Personal Landscapes

• Constantine Cavafy with biographer Gregory Jusdanis

  I first encountered Constantine Cavafy in Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet, where ‘the old poet’ represented the ghostly voice of the city.I was immediately attracted to the dreamlike quality of his poems, and the way he captured a sense of melancholy that I’ve always felt.Cavafy wrote about human desire, inglorious epochs of Greek history, and civilizations in decline, using plain factual descriptions undressed by metaphor.But how did a writer who showed little promise in his youth find a place in the literary canon and become ‘the poet of Alexandria’?I’m joined by Gregory Jusdanis, co-author of Constantine Cavafy: A New Biography.We spoke about Cavafy’s childhood of faded aristocratic grandeur, the Mediterranean Greek world he grew up in, and his lifelong poetic preoccupations. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe

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• Peter Matthiessen with biographer Lance Richardson

  Peter Matthiessen is a towering figure of twentieth-century American letters, and the only writer to win the National Book Award in both fiction and nonfiction. He’s also a difficult man to pin down because he accomplished so much in so many different areas.He co-founded The Paris Review and spied for the CIA. He was best known for 'nature' books like The Snow Leopard, but thought of himself as a novelist. He was also a spiritual seeker who reached the highest ranks of Zen Buddhism. How do you come to grips with a life as varied as this?I'm joined by biographer Lance Richardson, the author of True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen.We spoke about Matthiessen’s privileged background, his life-changing journey to Nepal, his serial womanizing, and his greatest books. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe

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• Alex Hutchinson on what drives us to explore

  This drive to discover is deeply human, and as today’s guest will tell you, it might even be encoded in our genes.Alex Hutchinson is the author of The Explorer's Gene. He draws on the latest insights from neuroscience and behavioural psychology to show how the urge to explore shaped our species, and how it continues to direct our actions, even when we’re sitting on the sofa.We spoke about the explore-exploit dilemma, memorizing a route versus mapping a landscape, and how to find the sweet spot between predictability and chaos in your own exploring life. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe

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• Foster Hirsch on film noir and 1950s Hollywood

  Film noir is is my favourite silver screen genre. I’ve seen every A-list film noir multiple times, and most of the B-movies, too. I’ve wanted to do a podcast conversation about it since I started Personal Landscapes.These downbeat stories of ordinary lives gone hopelessly astray crackle with hard-boiled dialogue. They're set in modern urban wastelands, usually at night, in claustrophobic rooms where the actors are framed in tight shots that create a mood of entrapment.The classic period only lasted from 1941 until the mid-1950s, but their visual style continues to influence movies today.Who better to guide us through it than Foster Hirsch, film historian and author the definitive study, Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen. We spoke about film noir’s roots in hard-boiled fiction, how German Expressionism shaped its aesthetic, and what was happening in 1950s Hollywood as noir — and the studio system — came to an end. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe

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• Peter Carpenter: Walking in the Footsteps of David Bowie

  When his doctor told him to walk or die, Peter Carpenter transformed a health crisis into a feat of urban archaeology.In wandering the streets where David Bowie honed his craft, Carpenter uncovered hidden dimensions and new connections to pivotal Bowie narratives, shining a light on the legendary artist’s conscious and subconscious influences.Peter Carpenter is the author of Bowieland: Walking in the Footsteps of David Bowie, and of several volumes of poetry, including Just Like That and After the Goldrush.We spoke about Bowie’s Berlin years, how the suburbs shaped his sound, and the Growth Arts Lab in Beckenham. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe

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