4.4 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 21 April 1984
⏱️ 33 minutes
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David Lodge, who has written several successful novels, including Changing Places and The British Museum is Falling Down, is Professor of Modern Literature at Birmingham University. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks about his work, which also includes writing revues for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and he chooses the eight records he would take to the mythical island.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Enigma Variations - No 9: Nimrod by Edward Elgar Book: Ulysses by James Joyce Luxury: Nymph in a Landscape by Palma Vecchio
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0:00.0 | Hello I'm Kirstie Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive. |
0:05.0 | For Wright's reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
0:08.0 | The program was originally broadcast in 1984 and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. Our cast away this week is a novelist, he's also a professor of modern literature at Birmingham |
0:34.8 | University and author of a number of technical books on writing and criticism and |
0:40.0 | other subjects arising from the English language. It's Professor David Lodge. |
0:45.0 | David, how would you view a spell on a tropical island on your own? |
0:49.0 | Well, I quite like warm climates and beaches and swimming. |
0:52.0 | I'm not sure whether I would cope with loneliness and |
0:55.1 | isolation and lack of civilized amenities. Is music important? Yes, it is. My father is a |
1:02.2 | musician, a dance musician, |
1:03.7 | was also interested in classical music, in fact keenly interested in it. |
1:07.9 | And so I grew up in a home that was oriented to music, though I never actually learned an instrument and I have |
1:15.2 | no theoretical knowledge of music. |
1:17.4 | I think I tend to use music as an alternative to my professional life, which is very sort of cerebral and analytical. |
1:25.4 | So my attitude of music is very emotive and instinctual really. I use it for relaxation for emotional luxuriance rather than for intellectual pleasure I suppose. |
1:36.4 | Within those limits did you find it difficult to choose? |
1:39.1 | Extremely difficult because I like a lot of different kinds of music you know classical jazz pop rock and |
1:45.2 | you know eight records just wasn't enough to reflect all kind of music that I like |
1:49.8 | What's the first one you're going to play? Well, the first one is a track called Chocolate Apricot from an album called a different sort of blues |
1:57.6 | by two classical musicians or musicians known mainly for their classical work. |
2:02.8 | He's at Perlman, the celebrated violinist and Andre Previn. |
2:07.3 | It's a record that my father introduced me to, |
... |
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