A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley

Exploring Pond Man's daily routine, reflections on identity and creation, his nostalgic memories, and bedtime challenges in a chaotic flood. Delving into his peaceful bedtime routine and connection with nature before sleep.

Join Sally as she explores the intersection of pain and creativity, finding solace in the world of Pond Man in her forthcoming novel. Delve into whimsical conversations about geese, birthdays, and quirky chick characters, all set against the enchanting backdrop of spring. Experience the tranquil mornings and seasonal transitions that inspire her creative process.

‘We have forgotten what it is to look at one another and to notice.’   What does it mean to really see? This week, Sally is meditating on the power of images to connect us in a busy world. Join her as she reflects on José Saramago’s novel Blindness, on empathy and attention, and how literature offers us ways of tuning in to our surroundings.    Guitar music by D. Gwalia, piano music by Paul Sebastian.    This episode was produced by Lucie Richter-Mahr.    Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Kris Dyer, Violet Henderson, and Maeve Magnus. 

A special episode this week, as we join Sally at Brasenose College in a conversation titled ‘A Reading Life, A Writing Life’, with fellow writers Aida Edemariam and Joanna Kavenna. Join them for a discussion on memory, storytelling, and the porous boundaries between reality and fiction. Aida is a writer and journalist whose debut book The Wife’s Tale received the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Award. More information on her and her work can be found here: https://www.rcwlitagency.com/authors/edemariam-aida/ Joanna, whose 2016 novel A Field Guide to Reality has appeared in a previous episode, is a novelist, essayist and current Frankland Visitor at Brasenose College, Oxford. More information can be found on her website: http://www.joannakavenna.com/ This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.    

‘If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one…’ This week, Sally has been reading José Saramago’s Blindness, and thinking about the ways we see, or don’t see, the world around us. Drawing on J.M. Barrie, join her for a reflection on seeing and writing through the dark places of the world. The wonderful piano music in the opening section is by Paul Sebastian, and the guitar music was written and performed by D. Gwalia. This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Kris Dyer, Violet Henderson, and Maeve Magnus.

‘Where do images come from?’ This week, Sally is thinking about the importance of sound and rhythm to writing. Join her for a discussion of George Orwell’s Coming Up for Air (1939) and a reflection on how to find your writing voice.  Guitar music composed and performed by Dylan Gwalia. This episode was produced by Lucie Richter-Mahr.  Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘Let words pass through you in a small contained space’ This week, we join Sally for a meditation on creating and inhabiting a space in which to write, and to be held, via the work of the novelist V.S. Pritchett. Follow her as she begins to lay out her meditative practice of reading and writing, drawing on the restorative power of words on the page. An account of Pritchett and his work can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/feb/22/vspritchett This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘Perhaps she's a daytime sleeper.’   This week, Sally is reading Elizabeth Bishop’s ‘Insomnia’, a poem full of shifting, uncertain geographies and marvellous depths. How do we navigate the strange land of sleeplessness? Join Sally as she meditates on the power of reading closely and the solace of poetry as a place of rest.     ‘Insomnia’ is available to read here: https://allpoetry.com/poem/8493531-Insomnia-by-Elizabeth-Bishop   This episode was produced by Lucie Richter-Mahr.    For Summer and Dylan, both students. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘I shall be late!’ Sally has been following the White Rabbit this week, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and reflecting on the ever-increasing demands on the writer’s time. Follow her down the rabbit hole on a journey through time, lateness, and rest… This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. The wonderful piano music in the closing section was composed by Paul Clarke. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘How do you remember people first?’ We join Sally on New Year’s Night, staying with a relative in Chichester, a familiar city from her childhood. Join her for a meditation on embodiment, memory, and authority, via a vision of John Milton’s hell from the epic Paradise Lost. Satan’s speech, read partway through the episode, can be found here: https://poets.org/poem/paradise-lost-book-i-lines-221-270 This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.