Love the Words

Created with the British Library, a radio documentary of oral history stories about growing up working in cornershops in Leeds, with music from Tower of Song.

Rob Cowen talks about his critically acclaimed new book, The North Road: Walking London to Edinburgh through Nation, Time & Place', written over 10 years following Common Ground.

Yorkshire historian Catherine Warr has written a musical! She talks about it. And Diliana Stojanova is a Bulgarian poet living in Czechia and visiting Leeds. Diliana has a new poetry collection out in Japanese, Fiinnish and English.

Natalie Anastasia Davies talks about being Writer in Residence for Brimham Rocks, plus her moving poem about the experience. Plus Madeleine Wuidart on her late autism diagnosis, and moving spoken word from older members of the LGBTQ plus community in Creative Voices.

Carolyn, Judy & Carol from the University of the Third Age Writing For Pleasure Group read their work and talk about why writing, & listening to others read, makes them happy. Plus Other Tongue Mother Tongue, a multi-lingual publication from The Other Side of Hope, presented by Mike Baynham.

LTW is 300 episodes old! Peter Spafford and Agnes Leonovicz look back - and ahead, after a short mash of highlights, including poetry from Andrew McMillan, Helen Burke and Leeds East Academy.

With our global theme, Anna Aslanyan talks about her book on the delicate art of translation, Dancing on Ropes; and poet Linda France presents Ep 5 of the powerful In Our Element.

Comedy on the theme of Threshold from the fabulous Joyful Drama Group based at Heart in Headingley under the umbrella of Fall Into Place Theatre Company, Seacroft.

Olivia Mulligan is a poet & children's author. Passionate about sharing uplifting material with others, she performs her poetry on stage, runs poetry workshops for adults and children, & is BBC Radio York's Poet Laureate.

Laura is a musician, poet & artist inspired by the connection between humans & the landscape, neurodiversity and biodiversity. She reads from her new illustrated collection, As The Flow Cries, and plays some tunes on fiddle and gouzouki.

Musician Nicky Bray talks about her love of languages & the work she does to support language assistants from abroad working in Yorkshire schools, plus Francesca Butler on the challenge of directing Jean Genet's rarely performed The Maids for Leeds Arts Centre.

James Wraith is a 23 year old student of Linguistics and a passionate advocate for Yorkshire dialect. He talks here about the richness of local language and why we should nurture our 'native twang'.

Leeds/Dortmund citizen Geoff Tranter talks about the shared history of Leeds & German city Dortmund & the value of city twinning. Plus street artist Stewy on his new wall portrait of poet Tony Harrison at Chapel FM.

Poetry magazine Pennine Platform has a flourishing subscriber list and international reach. Four poets from the current Issue read and discuss their contributions to this issue with editor Julia Deakin, and select their favourite pieces by other poets.

Barry Strickland-Hodge is the writer of ten books and numerous articles about medicine and pharmacology. He's also an expert on Nicholas Culpeper and his classic Complete Herbal. Here he talks about being an Apothecary, about herbalism, about silence and tears.

John Irving Clarke spends lengthy periods gazing out of windows, convinced that Hemingway's "one true sentence" lies out there somewhere. He has a new collection of stories out, How The Northern Light Gets In. John was a co-founder of the legendary Red Shed Readings in Wakefield.

Spike Marshall talks about directing the hard-hitting drama 'Hangmen' by Martin McDonagh for Leeds Arts Centre, opening Feb 26th at The Carriageworks. What's it about? And how does this play sit more generally within McDonagh's film and stage writing?

Lottie Sadd is a Leeds-based interdisciplinary composer-performer and workshop facilitator. She talks about her practice in sound, voice, and text.

First heard in Writing On Air, an exclusive soundscape tour of the derelict Victorian church in Leeds which will one day be transformed into The National Poetry Centre. With Tony Macaluso, Jaimes Lewis Moran, Lenny Flint, Giulio Macaluso and members of the NPC team.

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the fascinating and moving story of how Len Biran’s refugee father used his wits to keep his Polish Jewish family safe through World War 2.

The eighth wonder of the world. In Doncaster. Buried forever. The true saga of the legendary Sand House, dramatised for radio by Peter Spafford and directed by Olwen May. Sand House was first produced as a stage play for Cast, Doncaster in 2018. This audio version is an independent production by The Sand House Charity.

A gifted musician re-lives the time he contracted polio as a child. His recovery is dependent on finding his newfound power as The King of Sound. Uplifting drama for Writing On Air 2024, by Martin Riley and Jack Glover, plus Nobody Tells You It Drops When You Stop Chasing. Josh's gambling addiction has cost him his livelihood and his home life. Recovery’s going well. Until it isn’t. Impactful audi...

Elite triathletes Becky and Natalie are prepared to give everything to be World No.1. But what if this affects their health forever? Riveting drama about sport and friendship by Jacky Burton, first broadcast as part of Writing On Air 2024.

Faye Marshall is a poet and nurse. She talks about the privilege of working in palliative care, its impact on her life and writing, and the flourishing poetry scene in South Leeds.

Fiona Goh is the Director of the SI Leeds Literary Prize, a biennial award for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian women based in the UK. She talks about the prize which in 2024 celebrates its 10th year.