SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

BBC have announced that they are going to broadcast Tony Harrison's epic poem v. on 18 February at 23:00 on Radio 4http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21015301Some with long memories will recall the howls of horror from the tabloids and MPs when the poem was broadcast television in 1987. After the broadcast right wing Tory MP Gerald Howarth was quoted that Harrison was "probably another bolshie poet wishing to impose his frustrations on the rest of us". When told of this, Harrison retorted that Howarth was "probably another idiot MP wishing to impose his intellectual limitations on the rest of us".The poem written during the 1984/85 miners strike describes Harrison reaction on visting his parents graves in Holbeck Cemetry to find them covered in obscene graffiti, littered with cans and neglected. Highly political, beautifully observed and indirectly a poem about Leeds.The controversy centred around Harrison direct use of profanity (which are words you routinely here now on comedy shows after 9pm) which only mirrored the graffiti on the stonesThis won't be to everyone's taste but I won't be missing it    

Sounds like one not to miss - thanks for the warning.

A copy of V here....http://plagiarist.com/poetry/5618/ [watch out for the pop-ups]I don't understand why Harrison doesn’t receive much more recognition.

wasnt it something about someone having sprayed NF on a jewish grave or some similar monstrosity? We watched a video of Tony Harrison reciting 'V' years ago in A-level English. If the BBC are going to show some 1980s stuff I vote for a re-run of the harrowing 'Threads' which still puts me into a panic at the thought of viewing it...    

jonleeds wrote: wasnt it something about someone having sprayed NF on a jewish grave or some similar monstrosity? We watched a video of Tony Harrison reciting 'V' years ago in A-level English. If the BBC are going to show some 1980s stuff I vote for a re-run of the harrowing 'Threads' which still puts me into a panic at the thought of viewing it...     It scared me to death too.

Hmmm - quote on the BBC Radio 4 website -Radio 4's arts commissioning editor Tony Phillips said the station would "find a way to put it on air without compromising Harrison's poem at all".I think the only way to do that would be to broadcast it in full but, given its a 30 minute programme, I don't think they will.The poem contains 111 verses and the reading will be preceded by an introductory feture, that seems a big ask in 30 minutes.    

On Sunday afternoon, I switched on my radio to find Radio 4's Poetry Please broadcasting Peter Porter's "Your Attention Please." For a split second, I was transported back to the Cold War, and thought the balloon had gone up!

I have just read "Your attention please" (at http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/poetry/poetry_nuclear3.html), very impressive. That must have been interesting to catch without warning.

johnnyg wrote: I have just read "Your attention please" (at http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/poetry/poetry_nuclear3.html), very impressive. That must have been interesting to catch without warning. It certainly was a little startling!

Caron wrote: jonleeds wrote: wasnt it something about someone having sprayed NF on a jewish grave or some similar monstrosity? We watched a video of Tony Harrison reciting 'V' years ago in A-level English. If the BBC are going to show some 1980s stuff I vote for a re-run of the harrowing 'Threads' which still puts me into a panic at the thought of viewing it...     It scared me to death too. I've got Threads on DVD, a brilliant piece of TV. Was it banned or just never shown again since the 80's?