PODCAST · arts
Love the Words
by Peter Spafford – Chapel FM
Peter Spafford, from Chapel FM, presents his love of all things wordy in his weekly show Love The Words, featuring new creative writing from Leeds and beyond.
Episodes
-
Love The Words 360: Hilary Robinson & Rachel Davies
An Altogether Different Place is a powerfully emotive collection of poetry about caring for a partner with dementia written jointly by Hilary Robinson and Rachel Davies.
-
Love The Words 356: Todd Murphy & Tom Priestley
Poets Todd Murphy and Tom Priestley join LTW to debut and discuss their collaborative spoken word piece: The Male Loneliness Epidemic.
-
Love The Words 359: Woodhouse Ridge & Sam Jencks
Woodhouse Ridge Action Group (WRAG) started in the 1980's. They talk about the green space in North Leeds that they love. Plus writer/zine maker Sam Jencks on his life and work in Salford.
-
Love The Words 358: High Wolds Poetry Festival/Journalism today
The High Wolds Poetry Festival is an annual celebration of rural wordsmiths. Its director Sarah Mills talks to LTW. And a journalist on a national paper talks about his profession and the vital role of independent, fact-checked journalism in our world today.
-
Love The Words 357: Czech Poets at The Chapel
As part of our international drive, two Czech poets, Ondrej Hrabal and Simon Leitgeb, plus Scots poet Colin McGuire with a brand new pamphlet titled Ultraviolet, perform Live in Chapel FM's radio theatre. Ondrej lives in Leeds' twin city Brno in the Czech Republic and organises the fascinating...
-
Love The Words 354: Michelle Scally Clarke/Jaimes Lewis Moran
Leeds-born poet and creative writing facilitator Michelle Scally Clarke talks about her new project 'Division', plus Jaimes Lewis Moran, Seacroft poet, on his collection, Protest Poetry. Are we a divided city? How do we bridge the gaps? Is poetry a bridge?
-
Love The Words 353: Short plays from Script Yorkshire
Award winning plays from Script Yorkshire's 2025 radio-drama competition. Teabreak-length tales from three writers, and a brace of the best repeated from 2024.
-
Love The Words 352: Chris Campbell/Hannah Stone
Hannah Stone talks to Chris Cambell, a queer neurodivergent immigrant who believes in constant reinvention, endless curiosity, and helping people prioritise daily creativity. Chris is a slam champion, an experienced facilitator, has a book of poetry published by Broken Sleep Books, and is a...
-
Love The Words 355: The Research Team at Skippko
The Skippko Research Team, with Prof.Peter Anderson from Leeds University and Matthew Bellwood, talk about Wish You Were Here, a fascinating oral history project about British tourism in Spain over the last 40 years.
-
Love The Words 351: Mick Jenkinson
Mick Jenkinson is a poet, songwriter, musician, and freelance arts practitioner. He runs Well Spoken, a monthly poetry evening at Doncaster Brewery. His latest poetry pamphlet, A Parliament of Apples, was published in 2026 by Sherwood Handcraft.
-
Love The Words 350: Patrick Lodge
Patrick Lodge is an Irish-Welsh poet who lives in Yorkshire. He has read at festivals across Europe and the UK. His 4th collection, "There You Are", is published by Valley Press. He reads from the book and talks about identity, belonging, and home.
-
Love The Words 347: A Bright Room Called Day
A Bright Room Called Day is a rarely staged play by Tony Kushner. Produced by Leeds Arts Centre, it follows a group of friends in 1930's Berlin navigating the rise of fascism. Director Marlowe talks about the play and the process of working with Tony Kushner to bring it to the Leeds stage.
-
Love The Words 349: Juleus Ghunta & Solace
Juleus Ghunta is a poet and editor whose poems have appeared in The Caribbean Writer, Wasafiri, Poetry Archive, and Chiron Review. He speaks from where he lives in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada about art, childhood trauma and education. Also: a feature from the Fall Into Place 'Solace' group.
-
Love The Words 346: Stephanie Shields
It’s summer 1948 and Amba’s on the flight of her life. Yorkshire author/sheep farmer Stephanie Shields has just been awarded a gold medal for her new novel After Amba. She talks about the book and reflects on her writing thus far.
-
Love The Words 348: Stacy Garrop
Stacy Garrop is a Chicago-based composer whose work, performed all over the world, centres on dramatic storytelling. She talks to LTW, with Tony Macaluso and Agnes Leonovicz, about her fabulous new project, Glorious Mahalia, with The Knonos Quartet and the voice of Studs Terkel.
-
Love The Words 345: Fall Into Place
A series of original sketches created by Fall Into Place Theatre on the theme of More In Common (than divides us). Fall Into Place uses creativity and fun to bring people together and is based in East Leeds.
-
Love The Words 344: Ozymandias & Other Long Goodbyes
Helped by some old statues, Leonard Cohen and Taking Back Sunday, Christopher R. Moore considers what it really means to let go. A Writing On Air 2026 highlight.
-
Love The Words 343: Maurice de Sausmarez/Kerry Harker
Maurice de Sausmarez was the artist and arts education visionary who presided over a golden fine art era in Leeds in the 1950's. Kerry Harker curated the current exhibition.
-
Love The Words 342: Joanna Jowett & Richard Wilcocks
Joanna Jowett’s interdisciplinary practice includes performance, print, photography, writing and publishing. Richard Wilcocks is a poet and an expert on film adaptations of Bronte novels.
-
Love The Words 341: Isabel Edain (1)
Pearls of The White Lizard, a story from Isabel Edain. Isabel's favourite weather is mist and her favourite colour is green. She lives in Leeds with 948 books and an ivy plant.
-
Love The Words 340: Julia Deakin/Tallulah Howarth
Two prominent West Yorkshire poets read from and talk about their new work: Julia Deakin, with 3 collections and a pamphlet to her name, and Tallulah Howarth whose first pamphlet An Alternative Xanadu is just out.
-
Love The Words 341: Shara McCallum
From Jamaica, of Jamaican and Venezuelan parentage, Shara McCallum is the author of seven books, published in the US & UK. Her latest collection Behold is published by Peepal Tree, April 2026. Here she reads from the book and talks about art and identity.
-
Love The Words 339: Molly Ovenden
Typewriter Poet Molly Ovenden and fellow writers Tony Macaluso, Charlotte Carrick and Tallulah Howarth talk about crossing the threshold from solitary creating to public sharing.
-
Love The Words 338: Emily Zobel Marshall
Emily Zobel Marshall is a Leeds-based literary activist, poet and Professor of Postcolonial Literature. She researches Caribbean carnival and trickster folklore and has published several academic books and two poetry collections with Peepal Tree Press, Bath of Herbs (2023) and Other Wild (2025)....
-
Love The Words 336: The State of The Arts/1984
Leeds Arts Centre give us a blast of their innovative new production of Orwell's 1984, and editor Millie Lacey talks about the invaluable resource that is The State of The Arts online platform for arts and info in W. Yorkshire.
-
Love The Words 335: The Final Whistle
Love, betrayal, and the 1966 World Cup, in this atmospheric audio drama from Jacqueline Everett set in communist Hungary. One of the many highlights of Writing On Air 2026.
-
Love The Words 337: All Saints Live 1
Children from All Saints Primary School in East End Park, Leeds, give us poetry, ideas and songs on the theme of Underground in this Love The Words Year 4 Special!
-
Love The Words 334: Pennine Platform
Four poets read from the latest Issue of Pennine Platform (winner of 'Best Cultural Promotion Publication' in the Northern Enterprise Awards 2025) read poems and talk about them with editor-in-chief Julia Deakin.
-
Love The Words 334: Minutes From The Revolution
Timely satirical audio drama by Freya Jackson. It's all kicking off in the streets. But has it been minuted? This play was first broadcast as part of Writing On Air 2026.
-
Love The Words 331: Stu Hennigan
'In the derelict shell of what was once his family home, a dying man surveys the wreckage of his former life and drinks himself senseless'. But this is also a book that brims with hope and love. Stu Hennigan on his brand new novel.
-
Love The Words 332: Changing The Narrative 2
What’s domestic abuse really like for victim-survivors? And what are the harmful narratives that need to be changed? Voices from Leeds Domestic Violence Service reflect.
-
Love The Words 330: Changing The Narrative 1
What’s domestic abuse really like for victim-survivors? And what are the harmful narratives that need to be changed? Experts in the field discuss.
-
Love The Words 329: People's History of Leeds (2)
The People’s History of Leeds captures the story of the city through the voices of its citizens. Volume 1, published last week, includes stories from joyful Goths, Leeds United fans and many more.
-
Love The Words 327: Jacob Davies & Finny
Two young poets from West Yorkshire, Jacob Davies and Finny, are both gaining exciting reputations both locally and nationally. Poems and discussion from these passionate new voices.
-
Love The Words 328: Poetry Unseen
Episode from a new poetry series on ELCR, Poetry Unseen, in which three poetry-heads present poems they like, and which the others don't know, for an in-the-moment, in-depth response, with Peter Spafford, James Fernie and Jaimes Lewis Moran.
-
Love The Words 326: Lateral G
Lateral G is an off-grid, travelling poet who lives on the road and writes about life, ageing and the strange things that happen in her weird world.
-
Love The Words 323: Vickie Orton
Storyteller Vickie Orton makes a happy return to Chapel FM to tell some seasonal stories and talk about her craft, honed after many years.
-
Love The Words 325: Dortmund Revisited
Love The Words hears from a group of visiting youth workers from Dortmund, Leeds' twin city in Germany. How are young people faring in Dortmund? And where can you get the best pizza in town? And which city has the tallest Christmas tree?
-
Love The Words 324: Bishop Young Academy young writers
Young writers from Bishop Young Academy in East Leeds, with committed teacher Miss Abbott, share moving & powerful poetry on the theme of Threshold and talk about hope and friendship.
-
Love The Words 322: I Want To Go Home
Powerful radio drama by Martin Riley with music by Jack Glover from last year's Writing On Air festival. A child with polio discovers his voice and presence in the world.
-
Love The Words 320: Ria Tocsin
The Only High I Need is a new novel by Ria Tocsin out very soon. It's Darcy’s first story. Darcy's a recovering alcoholic and drug addict but, behind the addiction and bravado, she's a just a woman trying to survive. A funny, sad, shocking but cathartic read for anyone, providing useful resources...
-
Love The Words 320: Love Digitally
Erin and Josh grew up together in Yorkshire and now are on opposite sides of the globe. Can their love survive? Melanie Taylor talks about her new novel, Love Digitally, and tells us why the genre of Romance fiction matters. Plus an interview with Isabella Gellis, composer of The Devil's Den, a…
more -
Love The Words 319: Leeds City of Languages, Nela Bartova
A foretaste of Leeds City of Languages, a vibrant festival celebrating our languages and global connections, plus soundscapes from Czech artist based in Ostracva, Nela Bartova.
-
Love The Words 318: Alan Smith, Jaimes Lewis Moran
Poetry! Alan Smith has taught in universities & prisons. Now he's writing his own poetry. Jaimes Lewis Moran, Seacroft poet, reads from his brand new collection themed around hospitality. What is it about poetry? What can a poem do?
-
Love The Words 317: Fish Shops & Giblets
‘Eyes closed, deep inhale: the smell of freshly battered fish takes him back to his dad’s old shop’… Actor Rayyah McCaul on an evocative journey around Leeds with her father.
-
Love The Words 315: Michelle Heighway, John Toolan
Michelle Heighway has won awards for her documentary making and photography. But now she's published her debut poetry collection, Step Into My Flow. Why poetry? Why now?
-
Love The Words 316: Inverze Festival, Ostrava
Peter Spafford's audio diary of his visit to Ostrava in Czechia (Sept 2025) where he was invited to read poetry & talk about the perception of Czech writing in the UK. Interviews with Czech writers & organisers plus music from Dalava, a Czech/Canadian band re-interpreting Moravian folksong.
-
Love The Words 314: Trevor Wishart
Trevor Wishart is a composer based in York internationally known for his work with digital audio media. He has also written extensively about 'sonic art'. He talks about his work.
-
Love The Words 313: Julia Sherwood, Slovak/Czech fiction.
Julia Sherwood has, with her husband Peter, translated a number of Slovak & Czech works of fiction. She talks about the rise of modern Slovak literature in translation & the delicate art of translating.
-
Love The Words 310: Manthology
Maz Sultan and three writers contributing to the upcoming collection of writing from Leeds, Manthology talk about this exciting new project and read their work. Poems from Joe Spivey, Huw Parlor and Paul Proctor and Maz Sultan.
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Peter Spafford, from Chapel FM, presents his love of all things wordy in his weekly show Love The Words, featuring new creative writing from Leeds and beyond.
HOSTED BY
Peter Spafford – Chapel FM
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Love the Words have?
Love the Words currently has 269 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Love the Words about?
Peter Spafford, from Chapel FM, presents his love of all things wordy in his weekly show Love The Words, featuring new creative writing from Leeds and beyond.
How often does Love the Words release new episodes?
Love the Words publishes regularly with 269 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Love the Words?
You can listen to Love the Words on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Love the Words?
Love the Words is created and hosted by Peter Spafford – Chapel FM.
URL copied to clipboard!