RUSSIA'S OPEN BOOK: WRITING IN THE AGE OF PUTIN
Monday
3 February, 8.30pm
Some
of the greatest literary achievements of the 19th and 20th century are Russian:
Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment,
Tolstoy's War and Peace, and Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.
Readers in the West may have stopped hearing about Russian literature after the
USSR collapsed, but that doesn't mean the Russians stopped writing. Russia's
Open Book: Writing in the Age of Putin asks the question: Who is the new
Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, or Gogol waiting to be discovered by the English-speaking
world? Hosted by actor and author Stephen Fry, the documentary celebrates
contemporary Russian authors who are carrying on one of the world's great
literary traditions - yet doing so on their own terms. Each author is
interviewed extensively in the film, with contributions from their literary
critics, publishers, and peers. Excerpts from the authors' recent works are
brought to life by vivid animated sequences created exclusively for the film and
voiced-over with dramatic readings in English by Fry.
THE HAY SESSIONS
Stuart
Prebble: Friday 7 February, 8.30pm
Carl
Bernstein: Friday 14 February, 8.30pm
John
Le Carre Part 1: Friday 21 February, 8.30pm
John
Le Carre Part 2: Friday 21 February, 9.15pm
Caitlin
Moran: Thursday 27 February, 8.30pm
Eric
Schmidt: Friday 28 February, 8.30pm
The Hay
Festival is, in Bill Clinton's words, “the Woodstock of the mind”. Famous
cultural figures discuss the world as it is and imagine how it might be. Every
year, leading filmmakers, novelists, philosophers and poets travel to
Hay-on-Wye, in the beautiful Brecon Beacons, to share stories and ideas. This
enchanting and thought-provoking series brings together a selection of the best
talks, events and musical treats: Eric Schmidt of Google examines the future of
a connected world; Tom Dalyell interviews Stuart Prebble, who scooped the story
of the sinking of the Belgrano; spy novelist John le Carre discusses his
incredible literary career; War Horse author Michael Morpurgo reminisces with
writer of classic children's books, Judith Kerr; Jaspar Rees interviews
comedian Lee Mack; Melvyn Bragg discusses his novel, Grace and Mary; and Rupert
Everett talks about his new memoir.
THE BOOK SHOW (SEASON 7)
Tuesdays
from 18 February, 7.45pm
A-list authors and big-name guests discuss their favourite reads
and their own works. The Book Show is a weekly show featuring interviews
with leading authors and well known guests including world figures President
Carter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, entertainment personalities Bob Geldof and
Michael Palin, and international authors P D James, Salman Rushdie, Terry
Pratchett and John Irving. The show covers topical literary news such as the
trend for vampire fiction, the phenomenon of atheist books, the demise of paper
books, and authors’ working environments. Every programme also includes
entertainment, either music inspired by literature or performance poetry.
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