In this special bonus episode, follow Sally on an adventure of mistaken identity, Marmite ice cream, and Miss Cull.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘Is there a plot to life?’

This week, Sally has been reading Daniel Martin, by John Fowles. Follow her musings as she considers the relationship between the writer’s public and private selves, anonymity, and the nature of plot.

Daniel Martin, now published by Vintage Classics, is available from all good booksellers. All quoted materials are the property of the Estate of John Fowles.

The poem, ‘Burnt Norton’ from the Four Quartets, parts of which Sally performed last week at the Oxford Chamber Music Festival, is available to read here: http://www.davidgorman.com/4quartets/1-norton.htm

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Tune in tomorrow for a bonus episode…

‘How do you face the void?’

This week, Sally presents a series of linked meditations around the character of Miss Cull, illustrating how characters can be made by, with, and through everyday objects, and how her biography, like anyone’s, is still being written. For writers struggling to face the blank page, follow Miss Cull as she emerges from Sally’s observations of life, its rhythms, and the animate world of the writer’s imagination.

Miss Cull, a frequent guest on the podcast, can also be found in Sally’s latest book, The Green Lady, available from all good booksellers.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘Other echoes inhabit the garden. Shall we follow?’

This week, Sally is reading T. S. Eliot in preparation for her performance at the Oxford Chamber Music Festival on the 6th of October. She explores the landscape of ‘Burnt Norton’ (1936), improvising scenes on the theme of memory via rose leaves, purses, lightbulbs, and dry crackling lawns. The Oxford Chamber Music Festival, run by Priya Mitchell, takes place from the 4th to the 7th of October. All are welcome, please come along!

The Festival website is here: https://www.ocmf.net/2023-festival/

The poem, ‘Burnt Norton’ from the Four Quartets, is available to read here: http://www.davidgorman.com/4quartets/1-norton.htm

The wonderful music is by Paul Clarke. This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen

Special thanks to Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘For all the Froggies of the World...'

Inspired by her amphibian lifestyle, Sally offers an everyday fable of the writer. Froggie and the Golden Ball is a cautionary tale of the writerly career and the lure of acclaim, interspersed with reflections on nature, Emily Dickinson, and hairdressing.

Dickinson’s poem about the frog is available here: https://poets.org/poem/im-nobody-who-are-you-260

The producer of this episode is James Bowen.

The extra voice in this episode is Emma Fielding.

The beautiful piano music heard in the opening section is written and performed by Paul Clarke.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. Special thanks go to Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Sally has just finished a lesson with a student who is writing a story in the vein of Thomas Hardy about a young man on a farm. Searching for visual references, they latch on to a painting of a farrier, shoeing a horse. Now the image, haunted by  a spectral figure, has lingered in Sally's mind and she reflects on how visual and physical memory can inspire writing; and how writers are like ghosts, absent-present in the scene.

In a heat haze, the sound of a dog barking prompts her to think about the importance of creating barriers against the noise of the world.

The producer of the podcast is Andrew Smith: https://www.fleetingyearfilms.com

The extra voice in this episode is Emma Fielding.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. Special thanks go to Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Sally is reading A Field Guide to Reality, the debut novel by the Granta Best of Young British author Joanna Kavenna, originally published in 2016 and set in a surreal, quantum alternative Oxford University. 

Sally will be in conversation with Joanna Kavenna and fellow writer Elizabeth Lowry at Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, from 6pm on September 5th. They will discuss many of the themes of the podcast; reading, writing and the intersection with life and living - and it's free to attend! More details here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/s-bayley-e-lowry-and-j-kavenna-a-reading-life-a-writing-life-tickets-688044298017

You can find out more about Joanna's writings here:

http://www.joannakavenna.com/

And Elizabeth Lowry here:

https://elizabethlowry.co.uk/

Starting a new book is like starting a new relationship, and Sally is reading Elizabeth Lowry's The Chosen, a ghost story and a love story about Thomas Hardy and his estranged wife. 

Sally will be in conversation with Elizabeth Lowry and fellow writer Joanna Kavenna at Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, from 6pm on September 5th. They will discuss many of the themes of the podcast; reading, writing and the intersection with life and living - and it's free to attend! More details here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/s-bayley-e-lowry-and-j-kavenna-a-reading-life-a-writing-life-tickets-688044298017

Elizabeth Lowry's The Chosen has been shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. You can find out more here:

https://elizabethlowry.co.uk/

You can find out about Joanna Kavenna, who is also appearing in the event, here:

http://www.joannakavenna.com/

This is the second half of the chat between Sally and Will Self, held at Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, in which they discuss the German emigré writer WG Sebald, their reading and writing habits, parenthood, children and eccentric families.

Sally is hosting another evening of literary chat with friends and fellow writers Joanna Kavenna and Elizabeth Lowry, also at Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, from 6pm on September 5th. They will discuss many of the themes of the podcast; reading, writing and the intersection with life and living - and it's free to attend! More details here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/s-bayley-e-lowry-and-j-kavenna-a-reading-life-a-writing-life-tickets-688044298017

Our thanks to Will Self and to Blackwell's Bookshop. You can find out more about Will Self's book here: https://will-self.com/why-read/

Just a short announcement by Sally about an exciting event coming up - recorded with the help of Magnificent Maeve Magnus.