Free Thinking: Daljit Nagra & Val McDermid and Reynard the Fox

Poet Daljit Nagra and crime writer Val McDermid discuss capturing different forms of speech, a sense of place, and politics – in a conversation organised with the Royal Society of Literature and Durham Book Festival, and hosted by presenter Shahidha Bari.

Plus, how the medieval fable of Reynard The Fox has lessons for us all today. As a new translation and retelling by Anne Louise Avery is published, she joins Shahidha to discuss the book with Noreen Masud – a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker from Durham University. Based on William Caxton’s translation of the medieval Flemish folk tale, this is the story of a wily fox – a subversive, dashing and anarchic character – summoned to the court of King Noble the Lion. But is he the character you want to emulate, or does Bruin the Bear offer us a better template?

Producer: Emma Wallace