Writing and Psychoanalysis

The writer and psychoanalyst Adam Phillips is the author of 'On Kindness', and 'On Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored' amongst other works of non-fiction. He is also a regular contributor to the London Review of Books. Adam invited The Verb into his west-London consulting room to discuss the rules and significance of Freud's concept of 'free association', the importance of inconclusive conclusions and what he sees as the lopsided relationship between poetry and psychoanalysis - something he explores in his new book 'In Writing: Essays on Literature' (Hamish Hamilton).

AL Kennedy is a writer and stand-up comedian - for The Verb she explores the importance of 'no' in conversation and in writing, the illusion of spontaneity in comedy and the reasons why Meg, one of the characters in her latest novel 'Serious Sweet' (Vintage), is sceptical of 'talking cures'. AL Kennedy won the Costa Book of the Year award in 2007 for 'Day'.

Rachel Parris and Amy Cooke-Hodgson are part of 'Austentatious', the cult Edinburgh fringe performance group. Austentatious improvise plays in the style of Jane Austen using only audience suggestions. You can hear more from Austentatious in their own BBC Radio 4 show http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08tvyw0

The poet Kathryn Maris is the author of the collections 'God Loves You' (Seren) and 'The Book of Jobs' (Four Way Books). Kathryn explores the influence of psychoanalysis on the work of American poets, and argues that younger poets in Britain are also finding it a rich source of inspiration. Kathryn's work will be appearing alongside Sam Riviere and Frederick Seidel in 'Penguin Modern Poets 5: Occasional Wild Parties'.

Producer: Faith Lawrence

Photo credit: Toby Glanville.