Late Night Sleep Radio

South of Naples, the map thins out and the light changes.

George Gissing follows that pallid light down into Calabria — through half-deserted stations, ruined Greek harbours and hill villages where the old world still clings on.

The land seems ancient and beautiful. The people ghosts in a landscape haunted by vanished gods, lost libraries, and the slow dark of the Ionian Sea.

By the Ionian Sea: Notes of a Ramble in Southern Italy was first published in 1901. This text is from the public-domain edition made available by Project Gutenberg.

George Gissing (1857–1903) was an English novelist and essayist, best known for his unsentimental portraits of urban poverty. In this late work he turned south, tracking the broken afterlife of classical Greece and Rome along the forgotten edge of Italy.
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Sleepy Folklore: Whitsun Ales, Oak Apples, Hay Meadows and Dreamy Snoozy Snuffly Sleep Talk. Remember the point is there is no point. Idle, ramble, sleep, snooze, dream. That's it.
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Ascension Day Customs, Beating The Bounds in Oxford, a Bit of Dunting in Northumberland, Old Man’s Beard and Onions and a bedtime story: King Conchobhar of Ulster and and King Arthur and Merlin too. Sleep, doze, dream. Nothing's more important than a good kip.
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Old May Day Customs, Fences, Fell Ponies, Sleepy chat, and a bedtime story.
Sleepy Folklore! Sleep through Tony Walker's meanderings and end up at the Shipping Forecast. This week we look at customs around May 13, 'Old May Day' (and thus the one we're sticking to). We look at the Screaming Skull of Burton Agnes Hall, Fences, Fell Ponies, and a look at a story from Elizabeth Garner's Lost & Found book. In amongst pointless, soporific chatter from the man with the dreariest voice in England (official).
If this doesn't bore you to sleep. nothing will.
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Here we narrate D.H. Lawrence's "The Man Who Loved Islands," where isolation becomes both a refuge and a prison. This gripping audiobook tells the story of Mr. Carthcart, a man who seeks solitude by purchasing a series of increasingly remote islands, each retreat further distancing him from the human connections he undervalues. But as he delves deeper into his self-imposed exile, Carthcart finds that nature's overpowering presence grows ever more formidable, threatening to erase any trace of his existence.
Well-known literary critic Margaret Drabble hails this narrative as one of the finest examples of English short stories, masterfully weaving allegory and literal narrative into a profound exploration of human isolation. This story delves deeply into the psyche of a man who is fundamentally incapable of forming real human connections or adapting to a shared existence.
With each island retreat, Carthcart's disconnect grows, turning each new haven into a more desolate and isolating place than the last. Perfect for those who are captivated by the complexities of solitude and the human condition, this audiobook offers a compelling narrative that captures the tragic consequences of a life lived at the margins of society. Listen and uncover the depth of Lawrence’s insight into the inevitable downfall that comes from fleeing the very essence of humanity: our need for each other.
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