Mothers and Daughters

The special bond of the mother and daughter - and its complexities - are up for discussion this week. Radio 3's regular writing programme hears about the concept of being "parentified" from Warsan Shire in her new collection examining the experience of displacement endured by her family. And Ruth Padel joins us to talk about Daughters of the Labyrinth, a novel which sees central character Ri investigate a secret history. Ruth also takes us through the Cretan performance poem the Mantinades, and even gives us a rendition. Think beautiful, ancient Cretan rap battle... And Hollie McNish reads us her poem Sweet Separation about the pangs felt when a daughter begins the process of developing her independence. Hollie discusses the somehow inadequate terminology of motherhood and how we consider, or rather reject, the postpartum female body. And following the death of beloved children's author and illustrator Shirley Hughes, Lissa Evans describes an artist with a unique ability to capture the small details of children's lives and encompass them in kindness. She discusses how Shirley's work made a difference to her non-traditional family, and how adopting daughters led to an interest in the experience of wartime evacuees. Her latest book is V for Victory. Presented by Ian McMillan. Produced by Kevin Core.