The Verb

The Meaning of Night

Saturday 3 June 2006 21:45-22:30 (Radio 3)

Ian McMillan uncovers The Meaning of Night, the title of Michael Cox's Victorian novel which is tipped to be the bestseller of the autumn.

Duration:

45 minutes

Programme Details

George Saunders is on a one man mission to redefine how we see his country, America. His new book - part morality tale, part satire - depicts a nation so restrictive it can only fit one citizen in at a time. He shares his thoughts on life in the small world contained in his book The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, and what this means for us all. And, across the Atlantic, he shares his experiences of life in another small literary world - this time from his recent trip to Hay on Wye.

For decades Michael Cox lived with an idea for his debut novel, but it wasn't until he faced a potentially life-threatening illness that his idea came to life. He talks about his plunge into a creative maelstrom, how facing death gave his book new life, and how his resulting novel, The Meaning of Night, is tipped to be the next big publishing success.

Also on the programme, poet Selima Hill invites us into her world of subversive and engaging verse as she reads from her new collection, Red Roses .

And we enter the dark and subversive musical world of The Tiger Lillies - the trio behind the stage hit Shockheaded Peter. Theirs is a seedy but playful and literary world of Brechtian punk cabaret - a world where words become instruments of delight, or even instruments of torture...

That's all on The Verb with Ian McMillan at 21.45 here on BBC Radio 3.

Additional Information :
Red Roses by Selima Hill is published by Bloodaxe
The Brief and Frightening Reign Of Phil by George Saunders is published by Bloomsbury
The Meaning Of Night by Michael Cox is published by John Murray in September
Find out more about The Tiger Lillies by visiting www.tigerlillies.com


Producer: Mohit Bakaya

The Verb

Episode and Playlist Information

• 23 Sep 06 Andrew Motion
• 8 Jul 06 John Betjeman
• 1 July 2006
• 24 Jun 06
• 17 June 2006
• 10 June 2006
• 3 June 2006
• 27 May 06 Hay Festival
• 20 May 2006
• 6 May 06 Freud at 150