Audio and video
Watch and listen to writers and researchers from the School of English.
LGBTQ and women's rights activists debate - Zinnie Harris's Meet Me at Dawn (December 2016)
The title translates as "Writing Female Protagonists for the Stage" and the participants were (from left to right) Ebru Nihan Celkan (playwright, dramaturg and the founder of buluTiyatro), Ayşe Gül Altınay (Director of SU Gender Research Centre and Associate Professor of Anthropology at Sabancı University), Professor Zinnie Harris (University of St Andrews), Erdem Avsar (DOT Theatre, Istanbul).
Seamus Heaney in St Andrews
In June 2013 Seamus Heaney came to St Andrews to give an illustrated reading of some of his poems that are translated from, and inspired by, medieval literature. This reading was part of a conference called 'The Middle Ages in the Modern World', which was held to celebrate the University's 600th anniversary. Sadly, it turned out to be Heaney's last public appearance outside of Ireland.
Here you can listen to Heaney read from, and talk about, his translations of Beowulf, of Robert Henryson's poems, and the Middle English 'Names of the Hare'. Heaney also reads a poem by William Dunbar, probably a graduate of the University of St Andrews.
Robert Crawford performing 'Clan Donald's Call to Battle at Harlaw'
Watch Robert Crawford perform Lachlan Mór MacMhuirich's 'Clan Donald's Call to Battle at Harlaw' during the graduation address from winter 2013
Poet Douglas Dunn in interview with Robert Crawford
Douglas talks about his life, work, friendship with Philip Larkin, love of jazz, Byron, teaching writing at St Andrews, and living in Hull and Dairsie.
Chris Jones - Pete Seeger and the ubi sunt motif
31 January 2014, following the death of Pete Seeger, Chris Jones appeared on Radio 3's The Verb, talking to Ian McMillan about the medieval poetic ubi sunt device in relation to Seeger's song 'Where Have All the Flowers Gone?' Chris's piece starts at 34:06.
Rhiannon Purdie, Chris Jones and Robert Crawford - The Flyting of Kennedy and Dunbar
The 15th-century poet William Dunbar was probably a graduate of the University of St Andrews. One of his most famous poems is a 'flyting' between himself and a friend, the poet Walter Kennedy. A 'flyting' was a kind of medieval poetic duel, in which poets strove to out-insult each other.
On 8 March 2013, Chris Jones and Robert Crawford re-created the flyting at a sell-out performance at StAnza, Scotland's International Poetry Festival. Their colleague, the medievalist Rhiannon Purdie presided over the flyting, introducing the event and explaining its background.
Don Paterson on Reading Shakespeare's Sonnets
Poet Don Paterson talks about his book Reading Shakespeare's Sonnets and reads from the sonnets
Robert Crawford on The Bard: Robert Burns, A Biography
Robert Crawford talks about his book The Bard: Robert Burns, A Biography and his motivations for writing it