Tracy Farr’s acclaimed novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, tells the entrancing and memorable story of the extraordinary Lena, who is a theremin player, as she looks back over a long and remarkable life, full of love and loss.

Tracy Farr talks to Radio New Zealand’s Lynn Freeman about her book, which was longlisted for the 2014 Miles Franklin Literary Award, and John Chrisstoffels gives a mesmerising demonstration, and tells the history, of the most mysterious of instruments.

Influential indie songwriter Kristin Hersh has recently spoken of ‘receiving’ songs rather than writing them, but words are clearly important to her: the last two Throwing Muses albums have been released with stunning books of photos, stories, essays and lyrics.

She joins local folk musician Hanna Harding, aka Aldous Harding, whose haunting songs call to mind gothic fairytales. These two wonderful performers discuss songwriting and the influence of literature on lyrics and music. Chaired by Rachel Morton, station manager of RDU.

The face of publishing is changing rapidly and radically. As the big publishers merge and retrench, room has opened up in the cracks between for small, independent publishing to flourish, in much the same way as indie music labels. Join one of these publishers, Murdoch Stephens from Lawrence & Gibson, as he talks about the freedoms and pitfalls of independent publishing.

He is joined by two of his authors, Brannavan Gnanalingam and Thomasin Sleigh, who discuss their books with Guy Somerset, Books & Culture Editor for the Listener.

The Intimacy of Words is a unique two-person poetry performance, a window into the experience of two lovers, charting the story of their lives and their relationship entirely through poetic dialogue.

The Canterbury earthquakes were a major cause of stress and separation for many people, but in the case of Sarah Amazinnia and Andy Coyle, the disasters reunited their family after five years apart, and their reunion was followed by the arrival of another child. This unforgettable performance is an intimate, sensual and jarring revelation of what it means to be together in testing times.

Philosopher Damon Young collects comics and has written about Wonder Woman as a role model for his young daughter; film-maker and cartoonist Jonathan King was an early and ardent fan of superhero comics but they lost their lustre for him, even before Hollywood got on board; Young Adult author Karen Healey has written about gender and fandom and has started a PhD on American superhero comics.

Has Hollywood ruined comics? What does copyright mean for fanfic? Are superhero comics inherently sexist? And are they ideologically sound? Join local comics hero (and former Batgirl writer) Dylan Horrocks as he guides the panel through a wide-ranging and sure-to-be surprising discussion.