1037 WATER: A LITERARY CELEBRATION

John Maytham, radio presenter and actor

From floods that wipe out civilisations to bubbling pools that invite happy swimmers, water has inspired writers of every genre and age. ‘Full fathom five thy father lies’, ‘not waving but drowning’, ‘water, water, everywhere’: it is not surprising that many of literature’s most memorable lines are liquid. Performed by John Maytham, compiled by Finuala Dowling and drawing on a range of authors from Shakespeare to V.S. Naipaul, Water is a literary celebration of the transparent substance that covers most of Earth and engenders all that lives.