The Essay - A Good Death (R3 2009-03-30).txt
The Essay - A good death - Radio 3 - 2009
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Death is the one subject we shy away from, and in our frantic obsession with prolonging our lives, the notion of 'a good death' seems to have lost its relevance. Yet, the art of dying has been a defining notion throughout history.
In these five frank and powerful essays, writers and thinkers ponder the art of dying, and confront taboos around death. They will look at what makes a 'good death' today - is it merely having lived a good life, or is there something intrinsically important in dying well? And, now that our own deaths tend to occur in the sterile surroundings of a hospital ward, rather than at home surrounded by those we love, will reflect on how this distancing from death, and loss of control over our demise, has changed our relationship with dying. With references to the portrayal of death in literature, history and religion, as well as personal reflections on hopes and expectations of death, these essays will give five very different perspectives on the art of dying.
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Part 1 - 2009-03-30 23:00 - Mary Beard (Rpt 2010-07-05)
Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at Cambridge, explains how the Romans and Greeks approached death and asks whether scenes of showmanship, famous last words, and stoical endings really can help us when we come to face our own inevitable demise.
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Part 2 - 2009-03-31 23:00 - Beryl Bainbridge (Rpt 2010-07-06)
The next in our series of essays on the art of dying is by the distinguished novelist Beryl Bainbridge, who has just passed away. Scheduled before news of her death was known, this thought-provoking piece, looks back at how the notion of dying overshadowed Bainbridge's own life, from her wartime childhood to her adult brush with death, and reveals the hopes and expectations she had for her own demise.
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Part 3 - 2009-04-01 23:00 - Mary Warnock (Rpt 2010-07-07)
Baroness Mary Warnock looks at what we can learn from the Romantic Poets when it comes to dying well, and warns how our obsession with living, almost at all costs, can have disastrous consequences.
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Part 4 - 2009-04-02 23:00 - Julia Neuberger (Rpt 2010-07-08)
Rabbi Julia Neuberger, reflecting on her own work with the dying, looks as how those of different faiths, or no faith at all, approach death, and at why we should all be planning for the kind of death we want.
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Part 5 - 2009-04-03 23:00 - Thomas Lynch (Rpt 2010-07-09)
Thomas Lynch, acclaimed poet and working undertaker, looks at the art of dying through his own poetry, reflecting on the themes of friendship, ageing, sex and death, and on why he sees little reason to fear death itself.
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