The Verb

Ian McMillan and guests explore writing about insects and insect-language – including the way insect aliens are depicted in science fiction. Will Burns and Hannah Peel celebrate moths in a new sound commission, poet Elizabeth-Jane Burnett shares work-in-progress, linguist Rob Drummond explores Ursula Le Guin and Doctor Who, entomologist Richard Jones explains why he is happy to call himself 'Bugma...

The Verb explores the pleasure and possibility of 'the gap', including line-breaks, spaces between words, and gaps in our understanding - with Linda Grant, Ira Lightman, Fiona Moore and Emma Smith. Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Faith Lawrence

In an extended interview, the Booker Prize winning poet and novelist Michael Ondaatje sits down with Ian McMillan to discuss the pleasure of naming characters, dark houses as settings, listeners in his fiction, his re-shaping of forms, and the enduring inspiration of music, along with other aspects of his writing process. Michael is best known for his critically acclaimed novel, 'The English Patie...

This week The Verb is looking at modern retelling and remixing of ancient stories. Jenny Lewis discusses her book 'Gilgamesh Retold' (Carcanet), Fiona Benson explains why Zeus is at the heart of her new collection 'Vertigo & Ghost' (Cape), there's new poetry from Richard Scott and Jack Bernhardt is off to Sherwood Forest, Hollywood style. Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Faith Lawrence

The Verb explores footnotes, ironic detective fiction, poem-spells, satire, sound loops and neologisms - and the way they can all be used to fight sexist language - in honour of International Women's Day. Ian's guests are the writer and sociologist Professor Ann Oakley, who popularised the word 'gender' in the 1970s, and founded the Social Science Research Unit at the UCL Institute of Education, t...

Ian McMillan explores what happens when writers have to shift their thoughts and feelings into a second language. Novelist Patrick McGuinness argues that he can 'feel more than he can say in French, and say more than he can feel in English', Nick Makoha brings us a new poetry commission inspired by leaving Uganda (and three languages behind) when he was only four. We also hear about the 'Polish Sa...

Ian McMillan looks at language after dark and writing about nightlife with guests Dave Haslam, Geraldine Quigley, Rachael Young and Chris Green. Dave Haslam is a writer, broadcaster and Dj and the author of 'Life After Dark', a comprehensive history of nightlife in Britain. Geraldine Quigley's debut novel 'Music Love Drugs War' follows a group of young friends trying to have a good time against th...

Ian McMillan celebrates the bicentenary of writer, artist and critic John Ruskin, alongside US fiction writer Kristen Roupenian (author of 'Cat Person' - a story which went viral after being published in The New Yorker), Professor Dinah Birch, and Sarala Estruch. He also introduces a new commission inspired by Ruskin's fascination with geology (a collaboration between the musician Sonic Pleasure a...

Ian McMillan gets into the subjunctive mood with brand new writing from Toby Litt, a new poetry commission from Holly Pester, on the subjunctive in welsh with Menna Elfyn and Rob Drummond explains why the subjunctive is dying out amongst the young... Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Cecile Wright

The Verb this week is an extended conversation with the poet, editor, mentor, teacher and aphorist Don Paterson. Don Paterson first came to prominence in the early 90s, winning the Forward Poetry Prize for Best First Collection for ‘Nil Nil’ in 1993. The following year he was selected as one of the Poetry Society’s ‘New Generation Poets’ alongside contemporaries such as Simon Armitage, Carol Ann D...

The Verb celebrates the centenary of the poet W.S. Graham - exploring his language and his relationship with Cornwall. Ian McMillan presents new poetry inspired by Graham from Rachael Boast and Penelope Shuttle, songs inspired by the Cornish landscape from Gwenno, specially commissioned work from Gerry Diver ('The Speech Project') and a collaboration between Bob Devereux and Adrian O'Reilly. Write...

Join Ian McMillan as he comperes a special evening of some of the very best poetry published over the last year - at the annual T.S.Eliot Prize readings, recorded in front of an audience at the Royal Festival Hall. All the short-listed poets will be featured, including the U.S. Laureate Tracy K Smith, Terrance Hayes, Nick Laird, Zaffar Kunial, Fiona Moore, Sean O'Brien, Ailbhe Darcy, Hannah Sulliv...

We're crossing senses on The Verb this week, examining Synesthesia, with musician LJ Rich, linguist Rob Drummond, and poetry from Ruth Padel, Abi Palmer and Hannah Silva. For musician, broadcaster and synesthete LJ Rich, the world is drenched in music. With the help of a piano, she lets us inside her experience of the world, where tastes, colours and even the most boring train station make beautif...

Merry Verb Christmas! We're at Vinyl Tap in Huddersfield for a festive evening of storytelling and song with brand new writing from poet, Simon Armitage, Joanne Harris and her Storytime Band and Owen Roberts. Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Faith Lawrence

Ian McMillan and guests examine the language of sleeplessness. How does AL Kennedy's insomnia inform her prose? Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun presents excerpts from her diary of motherhoood, there's brand new poetry from Bridget Minnamore on her experience of disordered sleep, and Marina Benjamin on her new book 'Insomnia' Producer Cecile Wright

With Will Eaves, Ben Schott, Selina Nwulu and Jeremy Noel-Tod

with Iain Sinclair, Kate Fox, Sam Illingworth and Marilyn Hacker

To mark 100 years since the end of the First World War, The Verb presents ‘Unwritten’, a special edition of the programme telling the neglected stories of those who fought in the British West Indian Regiment, and the stories of those they left behind, through a series of new poems. The Verb recorded Unwritten in front of an audience at the BBC Contains Strong Language Festival in Hull earlier this...

To mark 100 years since the end of the First World War, The Verb presents ‘Unwritten’, a special edition of the programme telling the neglected stories of those who fought in the British West Indian Regiment, and the stories of those they left behind, through a series of new poems. 15,600 men from the Caribbean served everywhere from Messines to Egypt, Passchendaele to Palestine – and many receive...

The Verb explores 'The Midlands' - with the novelist Jonathan Coe - on using the Midlands 'to think with' in his new book 'Middle England' , the poet Liz Berry on Black Country language, the writer and performer Steven Camden ( AKA Polar Bear) on the different influences on his 'voice' - and musician Ben Walker and researcher Bethany Whalley offer a sound art tribute to the cult 1974 film 'Penda's...

The Verb on Instagram Poetry, and the pleasures of writing on social media. Ian McMillan, and writer and cartoonist Moose Allain, explore the bittersweet language of the grapefruit, the 'oo' in festoon, and the 'bone' in trombone - for a brand new Twitter word game called 'The Word Service'. Poets Yrsa Daley-Ward, Mandy Kahn, and Johnathan Rice share poems of anxiety, joy in the everyday, and dark...

The Verb heads into the forest as part of Radio 3's season exploring the enchantment, escape and magical danger of forests. We explore the forest as metaphor with Terry Deary, Pascale Petit, with music and poetry from Claire Trévien and Kate Arnold, and Jack Bernhardt reminds us why teenagers should never go into the woods in horror films... Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Faith Lawrence

The Verb on 'failure' with Kate Fox, Mohammed Hanif, Scanner and Bryony Kimmings

Recorded at the Contains Strong Language Festival of poetry and performance in Hull, this week The Verb is examining young poets and young writing and celebrating 20 years of the Foyle Young Poet Award. Ian is joined by three previous winners of the the award. Phoebe Stuckes published her debut pamphlet Gin & Tonic in 2017, is a Barbican Young Poet, and has been a Foyle Young Poet four times....

The Verb at the 'Contains Strong Language' festival in Hull with Jackie Kay, Gruff Rhys, Louise Wallwein, Joe Hakim and work inspired by 'Palgrave's Golden Treasury'.