Olivia Laing: In Search of Eden

Captioned

When Olivia Laing began to restore a walled garden in Suffolk, she also embarked upon an imaginative discovery of the pleasures and possibilities of gardens through the ages. The Garden Against Time explores their significance in Western culture, from Milton’s Paradise Lost to Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage. Hear leading critic and writer Laing (author of The Lonely City and Funny Weather) talking with J C Niala.

Olivia Laing will now be appearing remotely.

Book Festival News

Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024 Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024
Friday 13 December

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

Generations: Allan Little & Jen Stout Generations: Allan Little & Jen Stout Veteran BBC correspondent Allan Little is joined by Jen Stout, a journalist, radio producer, and author. Together they compare notes of their experience of journalism across the generations. Chaired by Caroline Eden… Eileen Myles: 'They' Contain Multitudes Eileen Myles: 'They' Contain Multitudes Prolific poet and activist Eileen Myles is back with a “Working Life”, a new collection which captures the many dualities of human life: loneliness and companionship, travel and stasis, fear and wonder. Join us to hear Myles discuss the immense anxieties… Malachy Tallack & Kathleen Winter (2015 Event) Malachy Tallack & Kathleen Winter (2015 Event) How do northern landscapes affect the people who live in them? Malachy Tallack’s Sixty Degrees North includes interviews and observations in places which share the same latitude, from Shetland to Scandinavia and as far as Alaska. Canadian writer… Interview - Billy Collins (2014) Interview - Billy Collins (2014) He’s twice been poet laureate in the US and says he hopes his poems ‘begin in Kansas and end in Oz’. Now Billy Collins returns with Aimless Love, his first collection of new and selected poems for 12 years. Elegant, poignant and… Anne Enright with Vicky Featherstone: Mothers and Daughters Anne Enright with Vicky Featherstone: Mothers and Daughters ‘You were always sitting in character, you were just never sure which one.’ So says Norah to the memory of her mother in Actress, the new novel by Anne Enright. The mother in question is Katherine O’Dell, who died aged 58 – the same age Norah has now… Ottessa Moshfegh: Power, Cruelty and Savage Faith Ottessa Moshfegh: Power, Cruelty and Savage Faith With her striking new novel Lapvona, Ottessa Moshfegh continues to prove herself as one of the most exciting contemporary literary fiction writers. Unbound by genre, unafraid of darkness and unparalleled in her ambition, Moshfegh transports us to a… Jeffrey Boakye, Stewart Lansley & Jack Monroe: Where Do We Go From Here? Jeffrey Boakye, Stewart Lansley & Jack Monroe: Where Do We Go From Here? Star of BBC’s Daily Kitchen Live and activist Jack Monroe teaches us the true meaning of self-care in Good Food for Bad Days. In I Heard What You Said, Jeffrey Boakye examines the structural racism behind prejudiced statements he’s encountered. And in The… Kei Miller: Silence is Violence Kei Miller: Silence is Violence A few years ago, when asked what he sees when he looks at a map, Kei Miller answered ‘I see the things that aren’t there... maps are always interesting to me for what’s left out…’. These gaps and omissions were a key part of the celebrated poet and… Leah Broad: Singing Women’s Praises Leah Broad: Singing Women’s Praises Classical music has long been a male-dominated affair. Historical musicologist Leah Broad is determined to redress the balance and in Quartet: How Four Women Changed the Musical World she chronicles the lives and work of 20th century composers, Ethel… Chris Brookmyre talks to Brian Taylor at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Chris Brookmyre talks to Brian Taylor at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Sixteen years on from the death of young Niamh on a holiday in Portugal, the glamorous Temple clan hold a fateful family reunion in Fallen Angel, Chris Brookmyre’s new standalone thriller. For Amanda, a neighbouring nanny, fascination gives way to…