His decline of memories is of no importance. His character and wisdom shine through. He still enjoys life!

His wits about him and up as ever for lively banter. And I say he is himself an act of love.

He wore the steel helmet in a time and place unimaginable to us

Poor Robert. Yet how gracious he is still: such a lovely, decent, man and poet.

Its a shame he and his great friend at the time, Sassoon had a big falling out over "Goodbye to all that". His daughter said even as an old man he used to jump out of his chair when a door slammed shut and the telephone ringing could send him diving under his desk. These veterans were still suffering years after the war. He has a lovely speaking voice. Thanks for shaing this.

Amazing to think here is a giant of the war poets, someone who ranked alongside Owen and Sassoon et al. Despite his memory loss, this is an important link to the era of WW1. Thank you for posting.

"I think you're asking too many questions" brilliant.

I've read many works of Robert Graves, and a lot about him. How wonderful to see and hear him speak, old as he may be here. Thanks for posting.

Brilliant post thank you. I actually love seeing interviews with real people who are not playing some kind of daft game of omniscience to comply with the media process. I actually think the interviewer does a good job here given that Graves is unwilling and sometimes unable to reveal specifics.

Blimey this is a great find poor old Graves was obviously suffering from memory issues,but its great to see him discussing his WW1 experiences which like so many of his generation he didnt much like to dwell on. The interviewer who I recall seeing numerous times on telly around this period but i cant recall his name is a bit scattered in his interview technique,but quite charming really,but does get a lot of interest out poor old Graves . Thankyou for sharing this is a real Gem. Kind Regards Jim Clark poetryreincarnations at youtube

A terrific fellow who was so proud of his connections to Ireland and Germany yet he was proud to be British too! A real European.

A remarkable find, thank you so much for posting

a wonderful gentleman.

Thank you so much for this interview!!

Graves is very funny and as always giving his interviewer a hard time! :-)

Priceless. Thank you.

thanks, I love his voice!

Gertrude Stein is the name he was looking for when talking about T.E. Lawrence and their influence in convincing him to move to Majorca. The interviewer doesn't deserve all the criticism below. He does well. Those wanting to catch Graves at an earlier point, find the interview with Malcolm Muggreridge. What an ecclectic and hard working life Robert Graves had.

Mysterious poet. Love him.

Im 17. Watching this is so facinating to me. This mans wisdom is beyond my comprehension and age isn't even a factor of it.

Thank you for sharing. Graves is one of my favourite writer and poet. Yes, in this interwiev he had memory problems but now Ican hear his voice feel his humour and so on. He is an important writer for me and influenced me through his novels.

it was brave of him to do this when he knew that his memory was failing, but I think that the interviewer handles it well. Memory-loss is nothing to be ashamed of when you're 80.

What a treasure to be able to access this

"I don't like the word 'permissive'. If it's 'permissive' there must be the reason for the permission and therefore you must find out who does the permitting.".. drops mic...

Thanks for this, from a life-long Graves reader. Not surprising that here he often looks about 100 years out of touch with contemporary commercial culture---as he was happy to be. Try his truly delightful novel "Watch The North Wind Rise," about a future new beginning for humanity starting (again) in Crete. Hard to find but worth it. And of course, in this man's pages and shadow you find out what kind of writer you are---serious, or not.

In his later years, he often used his memory loss as an excuse not to discuss mistakes or embarrassments. Sometimes the loss was genuine and sometimes, convenient.

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

I think that, by the 1970s, a lot of the young men who might formerly have written poetry (and published it in books) where instead engaged in writing lyrics for pop songs (and even performing them), and this no doubt contributed to the death of poetry as a common pass-time among the young.

❤❤❤

A great man. His 'The White Goddess' is a truly remarkable book.

It’s probably worth remembering that Graves, like Waugh, saw interviews as a game and a trial of wits. Graves didn’t see his interviewer as his social equal either.

The Gardener is his garden. Message for today boys

Everyone is Irish, and those who are not are wishing that they were!

Had no idea interviewers in the mid 70's were just as shite as they are today. He didn't ask Robert Graves a single intelligent question that allowed the great man to reveal his sublime depth of knowledge of the classics, humankind's place in the world and the poetry that he could spin out like a spider. Shameful waste

Not a single question in detail about his poems and other writings. Why are interviewers so crap? The things I would have asked him.

Robert Graves is one of my favorite writers but this interview provides a true perspective in the decline of mental acuity caused by age related physical degeneration.

Irish are also Britons!

So right about Judas.

Okay, I see others got something out of this interview, so I won't say don't watch it. Just please understand that the person you're about to see is not Robert Graves, but his ghost. He is clearly suffering from some sort of rather advanced senile dementia and can barely remember his own name. I found it incredibly painful to watch -- this great man, with his tremendous mind and poetic heart, reduced to a shell of himself. Perhaps I'm oversensitive, as watching my own father die of Alzheimer's was one of the most painful experiences of my life. Whatever, my last thought before hitting the "stop" button was: "Sure wish I could un-see this interview."

Poor Robert , dementia has hold of him, he shouldn’t be doing an interview really, it makes him seem daft, when he was a genius, RIP mr Graves

Incredibly impressive head.

Interviewer: You were killed weren't you? Graves: Well, only once. Proud to be British.

It's an interesting historical record, and something like this nowadays would not be broadcast. The interviewer mentions that Graves did boxing. I don't think it was known back then that 50% of boxers experience early dementia due to the effects of head injuries although 'Punch Drunk' was a known phenomenon.

I wonder if the second friend Graves referred to as having suggested his residence in Majorca was perhaps the late gnostic master Idries Shah, known to be Graves' teacher for many years. If it is I find it beautiful and becoming of Shah's enigma that he was referred to in this program as "My Dear Friend."

This guy is a prodigy

Times have changed in respect to recognising and coping with dementia. One can only surmise, the production company and host were not aware of Grave's severe Alzheimer's disease before the interview, but it is surprising that they went ahead with the broadcast. I very much doubt whether the company intended to subject him to this oredeal and Graves ion his condition would have been oblivious, but it is difficult to watch.

I couldn't agree more with what he said about too many foreign countries entering into swearing. I'm English and everyone I know says "ass" this and "asshole" that. No self respecting American says "arse", do they?

Half an hour of teasing !!!!!!!!!!!!! an Irish poet and an English journalist ,

Very important record. As some comments below, I thought the interviewer could have been a little more tactful regarding his age and health.

Interesting, isn't it, how all the most intelligent and talented 'englishmen' aren't english - or at any rate they're all englishmen who had the good sense to leave england.

The slaughter this man and hundreds of thousands like him witnessed close up it’s a wonder they didn’t all end up as basket cases. It’s almost as though he & they were of a different breed I’m not sure that under similar circumstances today’s youth would be as stoic and so matter of fact about taking part in such a conflict.

The host is terrible. No respect. "Is everyone going to be Irish in this conversation?" What a loaded question! Illustrates the effects of 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland. You can see the "fuck off" in Robert's eyes.

Ooh dear a sad interview with a great poet in his declining years. Awkward Questions, eg : What's wrong with swearing ? Ans: Too many foreign countries entered in to it.... He was only 79 in this painful interview his mind is clearly not up to the task and he feels defensive .... Asked about the after life, and does one's soul going to a better place? ... Response: I don't think about it. Urgh horrible ... questions. The interview continues agonisingly trivial with stuttering responses, not how Robert graves should be remembered at all

Tiny beads of sweat can be seen breaking out amidst the interveiwer's hairline....

Gosh... They should have left him be.. let him enjoy his thoughts.. at home.. not infront of a damn camera... He did an ok job

This interview should never have gone ahead. Surely they must have realised he was in the early stages of dementia? Very sad to see his decline.

The interviewer barraged an 80 year old man with one question after another. It was too many questions. But, the interviewer was very professional too.

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Lawrence of Arabia brought me here! Graves is great

I'm sorry, delighted by the interview. But the interviewer's coiffure is fucking killing me.

Great writer with a great comediant . thats benny hill isnt it?

Football you bet! Why the hell not!

who was the interviewer

Does this interviewer really think there were no atrocities in wars before ww1?

The interviewer is absolutely horrid to a great man who is clearly having trouble remembering things. Total disrespect.

Graves gives Llew Gardner a hard time, deservedly.

Christopher Hitchens brought me here.

If you r Irish be Irish!

The condescending, dripping unctuousness of the interviewer!

It isn't for Graves to "judge" Shakespeare. "Britain's greatest poet"? His poetry - with the exception of one or two gnomic exceptions - is embarrassingly poor, especially as he makes grand claims for it - very close to doggerel. I thought I read a poem of his which I admired when I was about 27 (I'm now 47) at an old girlfriend's place - something to do with seven rivers flowing into (or out of) the mouth of a toad. Never found it since, so perhaps I hallucinated a poem he might've been capable of, while I was on some cocktail of intoxications. And a poet needs to be a gentleman? Byron wasn't a gentleman, despite his inherited aristocracy; nor was he himself one of the greatest English poets, but he was better than Graves. Aside from anything else, Graves was totally unenigmatic as an interviewee, and if anybody says he's deteriorating here then I'd invite them to show me an interview anywhere in which he says anything interesting at all.

A heartless interview. He was not fit for it.

The worst interviewer in broadcasting history!