The Verb

3 December 2005

Saturday 3 December 2005 22:20-22:50 (Radio 3)

Ian McMillan presents the weekly cabaret of new writing, poetry and performance. Acclaimed Chinese-American novelist Amy Tan talks about her latest book Saving Fish From Drowning, and Poet Laureate Andrew Motion tells of the launch of the national Poetry Archive.

Duration:

30 minutes

Programme Details

This week on The Verb, Ian McMillan talks to the internationally bestselling novelist Amy Tan, best known for her book The Joy Luck Club. Tan's latest novel, Saving Fish From Drowning, is her most sustained comic work to date, a story of an ill-fated trip to Burma by a group of naïve American tourists, told through a set of intertwined narratives. Tan's inspiration for the book seemingly came from the writings of a psychic medium but, as she explains to Ian McMillan, there's more to that premise than meets the eye. She also discusses the evolution of Chinese-American writing and describes why, for her, the comic approach to heavyweight subject matter remains the best.

Also on the programme, another aural delight from The Verb's award-winning eartoonist Peter Blegvad, who continues to delve into the world of language learning, and the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion discusses the launch of the Poetry Archive, the first ever online resource to house recordings of poets reading their own works.

Plus, a hauntingly beautiful poem from Fiona Sampson about life on a hospital ward written and read especially for The Verb.

Join Ian McMillan and his guests at the slightly later time of 10.20pm, here on BBC Radio 3.

Producers: Amber Barnfather and Aasiya Lodhi

Additional Information:
1) Saving Fish From Drowning by is published by Fourth Estate
2) The Poetry Archive can be found at www.poetryarchive.org
3) The Distance Between Us by is published by Seren

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