Fighting for WNO, brutalist architecture, epic love stories, and Canaletto.

This week's BBC Radio Wales Arts Show.

A brilliant show this week - the sort I love to do - bordering on the eclectic. A bunch of brilliant guests who know how to talk passionately on their subject. You could say it’s a sort of Arts Show par excellence.

So what have we got?

Elizabeth Atherton has been spearheading a very public campaign to rescue WNO from what some are framing as an “existential crisis”. The show is worth catching for her alone.

I talk to photographer Simon Phipps about his new book capturing very atmospheric images of brutalist architecture across Wales. Could have spoken to him for hours. But as is always the case, we get a quality 5 minutes or so.

It was really great to talk to Hannah Evans about her debut novel, The Mapmaker’s Wife. She’s great and I really enjoyed the book.

And last but not least, we get to hear about the gifted Canaletto classic at the National Library in Aberystwyth from curator Mari Elin Jones.

As I said, bordering on the eclectic, but the guests are fascinating. They made my job very easy indeed.

You can hear it here.

Gary Raymond is a novelist, author, playwright, critic, and broadcaster. In 2012, he co-founded Wales Arts Review, was its editor for ten years. His latest book, Abandon All Hope: A Personal Journey Through the History of Welsh Literature is available for pre-order and is out in May 2024 with Calon Books.