New Books in Biography artwork

Kate Kennedy, "Dweller in Shadows: A Life of Ivor Gurney" (Princeton UP, 2021)

New Books in Biography

English - July 15, 2021 08:00 - 48 minutes - ★★★★ - 74 ratings
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Previous Episode: What Can Wittgenstein Teach Us About Raising Our Kids?: A Discussion with Ryan Ruby
Next Episode: Ken Ellingwood, "First to Fall: Elijah Lovejoy and the Fight for a Free Press in the Age of Slavery" (Pegasus Books, 2021)

The First World War poet and composer Ivor Gurney (1890–1937) spent the last fifteen years of his life confined in a Kent mental hospital before dying prematurely of tuberculosis. How good was Gurney's war poetry, and has his music stood the test of time? Why did try to re-write Shakespeare's plays? How far do recently uncovered archives transform our understandings both of Ivor Gurney's troubled life and his remarkable work? 
Kate Kennedy of the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing discusses her ground-breaking biography of Ivor Gurney Dweller in Shadows (Princeton 2021) with Duncan McCargo, in an unusual podcast that includes readings of his poetry, and two specially recorded examples of his music. The podcast opens and closes with Kate Kennedy (cello) and Simon Over (piano) performing Gurney's song Sleep. We also hear Simon accompany Dominic Bevan as he sings Severn Meadows, a rare example of Gurney setting his own words to music. 
Rare treats lie in store for the listener. 
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Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

The First World War poet and composer Ivor Gurney (1890–1937) spent the last fifteen years of his life confined in a Kent mental hospital before dying prematurely of tuberculosis. How good was Gurney's war poetry, and has his music stood the test of time? Why did try to re-write Shakespeare's plays? How far do recently uncovered archives transform our understandings both of Ivor Gurney's troubled life and his remarkable work? 

Kate Kennedy of the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing discusses her ground-breaking biography of Ivor Gurney Dweller in Shadows (Princeton 2021) with Duncan McCargo, in an unusual podcast that includes readings of his poetry, and two specially recorded examples of his music. The podcast opens and closes with Kate Kennedy (cello) and Simon Over (piano) performing Gurney's song Sleep. We also hear Simon accompany Dominic Bevan as he sings Severn Meadows, a rare example of Gurney setting his own words to music. 

Rare treats lie in store for the listener. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography