Spoken word is a form of poetry usually written to be performed in front of an audience, and often associated with hip hop culture. In recent years its popularity has soared in the UK – and now, as part of the London Literature Festival, the Southbank Centre is hosting the final of “Shake the Dust”, a national poetry slam for teenagers. So, what’s the difference between “page” and “stage” poetry? Does spoken word have a political bent? And can poets hope to change anything? Jan Dalley puts these questions to the poet, rapper and playwright Kate Tempest; poet and artistic director of the “Shake The Dust” Jacob Sam-La Rose; and critic Suzi Feay. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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The Cultural Olympiad spans four years and encompasses more than 500 events – culminating with the current London 2012 Festival. This unprecedented artistic marathon has cost a reported £97m – but is it worth it? Jan Dalley puts this question to Sarah Weir of the Legacy List, a post-Olympic charity for arts, culture, education and skills; William Sieghart, founder of the National Poetry Day and of Winning Words, a national project to incorporate poetry in the games; and Peter Aspden, FT arts writer. Produced by Nicholas Spencer  

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Can art fulfill the purpose of religion in a pluralist, secular society? Can we reconcile religious dogma with individual artistic creativity? FT arts editor Jan Dalley discusses the long and sometimes fraught relationship between religion and art with Alom Shaha, physics teacher, film-maker and author of "The Young Atheist's Handbook", history painter Tom de Freston, and art critic Richard Cork. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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Thinking differently is what makes Bowie stand out in the noisy world that killed off HMV. And it will be the key skill in the disembodied cultural universe of the future, says FT arts writer Peter Aspden.  

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With "The Rite of Spring" in Paris and the Armory Show in New York, 1913 was a key moment for modernism. But it also marked a turning point in Britain's attitude to its past, says the FT's culture columnist  

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Like it or not, the vibrancy of London’s art scene is due in part to the efforts of marketeers, public relations teams and great coffee shops, says the FT’s arts writer,  

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As a stage version of the classic BBC sitcom comes to London, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the series’ pioneering mix of comedy and drama  

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The emirate’s contemporary arts event considers some thorny regional issues in a deceptively laid-back way, says the FT’s arts writer  

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As performance artist Marina Abramovic showed, the paradox of our digital age is our hunger for personal presence, says the FT's arts editor  

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Doha’s aspiration to become a global centre for culture is admirable – its squeamishness over ancient Greek sculptures less so, says the FT’s arts writer  

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As a new documentary profiles the soft rock megastars, the FT’s arts writer reflects on their dramatic fall from grace – and their enduring appeal  

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Europe’s film-makers want protection from the might of Hollywood. That’s understandable, argues the FT’s arts writer, but also wrong-headed: the two traditions are deeply intertwined  

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Pre-first world war Vienna has some curious parallels with Spain today  

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Where there is a public clamour for explanation, writers and artists should be unafraid to step in, says the FT's arts writer  

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Countries are vying to project their worth through art, sport and broadcasting. But ‘soft power’ is not always easy to control, says the FT’s arts writer  

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Visa problems and nervousness on the part of potential sponsors have made life hard for London’s festival of contemporary Arab culture. But as the Arab Spring gives way to harsher realities, such forums are needed more than ever, says the FT’s arts writer  

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Braving Daleks and Cybermen at the Royal Albert Hall, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the unlikely synergy between classical music and a children’s sci-fi series  

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The sheer scale of suffering in the 1914-18 conflict is hard to grasp. As preparations begin for the centenary commemoration, the FT’s arts editor argues that culture has a vital role to play  

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Thomas Hirschhorn’s South Bronx installation brilliantly embodies the belief that art should be part of everyday life  

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“Those who live to please, must please to live.” But these days it’s often our privilege to watch the performers having a good time  

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Citing pressure of visitor numbers, the museum banned sketching at its recent “David Bowie Is” exhibition – a move that shows how hard it is for curators to reconcile accessibility and academic values, the FT’s arts writer says  

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Culture is becoming a refuge for the digitally brutalised: an evening at the opera, or cinema, or theatre, is where we go to escape technological overload, the FT’s arts writer argues  

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Spicing up traditional settings with a dash of contemporary style has become a cultural commonplace. But let’s not pretend it’s anything more than an aesthetic compromise, the FT’s arts writer says  

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A concert sponsored by insurance company Direct Line aims to help time-challenged audiences snatch some shut-eye – but a wakeful FT arts writer finds that the relationship between art and sleep is not a straightforward one  

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Author Mohsin Hamid reads his short story 'Alien invasion in the G.L.A.C.', commissioned by the Financial Times for the new year.  

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Businesses like buying contemporary art to show off their forward-thinking and investment savvy. Fair enough – but it still sits oddly with artists’ desire to provoke and subvert  

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Forget Sartre. The Royal Opera’s new ‘Don Giovanni’ suggests that, in a hyper-connected world, hell is the absence of other people  

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Matthew McConaughey’s career revival provides a neat case study of how an actor can wrest back control of his image. It also tells a broader story about our weakness for a certain kind of Acting.  

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The Director of Cultural Partnerships at King's College London reflects on the growing appetite among artists and arts organisations for evidence about the impact and value of what they do  

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In the 1980s and 1990s cinema audiences were in thrall to powerful women in erotic thrillers such as Body Heat and Basic Instinct. But whatever became of the genre and is it ripe for a comeback?  

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Though shortlisted for the prestigious photography award, Nigeria’s Abraham Oghobase has been refused a visa by the UK government. That’s a sorry state of affairs for a country that professes to be in the vanguard of cultural openness, says the FT’s arts writer. This week’s column is read by Alexander Gilmour.  

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A developing theme in new music sees artists navigating the fine line between criticism and complicity - and revelling in the contradictions.  

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When David Cameron presented Li Keqiang with a ‘Downton Abbey’ shooting script recently, the gesture was fraught with subtext. But what should a post-imperial premier give to his rising-power counterpart? Peter Aspden has some suggestions. . .  

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As Arts Council England announces its latest round of funding, FT arts editor Jan Dalley reflects on what the language of “investment” means for the art of our time.  

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The FT’s arts writer meets one of street art’s biggest names and reflects on what is lost when underground culture becomes part of the commercial mainstream  

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Film screenings are becoming ever more inventive, with fine dining, unusual venues and even hot tubs thrown in to lure audiences. But for Antonia Quirke, nothing can match the downbeat charm of a black-box cinema on a weekday afternoon  

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The received wisdom is that contemporary art is just what a regenerating city needs, a stimulant for minds and economies alike. But are the wilfully puzzling tropes of the avant-garde really what the public wants?  

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Art may be essentially egalitarian as it illuminates the human condition – but that hasn't stopped members of the Porsche Travel Club getting special access to the Sistine Chapel. Should we worry if the wealthy corner the finest cultural experiences?  

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How a legal dispute over the use of a John Lennon song in a sneaker advert paved the way for today’s cultural mash-ups – and put paid to the notion of artists “selling out”  

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20 years after the launch of the National Lottery, Jan Dalley celebrates how it has become the most successful form of cultural crowd-funding ever  

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In lending one of its Parthenon sculptures to Russia, the British Museum has provoked Greece and exposed the hollowness of so-called ‘cultural diplomacy’  

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The London venue’s exhibition of Presley memorabilia is curious mix of the banal and the resplendent – and none the worse for that, says the FT’s arts writer  

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'Ambition', by the award-winning author Helen Simpson, is read by Christopher Villiers.  

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Between 1962 and 1972, the magazine set new standards for its industry – and in doing so created the perfect collectible, says Peter Aspden  

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Peter Aspden visits the basement treasure-house where recordings of Florence Nightingale, 1940s electronica and other rarities are stored alongside some equally exotic audio technology  

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The Belgian artist has been found guilty of plagiarism. But intellectual property law is a poor fit with contemporary art's mash-ups, multiples and reworkings, says the FT's arts editor  

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In the first of a new series, David Cheal looks at the song covered by artists from Brenda Lee to Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson to the Pet Shop Boys Credits: Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, Sony BMG  

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From recordings by Memphis Minnie and Led Zeppelin to sampling by Dr Dre, Eminem and Massive Attack, David Cheal traces the various incarnations of ‘When the Levee Breaks’. Credits: Columbia, Atlantic, The Chronic Interscope  

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The Life of a Song: David Cheal follows the fortunes of Neil Diamond’s ‘I’m a Believer’, from The Monkees to Robert Wyatt to the movie 'Shrek'. Credits: Colgems, Virgin, Interscope, Sony Music  

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David Cheal tells the story of Randy Newman’s ‘Baltimore’, through covers by Nina Simone, The Tamlins and Billy Mackenzie. Credits: CTI, Warner Bros., EMI  

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