Robert Seatter

Explore 100 years of British History through key broadcasting moments illuminated by images from the BBC archive. Created 100 years ago, on 18 October 1922, the BBC transformed people's lives at the turn of a dial, bringing voices out of the ether and conjuring the magic community of radio. Now, our lives are inextricably linked to broadcasting. It is how we remember where we come from and who we are - from the Moon Landing to the 9/11 attacks, from Monty Python to EastEnders, from Live Aid to London 2012.Head of BBC History Robert Seatter charts the story of a broadcaster and a nation, reflecting the story of all our lives across ten tumultuous decades. Broadcasting Britain: 100 years of the BBC is a vivid, thought-provoking and, most of all, entertaining celebration of a global cultural icon.Discover the BBC's central role in reflecting our ever-changing world: - Concise, essay-style text gets to the heart of each carefully chosen topic- Organized chronologically year by year, decade by decade, for ease of reference- "In this year..." timeline tracks significant events and BBC programmes- Biography boxes on key broadcasters and writers- Quotes from fans and broadcasters summarize chosen programmes' impactIn 2022, the BBC will be the first broadcaster globally to mark 100 years of continuous broadcasting, launching a special year of content: events, bespoke commissioning, special programmes, publishing, and much, much more, celebrating UK culture, education, and climate and sustainability. Created with exclusive access to the BBC's archives, Broadcasting Britain is a unique celebration of British culture, with authoritative text by an acknowledged expert in the field. Carefully curated stories reflect the story of the BBC in all its breadth and diversity, whilst tapping into public memory and the many ways that people have experienced the BBC as part of their own lives.A must-have volume for adults aged 30+ interested in modern and social history and current affairs, alongside fans of classic BBC programming, both on radio and TV.

Sir John Soane's Museum in London is a unique and idiosyncratic 'house museum', designed and built in the early 19th century by its obsessive architect/collector owner. This book takes the reader on a personal and poetic trail, capturing the tragic story of the man who created it, the eclectic collection he gathered within its walls, and most importantly what it says about our universal desire to leave a mark in space and time. The Museum of Everything is conceived as a loose navigation from room to room, taking in the Pompeian red library, the crypt with its glowing alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I, the Picture Gallery unfolding its all-too-close-to home story of a Rake's Progress, the Monk's Parlour (dwelling of a completely fictitious gothic monk), the airy delights of the decorated Breakfast Room, right up to the Turner-yellow Drawing room. The texts are intercut with a series of striking collages made by the poet himself. They mix archive imagery of the house with contemporary visuals and help locate the reader in his/her passage through the house. They also help conjure the unique message of this book: how to make material our elusive dreams and imaginings.

Of his poetry collection “The Book of Snow” Robert Seatter says, I wanted to describe the arc of a relationship through one image: snow. I then gave these snow-inspired poems to artist Jessica Palmer, who interpreted them in paper cut, collage and collograph. Fascinated by her artistic process, I wrote a parallel sequence of poems exploring the art of her interpretation. These were unified in a stark and powerful, black and white design by graphic designer Sally James. The result is, I hope, a work of connection, definition and revelation.

Robert Seatter's new collection of poems explores the way we write the world, and reinvent it both for our own development and delusion. Seatter's subjects range from an elliptical self-help manual to a telephone party line, where we become 'an accidental spy' on another life; from the comfort of a drunken night singing hymns to the elusive proximity of family trees; from the recipe for summer pudding as elegy for a lost friend to a mantra of engineering facts about Sydney Harbour Bridge to comfort a dying father. King Kong, Chekov, Marilyn Monroe, Shakespeare's comic lovers, Gershwin, Robinson Crusoe, Ulysses, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers all find their way into this eclectic, multi-voiced collection. And at the heart of the book is a sequence of poems inspired by the writer's travels in South America, conjuring both the exactitude of place and the nagging unreality of journeying.Robert Seatter has published two well-received collections from Seren, Travelling to the Fish Orchards (2002) and On the Beach with Chet Baker (2006). Educated at Oxford, he has worked as an EFL teacher in Italy and France, as an actor and as a journalist in publishing and broadcasting. He lives in London and works for the BBC.

"Presence and absence, some sort of together" ('On the Beach with Chet Baker').These are the three places that Robert Seatter's second book of poems explores, with deftness, insight and artistry. They move from places of stasis and memory, through the uneasy proximities of love captured in the moody jazz trumpet of the title poem, and out to the uncharted spaces that loss and death can create. His arresting imagination is equally at home with the songs of Elvis Costello and Jacques Brel, a bizarre collection of BBC sound effects, Shakespeare's most famous stage direction or the films of Fellini and Marilyn Monroe, right down to the more mundane details of a bad day at the computer, garden bonfires or the texture of toast...Subtle, artful, intimate, these are appealing poems from a writer whose work is a flowering of his early promise. "Seatter writes sometimes with tremendous momentum which capture the thrill of a particular moment when life was lived with breathtaking intensity"PlanetAfter studying English at Oxford University, Robert Seatter worked variously as an EFL teacher in Italy and France, an actor, a journalist, in publishing and broadcasting. He lives in London where he now works for the BBC. His poetry has been widely published, has won numerous awards and has been featured on radio, television and London buses.