Amy Key

In this insightful conversation, psychologist Robert Coplan and poet Amy Key explore the joys of solitude. Coplan differentiates solitude from loneliness, highlighting its vital restorative properties. He introduces the concept of 'a-loneliness,' illustrating how craving alone time can lead to stress. Meanwhile, Key emphasizes self-kindness and the importance of personal celebrations outside traditional norms. They both challenge cultural narratives, arguing that life can be rich and fulfilling without romantic love, promoting a broader definition of connection.

Amy Key, a poet known for her food imagery, explores cravings as a language of desire in her essay. Waithera Sebatindira, an East African lawyer, discusses the Eucharist as a meal with profound political and communal meanings. Robin Craig shares personal reflections on food’s role in hospice care, highlighting dignity and intimacy. The conversation delves into the complexities of food writing, critiquing celebratory narratives and examining food as a gateway to vulnerability, desire, and societal connection.

Single people make up a large proportion of the population in Britain. People are marrying later and less, getting divorced more often, and living longer. Although not all people who live alone are single, the growth of one-person households now outstrips the rise in the UK population - and is projected to continue.And yet life in Britain often seems ill-suited to their needs. Being single is expensive and modern dating can be brutal. The idea that being in a couple provides greater happiness and fulfillment still has a tight grip on our collective psyche. So is it right to say that singles get discriminated against? And are there ways we might re-imagine life in Britain so that singles get a fairer deal? Producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Clare Fordham Sound Engineer: Kelly Young Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck Contributors: Amy Key - Poet and Author of Arrangements in Blue: Notes of Love and Making a Life Sarah Harper - Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford Emma John - Journalist and Author of Self Contained: Scenes from a Single Life Ben Arogundade - Author of My Terrifying, Shocking, Humiliating, Amazing Adventure in Online Dating Elyakim Kislev - Professor of Public Policy and Government at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and author of numerous books about single life Sasha Roseneil - Sociologist and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex