Lawrence Sail, Sunjeev Sahota, Ginger and Black, Ammon Shea

Ian McMillan presents Radio 3's smorgasbord of language, performance and brand new writing. This week the poet Lawrence Sail, who has written a Christmas poem for the last thirty six years, reads seasonal verse and explains the challenge of saying something new year after year. First-time novelist Sunjeev Sahota reads from a work in progress and introduces his first novel 'Ours Are The Streets' the story of Imtiaz, a would-be suicide bomber. The acerbic comedy musical duo Ginger and Black offer an alternative to Christmas schmalz. And, Ammon Shea reveals the humorous and strange history of the humble phone book.