The Essay

Breaking Free - the minds that changed music. In The Essay this week, personal reflections on the revolutionary music and ideas of the Second Viennese School as they searched for an antidote to all the certainties and expectations of the past, and cast music on a new path of dissonance and discovery, shocking audiences then and now. Tonight's essayist is Radio 3 presenter and pianist Sarah Walker...

Novelist Andrew Martin has long been interested in ghosts and their stories, and he gives them much thought over five essays. 5. It goes without saying that Halloween and Christmas are resonant times for the Undead. Prepare to hear about the best ... or should that be the worst? Producer Duncan Minshull.

Novelist Andrew Martin has long been interested in ghosts and their stories, and he gives them much thought over five essays. 4. Stories, novels, films.. but the author's favourite source for things unreal and unsettling is a huge tome called 'Phantasms of the Living', which he now celebrates.. Producer Duncan Minshull.

Novelist Andrew Martin has long been interested in ghosts and their stories. He gives them much thought over five essays. 3. The ghosts of Medieval times were 'solid' and had a moral purpose. Modern sightings were ephemeral, transluscent, and now 'doubt' crept in... Producer Duncan Minshull.

Novelist Andrew Martin has long been interested in ghosts and their stories. He gives them much thought over five essays: 2. 'Britain is a ghostly nation', he reckons. And most of them came from the north. And their heyday was a hundred years ago. And just what is The Society of Psychical Research? Producer Duncan Minshull.

Novelist Andrew Martin has long been interested in ghosts and their stories, and he gives them much thought over five essays. 1. In his first essay, he asks if he actually believes in ghosts. Well, he certainly relishes the 'fear' and 'beauty' that comes from ghostly narratives. 'Have you ever seen a ghost?' is the first question he must address, and of course there is no clear cut answer to this....

"It sounds such a simple business.. 'I changed my mind.' Subject, verb, object - a clear, clean action..." In five essays, the acclaimed author asks whether his point of view has changed through the years. Referring to historical characters and scenes from his own life, he now thinks about the vagaries of time, beginning with a visit to the barbers on the eve of his 70th birthday. Producer Duncan...

"It sounds such a simple business.. 'I changed my mind.' Subject, verb, object - a clear, clean action..." In five essays, the acclaimed author asks whether his point of view has changed over the years. Referring to historical characters and scenes from his own life , he now explores his tastes in literature. He has remained firm in admiration of some authors, others have caused indecision and a c...

"It sounds such a simple business.. 'I changed my mind.' Subject, verb, object - a clear, clean action..." In five essays, the acclaimed author asks whether his point of view has changed over the years. Referring to historical characters and scenes from his own life, he first cites John Maynard Keynes and Francis Picabia. Then, what is the role of memory in all this? Producer Duncan Minshull.

"It sounds such a simple business.. 'I changed my mind.' Subject, verb, object - a clear, clean action..." In five essays, the acclaimed author asks whether his point of view has changed over the years. Referring to historical characters and scenes from his own life, he now thinks about a lifetime's use of words. He has his favourites, such as 'decimated' and 'indifference'. But have things stayed...

As part of Radio 3's 70th celebrations, Julian Barnes - also 70 this year - on why and how he alters his views. Today a word about vacillation, uncertainty and of course - memory. "It sounds such a simple business.. 'I changed my mind.' Subject, verb, object - a clear, clean action..." In five essays, the acclaimed author asks whether his point of view has changed over the years. Referring to hist...

'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Pl...

'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Pl...

'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Pl...

'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom writes letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogates them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised, jealousies revealed, concerns aired. 'Dear Virginia W...

'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Pl...

Film and theatre director Sir Richard Eyre describes how he was inspired by "The People's War" by Angus Calder. This social history of the Second World War relives the experience of ordinary citizens during the conflict: "their endurance and patience and their cowardice, complaints, and selfishness, as much as their heroism and humanity." It provided Eyre with a vision - albeit unfulfilled - of so...

The artist Tacita Dean describes how "Fires" by Marguerite Yourcenar changed her life and art. She discovered the book of prose poems as an undergraduate. "Somehow, her pithy and uncompromising language appealed to me, and my own love tragedy," she says. Yourcenar's work helped her find her voice as a feminist, writer and film-maker. "She gave a female voice to my passionate and romantic younger s...

Ben Anderson, correspondent with Vice News, on how "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" led him to become a journalist. He discovered the book, ghost-written by Alex Haley, as "a skinny white kid living in Bedford". Yet the story of the American firebrand for the cause of black power became his touchstone. He was inspired by the way Malcolm X devoured every possible book while in prison. "Suddenly a f...

Pauline Black, the singer who found fame with the ska band The Selecter, on how Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" helped her understand her place as a black girl adopted by a white family. She both identified with Scout, the tomboyish main character, while it was the first book she read in which the black characters "shared a dignity and gravitas". It allowed her to understand the racial tensio...

David Simon, the author and creator of the TV series "The Wire", describes how "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" by James Agee and Walker Evans changed his work as a journalist. The celebrated work capturing the lives of ordinary people during the depression made him realise the importance of sharing "the simple, raw vulnerability" of lived experience. "Page after page was fully ripe with the delicat...

Novelist Kit de Waal reflects on the architecture of Winson Green Prison, in Birmingham, where she worked. This week's Essays are part of the 70th birthday celebrations of the Third Programme: the network discussed architecture from its earliest days, covering both new initiatives and historic buildings, most notably in talks by Nikolaus Pevsner. Producer Clare Walker.

Author Dr Gavin Francis passes the new Queensferry Crossing every morning on his way to work. When it is finished in May 2017, it will be the largest balanced cantilever ever built. Gavin believes it is the most impressive structure under construction in these islands today. This week's Essays are part of the 70th birthday celebrations of the Third Programme: the network discussed architecture fro...

Poet Helen Mort can see Chesterfield's Crooked Spire Church - The Church of St Mary's and All Saints - from the window of her house. She explains why it has inspired her since childhood. This week's Essays are part of the 70th birthday celebrations of the Third Programme: the network discussed architecture from its earliest days, covering both new initiatives and historic buildings, most notably i...

British Painter Humphrey Ocean RA introduces us to Impington College, the only building the Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius built in Britain. Humphrey believes it accidentally became the template for the proliferation of the kind of brave, new, post-war architecture he grew up with. This week's Essays are part of the 70th birthday celebrations of the Third Programme: the network discussed archite...