Professor Guy Cuthbertson featured on a recent episode of BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time, which focused on celebrated British World War One poet, Wilfred Owen.
The Associate Dean and Head of the School of Humanities at Liverpool Hope University published a highly acclaimed biography of Owen in 2014 and joined In Our Time host, Melvyn Bragg, to discuss a man regarded as the essential British war poet.
Professor Cuthbertson, who specialises in British literature and culture, discussed Owen’s life, poetry and his legacy.
The episode aired on Thursday 27 October and covered the poet’s childhood years in Birkenhead, his time at Craiglockhart War Hospital, his poems 'Disabled' and 'Six O'Clock in Princes Street' and the popularity of his poetry after his death.
In Our Time is the fourth most popular on demand radio show and podcast in the BBC network, and Professor Cuthbertson was pleased to have the opportunity to share his expertise with its global audience.
“It was a real pleasure to be invited to take part in In Our Time, and talk about Owen with Dr Jane Potter (Reader in The School of Arts at Oxford Brookes University) and Professor Fran Brearton (Professor of Modern Poetry at Queen’s University Belfast),” he said.
“A decade ago, when I joined Hope, I was completing my biography of Owen for Yale University Press. For that book, I was able to use local archives as well as visiting places Owen knew – he spent a large part of his childhood nearby in Birkenhead.
“In Our Time is rightly a very popular programme, with a large audience around the world, and the Wilfred Owen episode will hopefully be an episode that many people enjoy.
“I would like to thank Melvyn Bragg and his team for inviting me to take part.”
A guest host slot on the Shedunnit podcast followed hot on the heels of Professor Cuthbertson’s BBC appearance.
The podcast, which is popular across the world, unravels the mysteries behind classic detective stories and is usually hosted by the Liverpool Hope academic’s wife, the writer, Caroline Crampton.
To celebrate its 100th episode, Professor Cuthbertson assumed hosting duties, interviewing Caroline about the popularity of Golden Age crime fiction during the Covid pandemic, and how crime fiction relates to other genres.
You can listen to that episode of the Shedunnit podcast on BBC Sounds, Spotify and Apple, whilst Professor Cuthbertson’s In Our Time appearance is also available on BBC Sounds.