Robert Aickman

Arts & Ideas

BBC

Society & Culture

4.2 • 598 Ratings

🗓️ 2 November 2023

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"Strange stories" is the way Robert Aickman (1914-1981) described his fiction and to be honest that's putting it mildly. When he wasn't writing fiction that leaves both his protagonists and his readers in some very weird places, he was involved in an investigation into the haunting of Borley Rectory, was a member of The Ghost Club and he also co-founded the British Inland Waterways Association to restore canals. Matthew Sweet is joined by three fans of his work - critic Suzy Feay, writer Andrew Male and publisher R.B. Russell.

Producer: Torquil MacLeod

Robert Aickman published the following collections of stories: Powers of Darkness (1966), Sub Rosa (1968), Cold Hand in Mine (1976), Tales of Love and Death (1977) and Intrusions (1980) You can find other spooky Free Thinking episodes including a discussion of Ghost Stories with Irving Finkel and Jeremy Dyson, a ghost hunt in Portsmouth and a discussion of Blade Runner and a programme about the TV programme Ghostwatch

Transcript

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0:00.0	Can I just say?
0:01.5	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast.
0:04.0	It's such a wonderful listen.
0:05.6	So nice.
0:06.5	There are loads more like it on BBC sounds.
0:08.8	Different paces, different heights.
0:10.6	The roof is buckling.
0:11.9	Where you can also listen to live sports commentary.
0:14.2	It's right foot goes for goal.
0:16.7	And then enjoy even more podcasts full of analysis and reaction to the big stories.
0:21.7	The stat that is astonishing is they ended with the lowest amount of possession.
0:25.2	And she's had to live with that.
0:26.8	So if you love sport, a passion, it's almost like a religion.
0:29.7	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:31.7	Sort of expecting that every week now.
0:35.8	BBC Sounds, music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:39.6	Hello, a weird edition of the Arts and Ideas podcast awaits you
0:43.6	on a writer who wrote some of the strangest supernatural stories in English.
0:48.3	So join me, Matthew Sweet and guests in the world of Robert Aikman after this message.
0:54.9	Usually I associate classical music with tea and biscuits and talking about how my mum isn't good
0:59.7	enough for my dad. Have you heard the Classical Fix podcast on Radio 3 yet? It's a great way
1:04.9	to discover new music. I'm Lynton Stevens and each week I mix my guest a playlist. They take a listen in their own time, then we get together and they tell me honestly what they think are my choices.
	...

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