The Verb

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins tells Ian McMillan about the influence of poetry on his writing, and shares poems written by his own mother. Ian also explores the influence of a very competitive mother on the life and poetry of former National Poet of Wales Gwyneth Lewis. And as it's the first Verb of the year, stand-up poet Kate Fox suggests new names for all the calendar months, whilst Stagedoor Johnny brings a new 'eartoon' (which explains why the names of baby animals can be so confusing).Richard Dawkins' new book is 'The Genetic Book of the Dead' Gwyneth Lewis' memoir is 'Nightshade Mother' Kate Fox's latest book is 'On Sycamore Gap'

The Morecambe Poetry festival hosts Ian McMillan and the Verb at the Morecambe Winter Gardens, for a special recording with poets Pam Ayres, Raymond Antrobus and Henry Normal, three performers much- loved by audiences.Pam Ayres takes us back to the beginning of her career with the first poem she ever performed live whilst working for the Royal Air Force. This preceded her memorable winning appearance on the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks. Raymond Antrobus reads from a long sequence of poems written after he learned he was going to be a father. One of his poems describes the sign language his hearing son - born in 2021 - communicated with before he could speak. Raymond's own deafness was diagnosed when he was six.Henry Normal has a long association with the Morecambe Poetry festival. He was involved in its creation and is almost its resident poet. He reads poems inspired by libraries saying he would not have become a writer were it not for free access to the wide world through the pages of books. Produced by Susan Roberts

A special recording of The AdVerb at The Hackney Empire . Ian McMillan introduces six unique collaborations - new commissions between poets composers and musicians in collaboration with BBC Contains Strong Language and the BBC Symphony Orchestra Poets from the East End of London team up with composers to make new pieces that tell stories of this part of the capital city in all its astonishing diversity .1. Keith Jarrett with his new poem 'E Note' set to music by Iain Farrington 2. Hannah Silva performs 'The Empire Memorial Sailor's Hostel ' with music by Evan Jolly. 3. Christian Foley's Learning to Swim, performed by the poet with music by Calum Au. 4. Livia Kojo Alour and composer Charlie Bates present a new arrangement of Livia's piece Soul Death 5. Yome Sode and composer James B Wilson present their collaboration Roots. 6. Kat Francois and composer Lee Reynolds present Roots Presented by Ian McMillan with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lee ReynoldsProduced by Susan Roberts

Ian McMillan is joined by four guests for more poetry and performance . After a year characterised by wet weather, Alan Connor constructs a poem from 188 Words for Rain collected on travels around the country for his new book with that title. Comedian and writer Isy Suttie treats us to a new song written with the approaching Bonfire Night in mind, but the fireworks in the studio don't only come from her guitar. The other guests get a chance to join in too. Poet Pascale Petit opens up her first novel which took 17 years to write, examining the differences and similarities between poetry and prose and Deryn Rees Jones reads from her own work and takes on this week's neon line, "all the worse things come stalking in". Produced by Cecile Wright Editor Susan Roberts

On this week's edition of The Verb, Ian McMillan gathers together - Wendy Cope - the poet whose 1986 debut collection "Making Cocoa For Kingsley Amis" became that rare thing - a poetry best seller. As her first collected poems are published she reflects on poetry forms and why some of her old poems are making their first public appearance in her new book.Ira Lightman, poet and artist, reflects on the nature of the epic. A marathon endeavour for poets and readers, it's usually seen as an ancient style but it is a form of poetry that contemporary poets continue to embrace including Ira himself.Susie Dent, known for her ability to find just the right word, discusses her new novel, Guilty By Definition in which a group of lexicographers use their dictionary-making skills to solve a mystery.Theresa Lola, former Young People's Laureate for London reads from her new collection, Ceremony for the Nameless, a poetry disquisition on the subject of naming. Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Ekene Akalawu

This week on The Verb Ian McMillan is joined by Paul Farley, author of the bird-centred 2019 poetry collection 'The Mizzy'. Especially for The Verb he's written us a brand new poem that considers birds on our workplace, inspired by new 'Nature Postive' building regulations.Malika Booker is tackling this week's 'Neon Line' poem. Booker won the Forward Prize for 'Best Single Poem' in 2023 and she takes us through the 2024 winners, who have recently been announced. Linguist and author of 'You're All Talk', Rob Drummond brings us up to speed on langauge change.And there's a brand new comission from Kate Fox on Strictly Season as well as a reading from her new book 'On Sycamore Gap' - inspired by the famous tree near Hadrian's Wall that was felled last yearPresenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Jessica Treen

Ian McMillan talks to Margaret Atwood and Alice Oswald about how we write poetry, and their own process, the natural world, time, and the possibilities of myth.

BBC Contains Strong Language 2024 took place in Sydney Australia in partnership with Red Room Poetry and ABC Australia . This special edition of The Verb was recorded in State Library of New South Wales n front of a audience as part of the festival. With guests Eileen Chong the first Asian Australian poet to be on the school syllabus, who came to Australia from Singapore in 2007. Singer songwriter Paul Kelly - described as the Laureate of Australia - whose latest project sets the work of poets as varied as Shakespeare and Les Murray to music . Omar Sakr - the son of Turkish and Lebanesemigrants whose collection The Lost Arabs won the prestigious Prime Ministers Literary Award . Ali Cobby Eckermann - a First Nation poet who only met her birth mother as an adult. She, her mother and grandmother were all stolen , tricked or adopted away from their families . Her poetry talks powerfully about this personal and national story .Recorded with an acknowledgement of the Gadigal people the traditional custodians of the land where this edition of The Verb took place Produced by Susan Roberts

Gardens, balloons, parties and whales feature in this week's cabaret of the word. Ian's guests include Toby Litt, Roger Robinson, Hannah Silva and Caleb Femi.Novelist, poet and librettist Toby Litt has wrestled Ian, written stories backwards, and been limited to a single verb, in previous Verb commissions. This week he has to write something surreal for us, and then write something even more surreal by the end of the show - whilst blowing up two balloons. Toby is also mine of writing advice and genre-challenging playfulness in his novels, in his book 'A Writer's Diary' and in his substack.Roger Robinson's 'A Portable Paradise' won the T.S.Eliot Prize and there's no one better placed to unpick a poem and explain its most extraordinary lines for The Verb. He shows us how language really works on this week's show, as he does in his books 'On Poetry' and 'On Creativity'. Caleb Femi is an award-winning poet and film-maker. He has said he wants to be a merchant of joy, and there's lots of joy in his celebration of the true meaning of parties in his new collection 'The Wickedest'. Caleb shares new poems with Ian.Hannah Silva is a poet who truly understands how sound can let us into meaning. She performs a brand new commission for The Verb on the balloon - and asks Ian and his guests to play keepy-uppy during the show. Her latest book is 'My Child, the Algorithm' .

Ian McMillan presents a cabaret of the word - the best poetry and performance - with guests Daljit Nagra, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Brian Bilston and the voice of Stagedoor Johnny.Brian Bilston, internet poetry sensation - and the poet behind 'Days like there' and 'Alexa, what is there to know about love?' shares poems in both human and animal languages from his new book 'Let Sleeping Cats Lie'.Karen McCarthy Woolf writes us a brand new poem in response to AA Milne's classic book - now reaching its centenary, 'When we were very young', featuring mice, Christopher Robin and Buckingham Palace. Karen's latest book is a verse novel called 'Top Doll' - Karen gives voice to the dolls that were owned by reclusive New York billionaire Huguette Clark. Daljit Nagra lets us into a classic poem for our Neon Line series - and helps us enjoy and understand how a great line works in a great poem. He also shares poetry from his new book 'Indiom' which evokes English as a chatty and ancient forest.Stagedoor Johnny is back with another Eartoon that explains the history of various language quirks - this time revelling in words that contain 'ear',