Bookclub, Art Spiegelman and my vocal premiere on Radio 4

Whilst interning at Radio 4 I came across a very interesting book, a promotional copy of Art Spiegelman’s MetaMaus.

It's a book detailing the making of Spiegelman’s Maus, answering some of the readers’ questions about why Spiegelmann wanted to make a memoir of his father’s experiences during the holocaust in the form of a comic book.

It even came with a DVD, making the whole package feel like a bonus disc that you’d get with a film that’s packed full of extra features.


I found the very concept of MetaMaus intriguing, since it’s odd that a writer would make a book explaining and examining their greatest work.

In December one of the researchers at Radio 4 told me that Art Spiegelman was coming onto Radio 4’s Bookclub and that I might want to go along to it. I emailed one of the producers, who let me sit in on the recording in exchange for helping out with the guests and pouring them drinks.

Art Spiegelman was a fascinating guest. He was perfect to have on the show, since the book was so completely intertwined with his own personal relationship with his father. Unlike an author discussing the characters of a fictional work, being before the audience Spiegelman gave real answers about his views of very real family members. He gave extra insight to his life, which deepened our appreciation of the book.

What made this episode of Bookclub particularly interesting was the fact that it was on a comic book, so the programme explored some interesting ideas about comic books as a medium. Spiegelman did a particularly interesting reading of a comic strip, which of course had to be adapted for radio.


I was very pleased to find out that the question I asked was kept in (particularly since I thought it was slightly convoluted when I said it).

So, I present Shaun Tey's debut on BBC Radio 4:



You can hear the full episode (though I think that the link will only work for the next few weeks). You can also download it:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/openbook/openbook_20120205-1630a.mp3