A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley

Being Handy

‘Enid’s hands are always kept busy caring for other people…’
This week, Sally continues her theme of developing characters from objects by presenting a portrait of Enid Bagot, a young woman used to working with her hands, who will feature in Sally’s forthcoming imagined biography, provisionally titled Mrs Parnell. Listen for a reflection on the routines and rhythms of life and work, interspersed with the moments from Sally’s own life that provide her inspiration.
The image of the cat by Edward Lear that Sally refers to can be viewed here.
The wonderful piano music in the opening section is ‘Tuesday’, by Paul Seba. More on Paul and his work can be found here.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Katherine Mansfield

‘His straw hat hurt him, it pinched his forehead and started a dull ache in the two bones just over the temples…’
This week, Sally has been reading and teaching Katherine Mansfield, focusing on characters in her short fiction. Listen for a masterclass on openings, writing characters through objects, and making connections between and through them.
The full text of the stories Sally reads can be found here.
The passage read in the final section comes from Sally’s forthcoming fictional biography, provisionally titled Mrs Parnell.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

A Fragment of May

For Emilie: may you always sing.
We return this week, for a special micro-episode, to Mrs Dalloway’s London. Listen for a brief meditation on the fragmentation of life, interruption, and finding meaning in art.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Mrs Dalloway

‘Now it was time to move, and, as a woman gathers her things together, her cloak, her gloves, her opera-glasses, and gets up to out of the theatre into the street, she rose from the sofa and went to Peter…’
This week, we join Sally reflecting on the arrangement of character. Listen for a journey, via Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway (1925) through perspectives, cityscapes, and the means by which we navigate everyday life.
The music accompanying the initial discussion of Mrs Dalloway is ‘Friday’, by Paul Seba. More about Paul and his work can be found here.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Sightlines

‘Sightlines produce a story, an avenue, a walkway, a space to move through…’
This week, we join Sally reflecting on the idea of the sightline, and the stories they structure. Listen for a meditation on narrative, childhood, and a unique perspective of and from The Dreaming Spires…
The text of the Sylvia Plath poem Sally references can be found here. 
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Rhapsody

‘I try to live my life as though I were stitching together a book of songs.’
This week, Sally offers us a tour through the stitched-together songs of her life, reflecting on the form of rhapsody. Join her for a series of vignettes on art, education, memory, and connection.
This text of this episode is based on an address Sally gave at Wadham College Chapel, part of an evening of ‘Taking Heart in Poetry & Song’ for St David's Day. More information can be found here. 
The full text of Dylan Thomas’ poem, ‘The force that through the green fuse drives the flower’, quoted early in the episode can be found here. 
The wonderful piano music in the opening and closing sections is, respectively, ‘Tuesday’ and ‘Saturday’ by Paul Sebastian.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

The Painter

‘I see that she is thinking most of her canvas, and how she will get there…’
This week, we join Sally after visiting her friend, the artist Emma Neuberg. Listen for a reflection of friendship, travel, and the connections art offers us.
More information on Emma and her work can be found here. She can also be found on Instagram @emmaneuberg.
The beautiful piano music in the closing section is ‘Tuesday’, by Paul Sebastian.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Blithe

‘Blithe came to me, not in flashing red or pink neon, but in pastels… in soft, painterly tones…’
This week, Sally has been inspired by a dream of the word ‘blithe.’ Listen for a meditation on the relationship between words, language, and the memories they ignite.
The Muir poem Sally reads can be found here.
The music used in the opening and closing section is, respectively, ‘Sunday’ and ‘Thursday’, by Paul Sebastian.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.