Ian McMillan presents Radio 3's showcase of new writing, literature and performance.
Playlist
Joining Ian McMillan in The Verb studio this week will be the acclaimed linguist David Crystal, sharing his latest discoveries about the intricacies of the English language, made during a trip around the British Isles.
There'll also be the opportunity to hear a specially written monologue by up-and-coming writer, Ewan Morrison, paying homage to a neglected literary icon, the Scottish Beat author, Alexander Trocchi.
Morrison's piece, Letter To The East River, uses Trocchi's sensibility to deliver a surreal and erotically charged look at the New York streetscape.
And the Beat goes on and on, with novelist Toby Litt, author of Beatniks, discussing the enduring influence and legacy of the Beat writers.
Also in the studio this week: the Chinese author Xiaolu Guo, recently nominated for the Orange Prize for fiction, reads exclusively from new unpublished poetry; plus, there'll be hi-energy performance from poet and singer Zena Edwards.
Ian will also be giving Verb listeners the chance to text or email in their own lines of poetry or prose, riffing on the theme of the light at night.
So join Ian McMillan for another action packed live edition of The Verb, with Ian McMillan, tonight at nine forty-five here on Radio 3.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
By Hook Or By Crook by David Crystal is published by Harper Press
Swung by Ewan Morrison is published by Jonathan Cape
Beatniks by Toby Litt is published by Penguin
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo is published by Chatto and Windus
