The Curiosity Series with Maeve Higgins: Episode 5 - John McLachlan and Brian Leyden

The Arts Council Podcast

The Curiosity Series is an Arts Council podcast commissioned as part of the Council’s 70th anniversary celebrations hosted by writer, comedian and podcaster Maeve Higgins. In each episode, you’ll hear artists involved in music, dance, poetry, literature, visual arts and theatre in conversation with Maeve as they get curious about each other’s work, explore the integral role that creativity has played in their lives, and discuss the broader issues and themes that connect their art. In the penultimate episode of The Curiosity Series, Maeve Higgins speaks with writer Brian Leyden and composer John McLachlan about the writer Leland Bardwell (1922-2016) and the centenary celebrations of her birth taking place this year. John and Brian speak to Maeve about uncovering new manuscripts and organising Leland’s incredible creative output in a new website dedicated to her work, as well as preparing for new and upcoming publications in 2022, including My Name Suspended in the Air: Leland Bardwell at 100 edited by Libby Hart (Lepus Print, 2022). Together they delve into Leland’s work as a writer in the context of her fascinating and somewhat unconventional life, exploring themes of feminism and the role of the outsider in her writing. They also speak about their own respective relationships with Leland as a mother and a friend. An artist who was well and truly ahead of her time, this episode examines the personal and professional connections brought together in Leland’s art. Production: Milestone Inventive and bigO Audio engineering: Scimitar Sound Title music: ‘Ag Oscailt’ by Gareth Quinn Redmond Links to Leland Bardwell’s work and centenary activities: Leland Bardwell website: lelandbardwell.ie A Single Rose Festival (11th-13th Nov): A celebration of Leland Bardwell in poetry, prose, art, music and film at The Model, Sligo: https://bit.ly/3Eld91B Lepus Print website: www.lepusprint.com Lepus Print Twitter: www.twitter.com/LepusPrint Music and poetry heard in this episode: John McLachlan, A fine example of how not to live: https://soundcloud.com/user-800191557/a-fine-example-of-how-not-to-live John McLachlan, Dog Ear: https://soundcloud.com/john-mclachlan-composer/dog-ear-excerpt Leland Bardwell, The Act of Poetry Is A Rebel Act: https://soundcloud.com/leland-bardwell/the-act-of-poetry-is-a-rebel-act