4 February 2006
Saturday 4 February 2006 21:40-22:25 (Radio 3)
Play detective with Ian McMillan when writer Val McDermid uncovers the secret of The Grave Tattoo, and reveals that the poet William Wordsworth and Fletcher Christian were childhood buddies. Plus, in the last of the series on South East Asian writers, Tash Aw talks about Korea's greatest living writer, the novelist Hwang Sok-Yong and his novel The Guest.
Programme Details
Did you know that William Wordsworth was the classmate of Fletcher Christian, of Mutiny On The Bounty fame? The mistress of the psychological thriller, Gold Dagger award winner Val McDermid, takes this little known fact and uses it in a web of intrigue and mystery in her latest thriller, The Grave Tattoo. She talks to Ian McMillan about the fine art of plotting - which here encompasses the Lakeland poet, a 13 year old on a London housing estate, and a 21 st century academic.
Plotting is also key in the last in Tash Aw's series on great writers of South East Asia. He introduces the Korean writer Hwang Sok-Yong, whose 2002 novel The Guest takes the Korean war and the secret of a massacre as it's heart. But there's poetry too and boxes of chocolate aplenty, as Tash Aw reveals when he talks to Ian.
Wales has a noble history of literature. And now Welsh novels written in English are about to have the dust blown off their pages, with the re-publication of novels such as Border Country by the great cultural critic and historian Raymond Williams. The series editor of the Library of Wales, Dai Smith, together with the Welsh poet, Peter Finch, join Ian to unravel the appeal of the Welsh novel written in English.
And how would you deal with hecklers? Performance poet Matt Harvey gives you the secret of his success, as well as making poetry of his twin sons and of teabags. How can he do that? He explains - with a dash of Totnes magic.
And if you entered the jazz writing competition, then listen in to hear the winning entry performed on the programme.
That's The Verb at 21.40, here on BBC Radio 3
Additional Information:
1) The Guest by Hwang Sok-Yong is published by Seven Stories Press and is available by special order
2) The Grave Tattoo by Val McDermid is published by Harper Collins
3) The Hole In The Sum Of My Parts by Matt Harvey is published by The Poetry Trust. For more info on Matt and his work, go to www.mattharvey.co.uk
4) The new series of classic Welsh literature, The Library of Wales, is published by Parthian Books. The first five titles in the series include:
So Long, Hector Bebb by Ron Berry. Foreword by Niall Griffiths
Border Country by Raymond Williams. Foreword by Dai Smith
Country Dance by Margiad Evans. Foreword by Catrin
The Dark Philosophers by Gwyn Thomas. Foreword by Elaine Morgan
Cwmardy & We Live by Lewis Jones. Foreword by Hywel Francis.
For further information visit: www.libraryofwales.org
Producer: Ariane Koek
