ABC Radio National Books and Drama newsletter

31 October - 7 November 2008


POETICA
1/11/2008 15:00
6/11/2008 15:45
Beowulf Part 1
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/poetica/stories/2008/2376702.htm
A new translation of the famous Anglo-Saxon classic.
Villains, warriors and monsters are encountered in the epic story of the young hero, Beowulf. Loyalty, compassion and courage are the virtues he displays.
Felix Nobis, translator and narrator, brings an ancient classic to life with his words and performance, enhanced by the music of Bart Walus and a great cast.


LINGUA FRANCA
1/11/2008 15:45
6/11/2008 15:45
'Save the Last Word' project
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/linguafranca/stories/2008/2405612.htm
Collins, the dictionary publishers, have a project underway to see whether 24 obsolete words can be brought back into popular usage.


SHORT STORY
2/11/2008 08:30
The Tai-Chi Man by Jan Hutchinson, read by Andrea Moor, Produced by Anne Wynter
URL:http://www.abc.net.au/rn/shortstory/
Watching the daily ritual of a man's tai-chi routine brings home to an unhappy woman the realisation of what is missing from her life.
2/11/2008 15:35
Today on Dr. Phil by Tom Cho, read by Brett Cousins, produced by Anne McInerney
A story full of black humour where the do-it-yourself psychiatry of Dr. Phil leads to a sure-fire hit episode with lots of wham-bam impact.


AIRPLAY
2/11/2008 15:00
Beach - Part 1 by Timothy Daly, narrated by William Zappa,performed by the 2006 NIDA Graduates, produced by Anne Wynter
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/airplay/stories/2008/2390386.htm
Much of our history has taken place on the beach, from Captain Cook to Gallipoli, from legal arrivals to illegal drop-offs during the night; from shark attacks to the death of a prime minister and the stalking and murder of innocent children. This is not one beach, it is all of them. This five part series weaves back and forth over nearly 250 years of our national history and the multitudes of characters who populate the beach.


THE BOOK SHOW
Monday to Friday 10:00am (repeated at midnight)

3/11/2008
Ouyang Yu's Kingsbury Tales
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2406894.htm
Ouyang Yu is best known for his poetry, but has also written fiction and criticism in both English and Chinese. His latest book is Kingsbury Tales.

4/11/2008
Ian McEwan at the Sydney Opera House (repeat)
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2406959.htm
Earlier this year novelist Ian McEwan was a guest at the Sydney Opera House in the International Speakers Series. In his humorous address he explores the boundary between fact and fiction, he talks about the engagement of readers with ideas and characters and he reads from some of the marvellously cranky letters he has received, correcting facts in his novels.

5/11/2008
Robert Silvers, editor of The New York Review of Books
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2406949.htm
In 1963 a new publication called The New York Review of Books was launched. One of its founders, who had been an editor at Harpers and The Paris Review, was asked to be the first editor. Forty-five years later Robert Silvers is still its editor. On the day Americans vote for their next president he talks to The Book Show about elections and anniversaries.

6/11/2008
A Most Wanted Man - John le Carré
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2406985.htm
A half-starved young Russian man is smuggled into Hamburg. He has an improbable amount of money hidden in a purse round his neck. He's a devout Muslim. Or is he? John le Carré's latest novel A Most Wanted Man has spies from three countries converging on Germany in pursuit of the War on Terror.


THE BOOK READING
Monday to Friday 2.00pm
3/11/2008 - 28/11/2008
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, read by Sheridan Harbridge, produced by Anne Wynter
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookreading/stories/2008/2260727.htm
Vida Winter, a bestselling yet reclusive novelist, has many outlandish life histories, all of them invention. Now old and ailing, at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Her letter to biographer Margaret Lea, a woman with secrets of her own, acts as summons. Vida's tale is one of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family: the beautiful and wilful Isabelle and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline. As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerised, but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them both.


FIRST PERSON
Monday to Friday 10.45am
3/11/2008 - 14/11/2008
Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford, read by Alison Whyte, produced by Justine Sloane-Lees
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/firstperson/stories/2008/2358266.htm
Hons and Rebels is a tale of youthful folly and high adventure, as well as a study in social history, and a love story.