Poetry Extra: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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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

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Poetry Extra, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Daljit Nagra selects the very best programmes from the BBC's poetry archive.

Daljit Nagra selects Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind featuring poet Alexander Pope. Presented by John Sessions. From 2008.

Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and selects Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind featuring poet Alexander Pope. Presented by John Sessions. 

Actor and writer John Sessions goes in search of his poetical hero Alexander Pope.

His battered copy of Pope's poems in hand, John talks to 21st century poets and satirists, such as Peter Porter and Ian Hislop, about how Pope continues to inspire and influence their work today.

Many of us have quoted Pope without even knowing it.  Phrases such as "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread", "A little learning is a dangerous thing", "To err is human, to forgive divine."  And though they sound like quotes from Shakespeare or the Bible, they were in fact coined by that great 18th century poet and satirist, Alexander Pope.

Pope's work fell out of fashion soon after his death, dismissed as too formal and cerebral. And he's remained unfashionable ever since. But John Sessions argues that behind the formality of Pope's heroic couplets is a passionate and often angry heart.

Pope's belief in the power of the pen meant that he was never afraid to take on the rich and powerful. His ferocious satires, condemning corruption and cultural mediocrity, made him many enemies. In later years, he wouldn't leave his house without two loaded pistols in his pocket and the company of his dog, Bounce.  

Recorded on location in Pope's Grotto in Twickenham and on the site of Pope's preferred coffee house in Covent Garden, John talks to contemporary poets, academics, local historians and fellow Pope aficionados to construct a very personal and affectionate portrait of a famous - but much neglected - poet.

Produced by Emma Harding.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.

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