Siren FM, February 2012
In my travels through the highways and biways of radio drama, moving
beyond the confines of the BBC into less well-known sites, I frequently come across little gems. In previous reviews, I've
paid tribute to Two Valleys Radio in Huddersfield, who host a monthly programme designed to promote the wealth of creative
writing in the local area.
Now the time has come to recognize the achievements of a podcast from Siren FM, a
community radio station based in Lincoln. The Reading Room is a magazine promoting different forms of new writing
- poetry and prose - from a variety of talents. In this particular programme we listened to an interview with performance
poet Luke Wright, whose boundless energy was only matched by his enthusiasm for doing live gigs. He is also responsible for
curating the poetry area at the Latitude Festival, which involves arranging slots for as many poets as possible. A formidable
achivement indeed.
This was followed by a short story from Abigail Tartelin, read by the author herself
- a sad, elegaic depiction of a long-standing love-affair spanning two countries, Britain and the United States. The programme
was rounded off with another piece from Jamie MacKay, focusing on the sheer banality of many of our daily rituals (how many
times in a morning do we check Facebook, email, Twitter and other sites?)
What makes The Reading Room such quality entertainment is not only
the choice of material, but the enthusiasm with which it is presented. I congratulate Paul Tyler - the presenter, and Jonathan
Haw - the producer, for creating a thirty-minute magazine that surpasses the rather more staid material available on
Radio 4. I'll certainly listen again.
