Listen :
Availability:
Available to listen.
Last broadcast on Sun, 11 Dec 2011, 20:30 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
John Wilson on:
Christopher Logue, the performance poet who translated Homer, wrote for Private Eye, and acted alongside Jonathan Pryce in Hamlet.
Socrates - doctor of medicine, political activist and Brazilian World Cup captain.
We hear about Professor Wilfred Lambert , a scholar whose unrivalled knowledge of ancient Babylonian languages helped unlock historical mysteries.
Dev Anand - the matinee idol of Hindi cinema.
And Helen Forrester who wrote about childhood poverty in Liverpool in the 1930s.
SOCRATES
Brazilian footballer who has died aged 57.
Like many Brazilian footballers Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira was known by a single name. But unlike almost any other player in the world, that name was also prefaced with the title Doctor. A practicing doctor of medicine, Socrates captained Brazil at the 1982 World Cup and scored 22 times for his country. But he was an unusual footballer in many ways - citing Fidel Castro and Che Guevara as his heroes, he organised team mates at the club Corinthians into a democratic collective.
John spoke to football writers Tim Vickery and David Goldblatt, and to Brazilian TV journalist Mauricio Noriega.
Socrates de Oliveira was born 19 February 1954 and died 4 December 2011.
Christopher Logue
Poet who has died aged 85.
Christopher Logue was a poet in the bardic tradition, one with a commanding, rasping voice. He spent more than four decades creating his greatest work, an epic version of Homer’s Iliad, which conjured the visceral horror of warfare. He was a politically engaged poet, and, in 1961, was imprisoned for an anti war protest.
John spoke to poet Michael Horovitz, to the journalist Richard Ingrams and the actor Christopher Pryce.
Christopher Logue was born 23 November 1926 and died 2 December 2011.
Professor Wilfred Lambert
Leading Assyriologist who has died aged 85.
Professor Wilfred Lambert was the world’s leading expert on ancient Assyrian history and the ancient Babylonian language. His life’s work was the translation of the Epic of Creation, a 4000 year old story retold in cuneiform tablets. His expertise in this relatively obscure field of archeological history saw him unlock many mysteries of the ancient Middle East.
John spoke to his former pupil and curator of cuneiform at the British Museum, Dr Irving Finkel.
Wilfred George Lambert was born 26 February 1926 and died 9 November 2011.
Helen Forrester
Liverpudlian writer who had died aged 92.
Helen Forester’s 1974 autobiographical story – Twopence To Cross The Mersey - about growing up in Depression-era Liverpool quickly became a bestseller. It was also an early example of what came to be known, within publishing circles, as the ‘misery memoir’.The book recalls a life of poverty in which 12 year old Helen Forrester had to bring up six younger siblings.
For Last Word Deryn Rees-Jones, a fellow Liverpudlian writer, pays tribute.
Helen Forrester was born 6 June 1919 and died 24 November 2011.
Dev Anand
Legendary Indian actor and director who has died aged 88.
Dev Anand was the suave matinee idol of Indian cinema in the 50’s and 60’s. Over the course of a 65 year career he appeared in 114 films – 110 of which he had the starring role. He was loved by his millions of fans for his good looks, often compared to Gregory Peck, and became the iconic romantic hero of Indian cinema. Some of the actresses he introduced to Indian cinema went on to become some of the most famous on the South Asia screen. His best known film was 'Guide', based on a novel by celebrated Indian writer RK Narayan.
John spoke to Indian film historian Lalit Mohan Joshi.
Dev Anand was born 26 September 1923 and died 4 December 2011.
Chapters
Broadcasts
-
Fri 9 Dec 201116:00
-
Sun 11 Dec 201120:30
© 2012~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~37~RS~){kind=small}