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The musician James Yorkston has invited Pip Dylan and Kathryn Williams to perform at Free Thinking and celebrate breaking the rules. The trio perform the song 'Tortoise Regrets Hare', and James explains how a fable helped him conceal the identity of the person who inspired the song. James first novel 'Three Craws' Ìý(Freight Books) will be published in 2016. HisÌýlatest album is 'The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society' (Domino)

In a new commission for The Verb, the poet and novelist Jacob Polley, and composer John Alder take us inside the world of the 'Jackself'. Jacob was inspired to write after finding a reference to 'jackself' in Gerald Manley Hopkins' poem 'My own heart let me have more pity on'. ÌýThe writing process that evolved between Jacob and John involved a 'back and forth' that felt like an old fashioned postal service. Jacob's collection 'The Havocs' is published by Picador. His new collection - called 'Jackself' - Ìýis in the pipeline.

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The Booker Prize winning novelist Pat Barker has just published the final book in her 'Life Class' trilogy - 'Noonday' (Hamish Hamilton). Pat set the book during the Blitz, a time when many rules were broken, particularly in relation to sexual freedom. Pat tells Ian how she uses tiny details in her prose to reveal her characters' motives.

Carmen Marcus is one of our 2015 Verb New Voices. In collaboration with Arts Council England, The Verb has been developing new writing and performing talent. Carmen's piece 'Breaking Up With Jesus', explores the hole left by love for those who no longer have religion. Carmen wrote the piece based on her own experiences as well as a wide range of interviews.

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Amir Dawirsh is a British-Syrian-Kurdish poet who lives in the North East. For our Podcast Poets series he reads his poem 'Beautiful Thought', and meditates with Ian on how he reaches his 'beautiful thoughts' - and why he won't tell us exactly what that thought is. Amir's collection 'Don't Forget the Couscous' is published by Smokestack.