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The poet Murray Lachlan Young is the veteran of many a festival, and for our festival themed Verb he performs his poetry taking in all aspects of the festival experience, from the Portaloo to the glamping pod. You can catch Murray at the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall in July.聽

The poet and academic Dr Peter Mackay, from the University of St Andrews, lets us into the language-world of Scots Gaelic, and its poems of festival, ritual and time. Ian鈥檚 regular side-kick, the poet Hollie McNish draws comparisons between the Gaelic poetry Peter has brought to the studio and Jamaican dancehall music and 90s chart pop.

Especially for our festival themed programme, we鈥檝e commissioned brand new poetry from William Letford. His poem explores the language of festival food and strangeness of eating at a festival. William鈥檚 collection 鈥楧irt鈥� is out now from Carcanet.

The writer, critic and academic Professor Sarah Churchwell celebrates the language of the great American novelist Philip Roth who died this week. Sarah鈥檚 new book is 聽鈥淏ehold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream鈥� (Bloomsbury)

The novelist Louise Welsh is the Honorary President of the Ullapool Book Festival, and she鈥檚 written us a sketch of the build-up to a music festival, paying attention to backstage staff, and to all the different tribes that come together to celebrate.