Tuesday 19 March 2013

RS Thomas: Always Seeking Greater Silence

Over the weekend I listened to the recent Radio 3 documentary, RS Thomas: Always Seeking Greater Silence, on iPlayer. It didn't disappoint, including as it did plenty of clips of the great man talking about his poetry, his faith, and his interest in birdwatching (the point being, of course, that all three were absolutely inextricably linked). It considered some of the motivations for birdwatching as a pastime, and it was significant that for all his devotion to it, and considerable expertise, Thomas never considered himself a twitcher, that term beloved of the mass media whenever birdwatching hits the headlines.

It covered some of the same ground as Byron Rogers' superb biography of Thomas, The Man Who Went Into The West (Rogers was featured at one point), but there was a lot more, too, with Andrew Motion's comments particulary thought-provoking.

And there was plenty of poetry, of course. Two particular favourites of mine, The Other and A Marriage, were read, but there was more, besides. I don't usually need an excuse to go back to Thomas's books anyway, and I was digging around in the bookcase before the programme had ended.

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