Richard Ford

When Raymond Carver died in 1988, he was mourned as a national literary figure and shortlisted for the Pulitzer prize yet only ten years earlier he was marooned in a drying-out clinic. From his experiences, his alcoholism, bankruptcies, years spent in trailer parks and motel rooms, BBC 'Omnibus' shows how Carver produced stories and poems about the other side of the American dream - about the people whose dreams go belly-up.

Literature talkshow with Jessika Gedin.

Hosted by Hamish Macdonald, Q&A puts punters, pollies and pundits together in the studio to thrash out the hot issues of the week. It's about democracy in action - the audience gets to ask the questions.