Sunday Feature

The Poet Who Lost His Head

Sunday 11 July 2004 21:30-22:15 (Radio 3)

Introduced by Kevin Jackson with readings by Derek Jacobi.

Francis Petrarch, first of the modern poets laureate, established the language for European love poetry with his sonnets to Laura. He has also been dubbed the first Humanist, the first mountaineer and a Romantic ahead of his time.

To mark the 700th anniversary of his birth, Germaine Greer, Clive James, Nicholas Mann and others reflect on his enduring influence, while the pathologist in charge of the recent exhumation of Petrarch's bones reveals some bizarre findings.

Duration:

45 minutes

Sunday Feature

Episode and Playlist Information

• 1 August 2004
• 30 July 2004
• 29 July 2004
• 28 July 2004
• 27 July 2004
• 25 July 2004
• 11 July 2004
• 4 July 2004
• 13 June 2004
• 6 June 2004

Sunday Feature pages