Hello I'm Krusty Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1978 and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. This week are cast away as the playwright, Tennessee Williams.

Let's have the first record you've chosen, Mr Williams.

The first one is a song I always request of a person with a great tenor voice.

It's called Oh Danny Boy.

And who's the person with a great tenor voice on this occasion?

It's Harry Belafandi.

Oh Danny boy, the pipes are

the pipes are calling

from Glen to Glen, and down the mountain side.

Harry Belafonte singing Danny Boy. Why did you choose that? I don't know it's a

lyrical. It breaks my heart.

Does music play a big part in your life?

I love to hear it while I'm writing, you know, it affects the mood of the writing.

I don't listen to it consciously, but it does seep into my

consciousness as well. It sort of takes up the slack and helps you to concentrate.

Yes. Now like many people your first writing was poetry do you still think of yourself as a poet?

I find I do my best poetry within the context of play. But I still write poems, yes.

You were born in Columbus, Mississippi.

When you were about 12, you moved from the south to the Midwest when I was 8 actually when you were 8

What was your reaction to that?

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