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Up in Flames

Fire is one of the most savage forces on Earth, yet it can also cleanse and renew. Samira Ahmed reflects on the creative and destructive powers of fire

Fire is one of the most savage forces on Earth, yet burning something can also offer the hope of purging and rebirth. We might use fire therapeutically to burn love letters from a failed relationship, or to clear the decks for the start of a new year. Burning can be very liberating.

Samira Ahmed reflects on our ambiguous relationship with fire. She looks at the way nature uses fire to play a crucial part in natural regeneration and at the scared fires central to many faiths.

Erich K盲stner, author of 'Emil and the Detectives', witnessed his own books being burned by the Nazis in 1930s Berlin. Samira Ahmed talks to Michael Rosen about the significance of this event. She also explores the scientific properties of fire with Dr Matthew Juniper of the University of Cambridge.

Featuring music by Sibelius, Jim Reeves and Kurt Weill and with words of writers including W.B. Yeats, Simon Armitage and Germaine Greer.

Producer: Caroline Hughes
A Whistledown production for 91热爆 Radio 4

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 19 Feb 2023 23:30
91热爆 Radio 4

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Music Played

  • Burning the Old Year by Naomi Shihab Nye (from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems)

    Publisher: Far Corner Books (1995)

  • Burned Letter by Alexander Pushkin (from Selected Lyric Poetry)

    Translator: James E. Falen, Publisher: Northwestern University Press

  • I Am Very Bothered by Simon Armitage (from Book of Matches)

    Publisher: Faber and Faber

  • Uber das Verbrennen von B眉chern by Erich K盲stner

    Publisher: Atrium

  • 聭Where Sibelius Fell Silent聮 by Julian Barnes (article)

    Publisher: Jan/Feb edition Intelligent Life Magazine

  • Persian Fire by Tom Holland

    Publisher: Little, Brown

  • White Beech by Germaine Greer

    Publisher: Bloomsbury

  • Vacillation (excerpt) by W B Yeats from Selected Poems

    Publisher: Penguin Classics

  • Jim Reeves

    Your Old Love Letters

    • I Love You More.
    • 3CD Music Digital.

  • Charlie Parker

    My Old Flame

    • The Very Best of the Dial Years.
    • Cleopatra.

  • K盲stner /Weill

    Der Abschiedsbrief (The Farewell Letter)

    Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter.
    • Speak Low.
    • Deutsche Gramophone.

  • Magnet and Paul Giovanni

    Procession

    • The Wicker Man soundtrack.
    • Trunk.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105

    Performer: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
    • Sibelius: Symphonies 6 & 7, Tapiola.
    • Erato.

  • Johannes Ciconia

    O beatum incendium

    Performer: Huelgas Ensemble. Performer: Paul Van Nevel.
    • Ciconia: The Complete Works.
    • Ricercar.

  • Death Cab for Cutie

    Grapevine Fires

    • Narrow Stairs.
    • Warner.

  • Trad.

    Birth of the Sun

    Performer: Australian Aborigines.
    • Didgeridoo Dreamtime.
    • Hart.

  • Elvis Presley

    Flaming Star

    • Original Elvis Presley Collection.
    • Sony Music CMG.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 9 Feb 2014 06:05
    91热爆 Radio 4
  • Sun 9 Feb 2014 23:30
    91热爆 Radio 4
  • Sun 19 Feb 2023 06:05
    91热爆 Radio 4
  • Sun 19 Feb 2023 23:30
    91热爆 Radio 4