The Verb

BBC Radio 4•www.bbc.co.uk

Society & Culture

Ian McMillan hosts Radio 4's cabaret of the word, featuring the best poetry, new writing and performance.

Last refreshed: June 27th, 2026 at 12:39 PM

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Episodes

The Verb - a house of multipoet occupancy

The celebrated writer Daniel Mendelsohn on his acclaimed translation of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. Poet Lydia Unsworth on finding inspiration for her new collection, Stay Awhile, in ring roads, shopping centres, and cooling towers. BBC New Generation Thinker, Joe Shute, on using poetry to reconnect communities to the waterway which powered Manchester's industrial revolution - the River Irk. Khadijah Ibrahiim discusses her choice of Neon Line for The Verb's long-running feature which asks a ...

Jun 21, 2026•42 min

Myths to nourish your life: poetry with Ian McMillan and Angie Hobbs, Rishi Dastidar, Bradley Taylor, Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch

The poems that nourish us, and the myths that nourish poems. What can a connection with a mythical figure give us, or a legendary flower? Ian McMillan is joined by Zeus, Poseidon, the Green Man, the trees of Under Milk Wood, and Wordsworth's favourite flower - courtesy of The Verb's guests - the philosopher Angie Hobbs, and poets Rishi Dastidar, Bradley Taylor, and Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch. Bradley Taylor brings Brummie legends like 'Pete the Feet' into a poem with the likes of Zeus and Icarus, ...

Jun 14, 2026•42 min

Poetry - a bullet-proof vest for the soul

Ian McMillan is joined by Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News' International Editor, who shares poems that have sustained her while reporting from conflict zones around the world. Richard Skinner, editor of 14, the annual poetry publication dedicated to 14-line poems, chooses this week's Neon Line. Kym Deyn discusses their debut poetry collection Folkish which reimagines the folklore of Northern England for a contemporary reader. Cara Thompson, Nottingham's first Nature Poet Laureate, talks about her...

Jun 07, 2026•42 min

The Verb at the Hay Festival

In this special edition of The Verb, coming from the Hay Festival, Ian McMillan's guests are: Nicola Davies, the Children's Laureate Wales, who will be talking about how the natural world inspires her poetry and why she thinks writing is a superpower; Novelist Joanna Kavenna will be taking on The Verb's Neon Line challenge where a guest chooses a line that they feel shines out from its poem; Nathan James Dearden is the composer-mentor for this year's Composer's Medal. A former Composer's Medal w...

May 31, 2026•43 min

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