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Tracy K Smith; New albums from Madonna, Springsteen and Avicii; Tory leadership and the arts

Tracy K Smith, US poet laureate, and reviews of new albums from Madonna, Springsteen and Avicii

Tracy K. Smith has just completed her time as the Poet Laureate of the United States and published Eternity, her selected poems. For Front Row she reads poems reflecting the variety of her work: the story of a clandestine border crossing; a poem linking David Bowie with the cosmos; another that she did not write so much as discover, a letter to Abraham Lincoln from a mother appealing for the release of her son from the Union army in the American Civil War.

Political commentator Helen Lewis joins Front Row to look at what the Tory leadership election might mean for the arts, considering the arts track records of the remaining candidates and exploring the value of a cultural hinterland in modern politics.

Today sees the release of new albums by Bruce Springsteen and Madonna. Kate Mossman reviews Western Stars and Madame X, as well as the posthumous new album Tim by Avicii.

Presenter: Stig Abell
Producer: Sarah Johnson

Available now

28 minutes

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen's album
Western Stars is out now

Madonna

Madonna
Madonna

Madonna's new album
Madame X is out now

Tracy K Smith

Tracy K Smith
Tracy K Smith
Photo credits L and Main:
Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Eternity, the Selected Poems of Tracy K. Smith is out now


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  • Fri 14 Jun 2019 19:15

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