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Retracing JB Priestley's footsteps of 1933, poet Lemn Sissay heads south to begin his odyssey around modern England.

Lemn Sissay begins an odyssey around modern England following the route map of another writer, JB Priestley.

In Autumn 1933, Priestley travelled the length and breadth of the country in one of the first attempts at "documentary journalism". The result was "English Journey", a book recalling the chance encounters with the "ordinary folk" in the England of 1933.

With a first edition in hand, performance poet and author Lemn Sissay sets off to discover just how much of his modern England Priestley would still recognise - and approve of.

In the first of two programmes, Lemn heads south taking a coach journey through London, a chat to a Southampton sea captain and a visit to a Bristol supermarket suggests their two Englands are curiously intertwined.

Producer: Philip Sellars

First broadcast on BBC Radio in November 2003.

30 minutes

Last on

Wed 17 Aug 202202:30
BBC Radio 4 Extra

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