majnun - whose name is the word for 'mad' or 'crazy' in Arabic and tries to find out if he, or the object of his love, were real or imagined, fact or fiction. 

Producer: Sara Jane Hall. 

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.

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