A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley
Acclaimed writer Sally Bayley lives on a narrowboat, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature, sustained by reading and writing. In this series, she invites us into her life, showing us how books have the power to change your life. Sally has recently been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, but this is not a misery memoir podcast; she shows us how literature and connection to nature can console and give courage and insight. The series is produced by Andrew Smith, James Bowen, Lucie Richter-Mahr, and Dylan Gwalia. To find out more about Sally please visit: https://sallybayley.com.
Episodes
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 29, 2024
Calpurnia's Dream
Tuesday Oct 29, 2024
Tuesday Oct 29, 2024
‘Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies, / Yet now they fright me.’
This week, we join Sally in the early morning, after a Shakespearean dream. Listen for a meditation on the boundaries between sleeping and waking, dreams and reality, and confidence and hubris.
Calpurnia’s full speech can be found here.
The wonderful piano music in the opening 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.
Saturday Oct 19, 2024
On Walking
Saturday Oct 19, 2024
Saturday Oct 19, 2024
‘I hate walking, it seems so pointless to me…’
This week, Sally has been musing on the importance of mobility, reflecting on the increasing role of her blue scooter in her life. Listen for a meditation on the importance of transport, both physical and imaginative, via Thomas Bernhard, Agatha Christie, and Elizabeth Bishop.
Miss Marple of Bourne End has previously appeared in Sally’s first novel, Girl with Dove (2018). Available from all good booksellers.
The guitar music in the opening section is by Dylan Gwalia, and the piano music in the closing section is ‘Doubt’, by Paul Sebastian.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
A European Postcard
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
This week, Sally offers us a series of vignettes from her travels, both past and present. Follow her on a journey around Europe, through the eyes of the child, adult, and writer.
The wonderful piano music in the opening section is ‘Sunday’, by Paul Sebastian.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.
A note on the sound: This was recorded on location, while Sally taught at the Rosemary’s House writing retreat in Greece, without Sally’s usual recording equipment. As such, we regret that the audio quality is not up to its usual standard!
Tuesday Sep 17, 2024
Poppies in October
Tuesday Sep 17, 2024
Tuesday Sep 17, 2024
‘A gift, a love gift / Utterly unasked for / By a sky’
This week, Sally has been reading Sylvia Plath’s ‘Poppies in October’ (1963). Join her for this brief mediation on living generously and the restorative powers of reading poetry.
The text of the poem 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.
Monday Sep 09, 2024
The Painted Veil
Monday Sep 09, 2024
Monday Sep 09, 2024
‘There’s always hope where there’s poetry…’
This week, Sally is preparing for her narrowboat, Cerian, to journey upriver for maintenance. Join her in her engine room for a discussion of Somerset Maugham’s novel The Painted Veil, meditations on kindness, and reflections on how poetry helps us to create our own rhythms in a noisy world.
More information on The Painted Veil (1925) can be found here.
The poems read from in this episode are ‘Auguries of Innocence’ by William Blake, ‘“Hope” is the thing with feathers’ by Emily Dickinson, and ‘The Waste Land’ by T.S. Eliot.
The original piano music is ‘Doubt’ and ‘Sunday’ by Paul Sebastian. The original guitar music is by Dylan Gwalia.
This episode was edited and produced by Lucie Richter-Mahr.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
Sadler's Birthday
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
‘Silence, quietness, that’s a way of living…’
This week, we join Sally in the attic room of her family home, where she has been reading Rose Tremain's first novel Sadler’s Birthday (1976). Follow her on a journey through the spaces in life where we find quietness, and the ways we make ourselves fit into them, in writing or otherwise.
The 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.
Friday Aug 09, 2024
The Gleaners
Friday Aug 09, 2024
Friday Aug 09, 2024
‘But the darkness is a kind of blanket, and she comforts me…’This week, we join Sally on a sleepless night, on a journey through Millet’s The Gleaners (1857), via her character Pond Man. Follow her through this meditation on voice, place, and the spaces in between events.More information on the painting can be found here.The wonderful piano music in the opening section is ‘Doubt’, by Paul Sebastian. The guitar piece is by Dylan Gwalia.This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
Bleak House
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
‘London. Michaelmas Term lately over and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall…’
This week, Sally has been reading and teaching Charles Dickens’ Bleak House (1852). Follow her on a journey through his London, in the company of its climate, characters, and the bewildering legal bureaucracy not very far from our own….
Music used throughout includes ‘Tuesday’ 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.
A Reading Life, A Writing Life
Each episode of this podcast is accompanied with notes and tips for further reading. These can be found in the shownotes accompanying each episode.
Our thanks goes out to everyone who has supported Sally and her podcast so far. Your generosity has enabled us to launch the series. To find out more, or to support the on-going producton of the podcast, please visit https://gofund.me/d5bef397
To find out more about Sally Bayley please visit her website at https://sallybayley.com/
Thank you!