Showing posts with label poets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poets. Show all posts

Monday, 31 July 2023

Black & White Photos at Edinburgh book festival



Mark Baeumont

Tarqi Ali

Some portraits from the Edinburgh international book festival, because of their contrast go well into black and white, which is my favourite art form. 

 

We’ve had many famous faces and well known authors from across Scotland, the UK and the world, over the past twelve years. 

 

While some images only work in colour. 

Alan Cummings

Isabel Greenburg
Karl Ove Knausgaard
Katherine Quarmby


Neil Gaiman

I love the old-fashioned, graphic simplicity and impact of the black and white image. Or the way they capture textures, shadows and expression. 

Paul Muldoon

Ahdaf Souief-Andrew

Gao Xingjian

ian bell


Rowan Hisayo

Thursday, 30 March 2023

100 Years of Scottish Independence Activism



Months before the Great War, Westminster passed a Homerule for Scotland bill 1914, at the time Ireland was also agitating for home rule.

1) First there was the Home rulers – Keir Hardy, a founder of Labour, a miner turned journalist, Cunningham Graham, John McLean. 

2) Then there was The Poets (late 1830s) – Hugh MacDiarmid, Hamish Henderson, Edwin Muir,

1950s National Covenant for a Scottish Parliament, which 2 million signed; 

 

3)  The Intellectuals 1960s – third generation, Stephen Maxwell, (theorist), Gavin Kennedy, Tom Nairn (political theorist), Isobel Lindsay, Margo MacDonald, 

 

*Yes majority vote Referendum 1979, not accepted by Westminster

 

4) After came The Activists, the fourth generation – Alex Salmond, Winnie Ewing, Mike Russell, Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney, Cunningham. Knocked doors, manned stalls, leafleting, marches, 

With a message of hope they eventually won power in Holyrood. 

 

*Mini-parliament 1999, Referendum 2014.with yes vote at 45%


*The thirteen year old UK Supreme court (set up by Blair 2010) dared to compare Scotland to Quebec, when all Canadian “provinces” have the right to hold a referendum on any subject under the Canadian constitution. Reducing Scotland, as one of the founding nations of the UK union, as less than a province. 


Margo MacDonald


Winnie Ewing & Nicola Sturgeon
Jim Sillars

(**George Kerevan failed to mention the very significant and important grassroots YES movement around the INDYREF vote 2014 building momentum around the exhilarating, hope-filled debates for a better future and our independence.) 

 

5) Yes Movement - alongside vigorous diverse hard working activism, creative arts, discourse, and online activism, consists of Believe in Scotland, the National newspaper, Common Weal, 

With the Intelligentsia, academics, and journalists - Tom Devine, Lesley Riddock, Ruth Wishart, George Kerevan, Alan Bisset, Kevin McKenna, Gerry Hassan, Ian Bell, Stuart Cosgrove, more.

 

Foreign-owned media and press is another major factor.

 

John MacLean
Hugh MacDiarmid


Cunningham Graham - First elected socialist and a founder of both the Labour party and the SNP

John MacLean – revolutionist and educator

Ramsay MacDonald – first Labour Prime minster, fiery advocate of Scottish self-determination.. Home rule – meant Scottish sovereignty within the British empire

Intellectuals - traditional values of community and love of ideas with radical reconstruction of nation.

Devolution of political power to localities, local control of land and recourses.


Cunningham Graham


Thanks to George Kerecan’s recent article The National –
 Four Generations failed to win Scottish Independence. Will the next”  He asks “why are we still propping up Westminster… and what is to be gained from playing within the Westminster rules of the Anglo state for yet another lost generation?”  “The latest generation activists have all but exhausted constitutional avenues within the arcane, anti-democratic British prison of nations, for achieving Scottish statehood.”

I’m surprised Sunak defends Northern Ireland's sovereignty rights – but not Scotland’s. How is this democratic?

 

What next? We must stop viewing Scotland in Westminster rear view mirror. I'm so tired hearing that Scotland – CAN'T – because matters are reserved to Westminster. 

Independence is a process and journey.


And start seeing Scotland as its own free nation. With its own story to tell. The baton is now being passed to a new generation, 

 

How will they respond?

Ramsay MacDonald

Four Generations failed to win Scottish independence. Will the next?  What is to be gained from playing within the rigged rules of the Anglo state for yet another lost generation? Scotland: we are only on our knees because we refuse to stand up.

 https://www.thenational.scot/politics/23364524.four-generations-failed-win-scottish-independence-will-next/

 

 


Friday, 30 September 2022

Edinburgh International book festival 2022 Review

Edinburgh Art college


Celebrates the enduring power of books. 

The bicycle racks are full at the book festival. Its now the second year at its new venue the Edinburgh Art college. With more of its usual buzz, with both in person and online events, there’s better children’s play area with a pirate ship and garden play area, and with more seating. It was a shock last year to move from Charlotte square gardens, where the Edinburgh International book festival took place from 1983 to 2019..

 

This year there were talks both in person and online.

In 2019 there were 900 events and now in 2022 events 600. With more streamlined events as expected less interest – as a result of the cost of accommodation and the pandemic.

 

Talks. At my first talk Edinburgh book festival, Irish writer Fintan O'Toole explored Ireland’s turbulent history from 1958 and whether Ireland might reunite. People wanting change while wanting things stay the same. But if we want things to stay the same things must change! The known and the unknown. 

American author Diana Gabaldon's talk was packed out and what an interesting lady! She was there to promote her 9th book in the Outlander saga - Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. She was emotional when she spoke of working to protect the Gaelic language. 

Noam Chmsky explored the corporate press, and encouraging debate in his book Chronicles of Dissent 

Lea Yi, from Albania, spoke of her book Free, Coming of Age at the end of History.


Diana Gabaldon

Ocean Vuong

Good Grief
Omar Musa


*My EIBF talks included - Diana Gabaldon, Fintan O'Toole, Brian Cox, Oliver Bullough, Lea Yi, Good Grief, Noam Chomsky,

Bigger names – Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Maggie O’Farrell, Irvine Welsh, 

(No talks by historian Tom Devine this year unfortunately.)

 *Music

PJ Harvey, Martha Wainwright, Stuart Cosgrove, 

James Runchie, The story of Bach’s masterpiece

 

*Politics

Imagine a country, Val McDermid & Jo sharp. 

Murray Pittock, Old Scotia Grandeur springs

Yasha Mounk, The Great Experiment

Franks Dikotter, The Rise of a superpower

 

*EIBF encourages us to debate, question, and look for truths, via a wide range of writers from to academics, novelists, historians, journalists, politicians, artists, poets and more. 

Some might claim Edinburgh festivals are not radical enough. But the talks I’ve attended at the book festival this year covered many challenges – freedom in Albania, turbulent Ireland since 1958, challenging debates, and encouraging Scotland language and culture. 

 



**BOOKS

Maggie OFaarrell, The Marriage Portrait

Murray Pittock, Scotland’s stories now, On this day. Part of the year of stories 2022.

Irvine Welsh, The long Knives

Alan Riach – Scottish literature an introduction (Iain banks, Irvine welsh, Alasdair Gray, Hugh MacDiarmid, Dunbar, Robert Garioch, WN Hubert, Burns Scott, Hogg, romanticism marginalized look in.



Sunday, 11 September 2022

Good Grief! At Edinburgh international book festival 2022

 


OmarMusa OceanVuong MichaelPedersen ReubenKaye GemmaCairney

Good Grief! At Edinburgh international book festival 2022

 

At Edinburgh international book festival 2022English broadcaster Gemma Cairney and Scots poet Michael Pedersen hosted a literary salon, a performance showcase celebrating grief in all its forms along with Vietnamese American poet Ocean Vuong, Australian comedian Reuben Kaye and Malaysian-Australian author and poet Omar Musa. 




Thursday, 30 June 2022

Edinburgh Book Festival 2022!



Edinburgh International Book Festival 2022 returns

with 600 events, 550 authors, 50 countries – under the banner “All Together Now”.

 

EIBF returns with a full program this year and hopes to recreate that buzz, after the Lockdowns. To build on the hybrid format developed over two years of pandemic – with live, in-person events also available to steam online.

 

For the first time since 2019, nearly all events will be live on stage in Edinburgh and will add a new venue at Central Hall - a 700+ seat theatre space in the heart of the city and a 5 minute walk from the Festival Village at Edinburgh College of Art.


 EIBF has re-located from its Charlotte square site (since 1982) – to save the 120 trees, the festival has been hurting their roots with the amount of foot fall: this has been an ecological decision. The festival’s new home will be the Edinburgh University Future’s building which will offer both enough indoor and outdoor space and a village green space.

This year the festival takes place at the Edinburgh art college Lauriston place.

 

*EIBF director Nick Barley  - “We’ve learned a great deal since 2019 – the world has changed immeasurably with the pandemic and war in Europe – but we’re also beginning to imagine what a better future should look like. Exploring these issues in inspiring conversations with scientists, historians, poets and novelists is exactly where the book festival comes into its own.

 

Ruby Wax

Nile Rodgers & Irvine Welsh




AUTHORS for 2022 – Ali Smith, Alexander McCall Smith, Julian Barnes.

Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa, Outlander Diana Gabaldon, linguist Noam Chomsky, director Armando iannucci. Meg Mason and many more.

FM Nicola sturgeon in conversation with Louise Welsh and Brian Cox (of Succession fame)

 

The festival plans to be more inclusive with Stories and Scarm – for all to tell our own stories, such a Syrian refugees. The festival has been encouraging people from all backgrounds. 


PLUS Val McDermid with her new book 89, which charts Scotland history via a thriller;  Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet, her new book set in the Medici Renaissance. 

Douglas Stuart, author of Young Mungo, in conversation with Ian Rankin, 

Music – Martha Wainwright, Jarvis Cocker, Vishti Bunyan, Ricky Ross, Stuart Cosgrove.


Alan Cummings




Also discussions on the role of Europe, impact of war with Ukrainian historian Sarhii Plokky.

**PLUS the large Children’s Book Festival with its

Baillie Gifford program – Julia Donaldson, Cressida Cowell, Michael Morpurgo. And new super heroes, Little Badman and Stunt Boy.

 

'Come together' for conversations with storytellers, musicians, politicians, actors, chefs, illustrators and more this August. Attend live in-person events in Edinburgh or watch events at home, 

**Tickets  https://www.edbookfest.co.uk

 

John Byrne

Ian Rankin


Alexander MacColl Smith


Seamus Heaney