Listening to Clara Schumann through her pupils: A pianistic orchestration of tones and rhythms

Photograph of Clara Schumann by Franz Hanfstaengl 1857 Guest blog by Edison Fellow Yanran Li I was fortunate to obtain a fellowship at the British Library last fall. As a pianist, given my interest in Robert Schumann, I was delighted to be able to take advantage of the many unusual…

On Pioneering Social Research

The Pioneering Social Research project is based on 58 life story interviews archived at the British Library

Akyaaba Addai-Sebo on founding UK Black History Month

Guest blog by Rosa Kurowska Kyffin, interviewer for National Life Stories. Akyaaba Addai-Sebo standing in front of the King’s Library at the British Library, St Pancras. Earlier this summer the British Library recorded a life story interview with Akyaaba Addai-Sebo for the National Life Stories oral history collection Leaders of…

Recording of the week: A conversation right up our alley

In the Spoken English department we love dialects in all their varieties. Dialects are made up of accent, grammatical forms and vocabulary, and are often specific to or associated with a particular geographical location. As populations change, so do dialects, and therefore many people might think of these as a…

Recording of the week: South Asian history and medical practices in Britain

Mahomed’s Baths from 1826. Alamy. The NHS as we know it today has been built – and continues to be sustained – by migrant contributions. South Asians have played a major role in this. But did you know that we can place South Asians in the medical profession in Britain…