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TS Eliot Prize winner David Harsent, Robert Crawford, Allan Ropper on healing the brain

Anne McElvoy presents. With 2014 TS Eliot Prize winner David Harsent, Robert Crawford and Lyndall Gordon on TS Eliot, and Allan Ropper on the dilemmas of treating brain disease.

The Scottish poet Robert Crawford has written Young Eliot: A biography which explores T S Eliot's life from his childhood in St Louis to publication of 'The Wasteland. He and fellow-Eliot biographer, Lyndall Gordon join Anne McElvoy to work out Eliot's enduring power and appeal while the winner of this year's TS Eliot prize David Harsent reads from his collection Fire Songs.

Allan Ropper is a US neurologist who has written a book called Reaching Down The Rabbit Hole -- his description of what it's like to make a diagnosis where minds and lives hang in the balance. He talks to Anne McElvoy about the mixture of intuition and medical knowledge that every brain doctor needs. They are joined by Brian Hurwitz, Professor of Medicine and the Arts at King's College London to discuss the role of case histories over time and new importance being attached to narrative medicine.

Producer: Jacqueline Smith.

Available now

45 minutes

Chapters

  • Bowland Beth

    David Harsent, winner of the TS Eliot prize reads his poem, Bowland Beth

    Duration: 02:37

  • TS Eliot

    Robert Crawford & fellow biographer, Lyndall Gordon discuss TS Eliot's enduring appeal

    Duration: 16:12

  • David Harsent

    David Harsent discusses his win, how he writes and influence by TS Eliot

    Duration: 07:42

  • Allan Ropper

    Allan Ropper a neurologist discusses his book Reaching Down The Rabbit Hole

    Duration: 07:07

  • Case Studies

    Brian Hurwitz & Allan Ropper discuss case studies around neurological conditions

    Duration: 09:40

Credits

Role Contributor
Interviewed Guest Robert Crawford
Interviewed Guest Lyndall Gordon
Presenter Anne McElvoy
Interviewed Guest David Harsent
Interviewed Guest Allan H Ropper
Interviewed Guest Brian Hurwitz
Producer Jacqueline Smith

Broadcast

  • Tue 13 Jan 2015 22:00

The Arts & Ideas Podcast

The Arts & Ideas Podcast

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