Episodes
| First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|
| 20100422 | Last year Janet Ellis examined why mermaids continue to hold such a fascination; now she turns her attention to a figure every bit as resonant with audiences down the generations - the dragon. From the earliest days of story-telling the dragon has appeared across international cultures, occasionally a benign presence, as in the Chinese tradition, though most often a ferocious beast that lays waste to its enemies without a moment's hesitation. More recently the dragon has become a favourite of children's programmes and books from "Ivor the Engine" and "Noggin the Nog" to the "How to Train your Dragon" series of books - now turned into a major Hollywood film. Its close resemblance to real life creatures and formerly dinosaurs lends the dragon a particularly interesting position among mythological beasts, and Janet hears from poet Simon Armitage who says that those reading medieval stories including those about dragons would most likely have believed in the real possibility of meeting up with the beasts out on the crusades - lending them a special degree of excitement. She also speaks to Cressida Cowell the author behind the "How to Train..." books, as well as the co-creator of TV's Merlin which contains one of the most impressive dragon characters to appear in recent years, played with such relish by John Hurt.
"Here be Dragons" is a lively and informative ride on the back of one of the great stalwarts of the imaginative landscape.
Janet Ellis explores the appeal of one of the oldest mythological beasts, the dragon |
| 20190407 | Maps are ways of navigating the world, a set of symbols that, once understood, can enable us to find our way. No wonder then that poets, similarly tasked with charting the unknown to help the rest of us keep on track, have long felt a kinship with cartographers. Paul Farley heads out to chart that kinship.
He travels to Anglesey where poet Zoe Skoulding uses maps to deliberately get lost as a creative spur and meets Chris Riddell who has drawn fictional maps for so many books. Chris draws a map of the programme while explaining what it is about maps that makes such a great starting off point for stories - from Winnie the Pooh to his own Edge series.
Ciaran Carson welcomes Paul into his map-lined toilet in Belfast to talk about the ways politics have shaped the maps of that city.
And finally, Paul visits Preston to meet the artist Magda, who introduces him to the world of sound-maps.
The programme offers a playful hymn to the wonder and possibility that maps afford - and also insight into their limitations. Who knew there were icebergs off Yorkshire?
Producer: Geoff Bird
Paul Farley finds out why so many poets are fascinated by maps |
| 20190407 | Maps are ways of navigating the world, a set of symbols that, once understood, can enable us to find our way. No wonder then that poets, similarly tasked with charting the unknown to help the rest of us keep on track, have long felt a kinship with cartographers. Paul Farley heads out to chart that kinship.
He travels to Anglesey where poet Zoe Skoulding uses maps to deliberately get lost as a creative spur and meets Chris Riddell who has drawn fictional maps for so many books. Chris draws a map of the programme while explaining what it is about maps that makes such a great starting off point for stories - from Winnie the Pooh to his own Edge series.
Ciaran Carson welcomes Paul into his map-lined toilet in Belfast to talk about the ways politics have shaped the maps of that city.
And finally, Paul visits Preston to meet the artist Magda, who introduces him to the world of sound-maps.
The programme offers a playful hymn to the wonder and possibility that maps afford - and also insight into their limitations. Who knew there were icebergs off Yorkshire?
Producer: Geoff Bird
Paul Farley finds out why so many poets are fascinated by maps. [R4 BD=20190413 |