The Essay

leading writers share the secrets of places of internal refuge in crisis 4.Tessa Hadley

leading writers evoke places of internal refuges which they visit in times of crisis

Leading writers share the secrets of places of internal refuge in times of crisis

Writers on personal places of refuge in times of crisis 1.Alan Hollinghurst

Marybeth Hamilton on the ghosts of Joe Hill and Paul Robeson and their linked fates.

Paul Robeson's life and struggle through songs .Tayo Aluko on Robeson's Zog Nit Keynmol.

Paul Robeson's life and struggle told through music. Matthew Sweet on the Canoe Song.

Paul Robeson's life and struggle through song. Shana Redmond on No More Auction Block.

The life of Paul Robeson in songs. Granddaughter Susan Robeson on Ol' Man River.

Jon Gower, writer and keen walker of the Welsh mountains, explores the unique characteristics of each of Wales's five ranges and reflects on what they mean to the people who live among them.For many people, Wales is synonymous with its mountains. They occupy a unique place in the country's ancient mythology, its history and its culture, defining who rules the country, who lives in it, and how they survive. But each of the mountain ranges of Wales has its own unique character. In this series of The Essay, Jon Gower paints a detailed portrait of the landscape of these higher places, and in doing so, explores how they’ve shaped the country's psyche.In ‘The Preseli Mountains’, Jon explores the most mystical range of mountains, which are barely mountains, though the highest of them, Foel Cwmcerwyn, stands tall and sentinel enough to have guided the sailors of west Wales safely to shore. On a clear day you can see not only the patterned field tapestries of Pembrokeshire – shot through with the gold threads of gorse hedges – but also nine other Welsh counties, and the charcoal edge of Ireland across the sea.Producer: Megan Jones for BBC Cymru Wales