The Poetry Detective

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Vanessa Kisuule explores the stories behind the poems we carry with us through life.

What's the line of poetry that will live in your head forever? Vanessa Kisuule tells the stories of poems that speak to us so strongly that we return to them again and again.

This is a show about the poems we carry with us. The poems that speak to us so strongly that we return to them in times of confusion, fear, loneliness or joy. Some of us might choose to scribble a couple of lines on a Post It and stick it to the mirror. Some of us mutter them under our breath like a mantra. Some of us ink them permanently into our skin. Some of us find that lines come back to us, unbidden, across the decades - and transport us to another time and place. 

Our Poetry Detective is the writer Vanessa Kisuule. She meets people with a poem that is precious to them, and unfolds the history of the poem. Why does it mean so much to them? Who wrote it and how? What's the story behind how it came to be written? How does it work on us?

The Poetry Detective: Poetry and Care

Poetry and Care

BBC Radio 4 - The Poetry Detective, Poetry and Care

Can a poem be an act of care, or offer respite from it?

A radio show about how poetry sits in our everyday lives. Ep 2/3 Can a poem be an act of care, or at the very least a brief respite from it?

Vanessa Kisuule returns with a new series of The Poetry Detective, a radio show about the poems that go with us through life.

Vanessa meets people with a poem that is precious to them, and then she digs in to the backstory of the poem. Why does it mean so much to them? Who wrote it and why? What's the story behind how it came to be written? How does it work on us?

The many acts of care we exchange are subtle and largely unsung. Care is the invisible thread that keeps the fabric of society from fraying, and yet we overlook the strength it involves to take good care of ourselves and each other, day in and day out. Caring for someone is the ultimate show of love, patience and perseverance, building profound bonds between people. It can also be lonely and frustrating, sometimes placing the carer at the periphery of their own life. Does poetry have anything to offer in this context? Can a poem be an act of care, or at the very least a brief respite from it? 

We meet Kirsteen McNish, a writer and special events curator whose interests are focussed on people, places, and lesser heard stories. She tells us about a poem that has become precious to her: 'Selkie' by the Shetland poet Roseanne Watt, from her collection Moder Dy (Mother Wave). Vanessa gets in touch with Roseanne to ask her about the inspiration behind the poem. Why did the selkie myth appeal to her, and what are the skins that Kirsteen and Roseanne might both wish they could slip out of at times? Can writing itself be an act of care and profound communication between poet and reader?

We speak to stroke-survivor Anna Zvegintzov who is using poetry as an act of self-care and tool of recovery. And we meet two doctors working in intensive care for whom a poem became 'like a hymn'. Jane Hirshfield, the author of that poem - The Weighing - speaks to Vanessa about writing and care. 

Produced in Bristol by Mair Bosworth and Alice McKee for BBC Audio

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