Andrea Levy
We’re sad to hear of the death of novelist Andrea Levy who passed away yesterday, aged 62. In 2014, Andrea agreed to make a recording for Authors’ Lives which will be made available to listeners in the weeks to come. read more
Literature
Recording of the week: Norman Beaton recalls Liverpool in the 60s
Our last Recording of the Week for 2018 comes from Stephen Cleary, Lead Curator of Literary & Creative Recordings. Actor, singer and writer Norman Beaton (1934-1994) recalls his early career steps in Liverpool, and how the production of his first play,… read more
6 Poems to ponder on National Poetry Day
From William Wordsworth to Stevie Smith, generations of English poets have been inspired by place.Read more read more
The MiniDisc revival starts here (maybe)
Sony launched the first MiniDisc players and recorders in 1992. MiniDiscs were small (around 2¾” square) floppy-disk-style cartridges with an 80-minute recording capacity, intended to supplant the tape cassette format. Some major-artist commercial albu… read more
Behind the Scenes of the Man Booker: a National Life Stories film
2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Man Booker Prize, here at National Life Stories, we thought it would be a good moment to delve into our Oral History collections to see what we could find out about its history. read more