Stevie Smith

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2023

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1957 Stevie Smith published a poetry collection called Not Waving But Drowning – and its title poem gave us a phrase which has entered the language. Its success has overshadowed her wider work as the author of more than half a dozen collections of poetry and three novels, mostly written while she worked as a secretary. Her poems, printed with her pen and ink sketches, can seem simple and comical, but often beneath the surface lurk themes of melancholy, loneliness, love and death. With Jeremy Noel-Tod Associate Professor in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia Noreen Masud Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literature at the University of Bristol and Will May Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature at the University of Southampton The photograph above shows Stevie Smith recording her story Sunday at Home, a finalist in the BBC Third Programme Short Story competition in 1949.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:04.7	Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:07.3	There's a reading list to go with it on our website,
0:09.4	and you can get news about our programs if you follow us
0:12.0	on Twitter at BBC In Our Time.
0:14.7	I hope you enjoyed the program.
0:16.1	Hello, in 1957, Stevie Smith published a poetry collection
0:20.2	called Not Waving, But Drowning.
0:22.9	And its title poem, Gavisa Fraze, which is entered the language.
0:26.6	Its success has overshadowed her wider work
0:29.3	as the author of more than half a dozen collections of poetry
0:32.2	and three novels, mostly written, while she worked as a secretary.
0:36.9	Her poems printed with her pen and ninks catches
0:39.7	can appear deceptively simple, but often beneath the surface
0:43.4	there are themes of melancholy, loneliness, love,
0:45.8	and especially death.
0:48.2	We need to discuss Stevie Smith, our German old Todd,
0:51.7	associate professor in the School of Literature, Drama
0:54.4	and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia,
0:57.2	Nareen Masoud, lecturer in 20th century literature
1:00.6	at the University of Bristol, and Wilmae,
1:03.2	professor of modern and contemporary literature
	...

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