Sunday Feature

The Poet Who Lost His Head - Francis Petrarch

Sunday 6 August 2006 21:45-22:30 (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.

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 Oct 06 William Empson
• 24 Sep 06 The act of listening
• 27 Aug 06 Brecht
• 21 August 2006
• 20 August 2006
• 7 Aug 06 Reviving Asmara
• 6 Aug 06 Francis Petrarch
• 9 Jul 06 Rembrandt 400
• 2 Jul 06 Beyond a Boundary
• 25 Jun 06 George Stubbs

Sunday Feature pages