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Mary Beard and her guests consider the effects of Covid-19 on creativity and the world of literature and discuss how writing and drama chronicled the HIV-AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

With cultural institutions around the country closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, host Mary Beard gets to grips with the latest technology in her additional role as broadcast engineer, as she aims to bring you a new series from her study each week.

Mary and her guests consider the effects of Covid-19 on creativity and on the world of literature. Will the enforced isolation on a generation of writers lead to a post-pandemic rise in books?

Plus a discussion with Tales of the City creator Armistead Maupin and author Patrick Gale on how writing and drama chronicled the HIV-Aids crisis of the 1980s and helped to shape public attitudes.

And there is a special monologue told through the voice of the Covid-19 virus by Booker Prize-winning writer Bernardine Evaristo, and a poem inspired by lockdown from poet laureate Simon Armitage.

28 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Mary Beard
Executive Producer Tanya Hudson
Series Producer Mark Crossan

Broadcast

Inside Culture with Mary Beard

Inside Culture with Mary Beard

Mary Beard hosts the new look topical arts show.