The Verb - 26/06/2009

Ian McMillan's guests include novelist Niven Govinden, author of Graffiti My Soul, with a new short story written specially for the programme. Resting is a tale from the dark side of celebrity culture, in which a young woman tries to recover a once-dazzling career. Her finances frozen, kept under virtual house arrest and under the watchful eyes of a shadowy minder, she waits for the day when her paymasters will let her resume her former life. Verb language spy Alex Horne reflects on the vagaries of onomatopoeia around the word - why do the French say tick-tac to imitate a clock and not tick-tock? Poetry Lab continues as part of the BBC's Poetry Season, with Paul Farley answering questions from poetry students on how to master the art of description. And novelist and songwriter Linda Robertson sings some sharply funny, sad tales.