Poems about pies, the foul-mouthed parrot upstaging Margaret Atwood and starting World War III via Desert Island Discs: Ian McMillan on the Country Life Podcast

What is the fundamental job of a writer? 'We try to turn the world into language,' according to the poet, broadcaster and writer Ian McMillan.

Ian, one of Britain's best-loved poets and writers, as well as the presenter of The Verb on BBC Radio 4, joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast in what is one of the most entertaining and wide-ranging chats so far.

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James and Ian start off by discussing Under the Changing Skies, a collection of highlights from The Guardian's long-running Country Diary series. It's a collection for which Ian has penned the foreword, despite admitting that he'd be 'no good at all' at writing the column himself.

'You've only got 200 words, 200-and-odd words,' says Ian. 'I'd still be clearing my throat at 250 words, and might just be ready to go at 300 words.'

Ian and James go on to talk about an amazing: nature, writing, inspiration and more, with some wonderful anecdotes added in from an illustrious career (Ian's, that is; not James's). There's also a chance for Ian to explain why he chose John Cage's 4 minutes 33 seconds of silence when he appeared on Desert Island Discs — a quirky choice to put it mildly, and one which might conceivably have had some rather alarming unintended consequences.

Under the Changing Skies: The best of The Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is out now, published by Faber (£20)

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