This week’s selection comes from Stephen Cleary, Lead Curator of Literary & Creative Recordings. Polish poet and writer Wioletta Greg has attracted critical praise for her coming-of-age tale Swallowing Mercury, which was published in January this year by Portobello Books. For this week’s ‘Recording of the Week’ we offer a… read more
This week’s selection comes from Dr Janet Topp Fargion, Lead Curator of World and Traditional Music. This is an ‘ondjongo’ song sung by a group of Himba women, recorded in 1998 by French ethnomusicologist Emmanuelle Olivier (BL reference C1709). The recording was made within the French-Namibian project "Living Music and… read more
This week’s selection comes from Jonnie Robinson, Lead Curator of Spoken English. This short exchange during a conversation between two young females talking about life and relationships offers a fascinating glimpse into how our linguistic choices reflect our identity. One of the speakers, a British Muslim, uses the phrase bringing… read more
This week’s selection comes from Cheryl Tipp, Curator of Wildlife and Environmental Sounds. Coming face to face with a wild orangutan is something most nature lovers can only dream about. In this evocative interview extract, wildlife sound recordist John Paterson vividly describes a chance encounter with a curious female in… read more
This week’s selection comes from Dr Rob Perks, Lead Curator Oral History. In this moving testimony recorded for ‘Lives in the Oil Industry’ project, oral historian Hugo Manson talks to Bob Ballantyne (1942-2004), a survivor of the Piper Alpha North Sea oil rig disaster in 1988 which killed 167 people…. read more