Episodes
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The Reader has been running Shared Reading sessions in criminal justice settings for over two decades. Our Shared Reading groups reach over 650 people per week across 28 prisons and probation settings. The Reader’s work in these settings is delivered by a staff of dedicated Reader Leaders, and until recently that team was led by Kate Bramhall – The Reader Podcast spoke to Kate about how she came to work for The Reader and discover Shared Reading for herself.
Learn more about The Reader’s work in Criminal Justice settings
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Denis Benn
Native Son by Richard Wright
‘Ulysses’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Grief is the Thing With Feathers by Max Porter
New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver
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The children’s author Flavia Z. Drago visited The Reader at our immersive story space, The Storybarn, to talk about her wonderful picture books which include Gustavo the Shy Ghost and Vlad the Fabulous Vampire. Flavia spoke to The Reader’s Director of Programming, Kara Orford, about what she read as a child growing up in Mexico City, and what inspires her work today. Ideal listening while you prepare for all things witch and ghoul during this week of Hallowe’en!
Links:
Flavia Z. Drago
Flavia Z. Drago c/o Walker Books
Flavia’s books at Bookshop.org: Vlad, Gustavo and Leila; Monsters Play Counting; Monsters Play Peekaboo
The Storybarn at Calderstones Mansion House in Liverpool
Other children’s authors Flavia loves: Isabelle Arsenault; Beatrice Alemagna; Erika Meza; Juan Palomino; Tomi Ungerer
Buy tickets for the Fangtastic Family Feast
Hallowe’en at The Reader
‘The Listeners’ by Walter de la Mare
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Episodes manquant?
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Participants in Shared Reading groups say that the experience helps them feel better, lifts their mood, or benefits their mental health. But what about physical problems – can Shared Reading help with them too? The Reader Podcast spoke to Helen Cook, who has been part of a long-running Shared Reading group for people living with chronic pain, to learn what Shared Reading means to her.
Links:
More information about chronic pain: Chronic Pain on NHS website; The British Pain Society; charity Pain Concern
Potiki by Patricia Grace
More about Shared Reading
Find a Shared Reading group near you
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What is this thing we call Shared Reading? How does it work? Who is it for? What has changed in over two decades of The Reader’s Shared Reading? To help answer these questions, we spoke to a group of people who have led Shared Reading groups over many years in a variety of settings. Listen in for their honest, thoughtful and moving reflections.
It’s a bumper episode - see below for time stamps to help you navigate it:
0.00 - 12.22: Introductions to the speakers
12.23 - 51.07: The nuts and bolts of Shared Reading – how it works
51.30 - 1.02.00 The rewards of Shared Reading – who it’s for
1.02.17 - 1.12.22 How Shared Reading has changed (or how it hasn’t)
Links:
The International Shared Reading Conference at Calderstones
Find out more about Shared Reading
Find a Shared Reading group near you
Become a Reader volunteer
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The founder of The Reader, Jane Davis, leads an online Shared Reading group who have met on Zoom every week for over two years to read The Prelude, a long, autobiographical poem by William Wordsworth. In this episode, members of the group explain how they came to be part of this special shared endeavour and what the experience has meant to them. We’ll hear about the early days of The Reader, and gain insight into how Shared Reading can create fellowship, powerful thoughts and feelings, and a shared sense of deeper meaning.
The Prelude by William Wordsworth (online text)
The Prelude by William Wordsworth (buy a copy)
Jane Davis reads Paradise Lost on Substack
Find a Shared Reading group near you
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The Reader Bookshelf is a carefully curated collection of literature for adults and children, exploring a different theme each year. The Bookshelf includes a diverse range of stories, plays and poems which are shared across our Shared Reading movement. We join a Shared Reading group at Calderstones reading from Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story collection Interpreter of Maladies, a popular choice from last year’s Reader Bookshelf. And The Reader’s Director of Literature, Katie Clark, introduces our new Bookshelf for 2024-25, and this year’s theme of ‘Wonder’.
The Reader Bookshelf 2024-25
The Reader Bookshelf at Bookshop.org
Find a Shared Reading group near you
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Hill of Doors poetry collection by Robin Robertson
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In this episode we learn about the secret histories of various species of trees from around the world which now, like The Reader, thrive in Calderstones Park in Liverpool. We’ll hear from representatives of Liverpool-based groups Chinese Wellbeing and Japan Society North West about the cultural significance of species such as cherry blossom and pine, and listen to poetry which unlocks the wonder and mystery of these trees. The episode is part of our heritage project, Making Meaning at Calderstones, which is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Reader at Calderstones
Chinese Wellbeing
Japan Society North West
Wendell Berry poetry
170 Chinese Poems, translated by Arthur Waley
The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon
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The Reader Podcast visits the new Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot in Merseyside to join one of the two Shared Reading groups that take place there every week. We listened in to the group reading an extract from King Lear together, had a tour of the theatre, and Reader Leader Emily Parr told us what Shared Reading brings to this unique community space.
The Shakespeare North Playhouse
The history of Shakespeare North Playhouse – an interview with architect Dr Nicholas Helm
King Lear, Act 3, Scene 2
‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley
What’s on? Open air theatre at Calderstones this summer
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In this episode we return to The Reader's project uncovering the heritage of Calderstones, our home in Liverpool. We’ll be visiting a very special part of Calderstones - the Garden Theatre, an outdoor stage added to the Mansion House by Liverpool Council in the 1940s. We’ll hear from audience members who have enjoyed shows on this stage, both past and present, and learn why the Garden Theatre’s long association with Shakespeare makes Calderstones the perfect home for The Reader.
With thanks to The Reader’s heritage volunteers, all the local residents who shared their memories with us, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Reader’s 2024 Summer Season at the Garden Theatre
What's on at Calderstones
The History of Calderstones
The Handlebards
‘After a Play’ by Elizabeth Jennings, from The Collected Poems (Carcanet)
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The Storybarn is a one-of-a-kind reading retreat for children and their grown-ups. Little ones can let their imaginations run wild, discovering new stories to share, and taking part in unique experiences, alongside arts and crafts. In this episode we visit a Tiny Acorns session, a group where parents and carers spend time at The Storybarn with their newborns, picking up handy tips on reading with their little ones and enjoying Shared Reading together. We hear from the parents who attend these groups, as well as the Storybarn staff themselves, who give an insight into how the magic is made.
Visit the Storybarn page on our website
'When Giving is All We Have' by Alberto Rios
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Episode 17 - Now We Sit With It
The title of this episode is taken from a new painting created for permanent display in Calderstones Mansion House by Liverpool-based artist Sumuyya Khader. The artwork responds to new research by a historian and Reader heritage volunteers into links between the Mansion House, its owners and the transatlantic slave economy. In this episode we speak to Robert, one of the volunteer researchers, and to Sumuyya Khader, to hear about the process of uncovering and responding to this research.
This episode has been funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of ‘Making Meaning at Calderstones’ – The Reader’s two-year project to uncover and celebrate the unique stories of our reading home.
More information about ‘Now We Sit With It’
Calderstones links to transatlantic slavery – what we know (The Reader website)
Sumuyya Khader
‘The White Man’s Guilt’ by James Baldwin in Dark Days (Penguin)
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Today's poem is 'A Song for New Year's Eve' by William Cullen Bryant. It's read by Jemma Guerrier from The Reader.
Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson.
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Today's poem is 'Ring Out, Wild Bells' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It's read by Chris Lynn from The Reader.
Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson.
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Today's poem is 'A January Dandelion' by George Marion McClellan. It's read by Alex McCarten from The Reader.
Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson.
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Today's poem is 'The Old Year' by John Clare. It's read by Jamie Barton from The Reader.
Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson.
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Today's poem is 'The Burning of the Leaves' by Laurence Binyon. It's read by Clare Ellis from The Reader.
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Today's poem is 'Snow in the Suburbs' by Thomas Hardy. It's read by Sue Highfield from The Reader.
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Merry Christmas!
Today's poem is 'Winter Stars' by Sara Teasdale. It's read by Sami Wilson from The Reader.
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Today's poem is 'Winter Trees' by William Carlos Williams. It's read by George Hawkins from The Reader.
From 'The Collected Poems Vol.1: 1909-1939' by William Carlos Williams (Carcanet, 2018). Permission requested.
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Today's poem is 'Winter Days' by Gareth Owen. It's read by Carole Simms from The Reader.
From 'Collected Poems' by Gareth Owen (Macmillan, 2000) Permission requested.
Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson.
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