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Front Row: Testament, diversity in nature writing, festivals insurance update

14/04/2021

Testament, diversity in nature writing, festivals insurance update

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Testament, diversity in nature writing, festivals insurance update

Testament on giving the Greek myth of Orpheus a Yorkshire twist.

Testament on giving the Greek myth of Orpheus a Yorkshire twist and we speak to Anita Sethi and Paul Mendez on being nature writers of colour in a predominantly white genre.

Rapper and writer Testament discusses his new work Orpheus in the Record Shop which fuses spoken word and beatboxing with players from the Orchestra of Opera North in an new collaboration that gives the Greek myth of Orpheus a contemporary Yorkshire twist.

Festivals this summer are still in doubt as organisers can't secure insurance commercially. Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, CEO of UK Music, discusses how likely it will be that the government will step in to provide an indemnity. 

British nature writing remains overwhelmingly white, despite its continuing popularity. With the recent establishment of new prizes and literary journals for diversity in nature writing things are starting to change - but slowly. John talks to two authors bucking the trend: Anita Sethi, author of a new memoir called I Belong Here about reclaiming the countryside for people of colour and Paul Mendez, who contributed an essay to the new collection, In the Garden, about the gardens of his Windrush grandparents. 

Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Sarah Johnson
Studio Manager: Bob Nettles and Donald McDonald

Main image: Testament in Orpheus in the Record Shop
Image credit: Anthony Robling

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