Conversations on a Bench

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Anna Scott-Brown hears stories from the people who stop to sit beside her on benches.

Anna Scott-Brown hears stories from the people who stop to sit beside her on benches around the country.

Conversations on a Bench: Leeds

08/03/2020

Leeds

BBC Radio 4 - Conversations on a Bench, Leeds

Zodwa Nyoni's poem reflects stories told to Anna Scott-Brown on a park bench in Leeds.

The Zimbabwean-born, Leeds-raised poet Zodwa Nyoni explores stories of belonging and identity, gathered by Anna Scott-Brown in conversations on a bench in Potternewton Park.

Anna Scott-Brown's conversations and chance encounters on a bench in Potternewton Park, Leeds provide the context for Zodwa Nyoni's specially commissioned poem.

Meeting visitors of the Leeds West Indian Carnival, whose home is this very park, along with established and new residents of Leeds' Chapeltown area, Anna uncovers stories of displacement and belonging, of shared space and shared humanity. There emerges a picture of what makes Potternewton distinctive - as well as how it has changed over the years. 
 
The importance of music, heritage and food comes to the fore, alongside racial tensions of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, with experiences of bias that still exists today. The Windrush scandal provides a contrast to the celebration of the West Indian Carnival, and the shocking death of David Oluwale in 1969 following serial police victimisation sits alongside historical accounts of police brutality suffered in this area.

Poet Zodwa Nyoni deftly interweaves her own rhythms into the stories and celebrates the beauty and vitality of this space and its people.
 
Poet: Zodwa Nyoni
Reporter: Anna Scott-Brown
Producer: Philippa Geering
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4

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