Harvest

The Verb this week is abundant with the language of Autumn and fruitfulness as Ian Mcmillan and his guests explore writing about the season and harvest festivals; past, present and future. Rebecca May Johnson is the author of 'Small Fires: An Epic in the Kitchen'. In this playful memoir she rewrites the kitchen as a vital source of knowledge and revelation. A novelist and nature writer, everything Melissa Harrison writes is attuned to the seasons and for Melissa, autumn is a particularly poignant time of year when life and death rub up against each other. Amy Jeffs explores the stories and myths that make up Britain in her books 'Wild: Tales from Early Medieval Britain' and 'Storyland', here she explains how harvest traditions have fed into our folk tales. And our 'Something New' poem, part of our series celebrating 100 years of the relationship between the BBC and poetry comes this week from Joelle Taylor

Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Cecile Wright