Reflections on Writing and a Symbolic Performance

In this final episode of the season, recorded in February 2023, I'm joined by the beloved poet and author Michael Rosen. Known equally for humorous children's verse and his poetry and prose for adults, Michael's books for kids include We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake, Michael Rosen's Sad Book and Jelly Boots, Smelly Boots. He's also written a number of more grown-up books, including Many Different Kinds of Love and the memoir Getting Better, about healing and recovery. In recent years he's written and spoken about his experience of spending seven weeks in intensive care with Covid-19, at the peak of the pandemic. In this conversation, we talk about how writing can help us after trauma; how performing poetry for children shaped his work; and how plain, understated language can express great emotion.

Browse Michael's books in the In Writing bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing

Visit his YouTube channel for kids: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7D-mXO4kk-XWvH6lBXdrPw

Watch the short film Many Different Kinds of Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsrSN-OCk8w

Listen to Word of Mouth, hosted by Michael, on BBC Radio 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qtnz

Subscribe to the In Writing newsletter and leave your questions about the podcast in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer them: https://inwriting.substack.com/

This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off one of their four, five, six, or ten-week online writing courses. Visit https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.