The Blue and Salt of the Lies We Believe
All Weekend, Friday 22nd Nov, Saturday 23rd Nov, Sunday 24th Nov
10:00 am - 9:30 pm
This photography exhibition responds to the words and poems of Hannah Lavery, Shasta Hanif Ali, Jeda Pearl, Alycia Pirmohamed and Niall Moorjani. Through conversations with the writers and explorations of the places and experiences held within their work, Kat Gollock aims to curate a visual response to the poetry and ideas that make up the Disrupting the Narrative project.
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Machine Whispers
All Weekend, Friday 22nd Nov, Saturday 23rd Nov, Sunday 24th Nov
10:00 am - 9:30 pm
Can we trust machines with poetry? Will an ‘artificially intelligent’ translator mangle carefully crafted verse, or make it more beautiful? And will a human still recognise a poem when it’s passed through multiple translation tools? Machine Whispers is an interactive installation designed to provoke debate around translation and the role of the human translator in the age of AI.
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Supported by Design Informatics and Edinburgh Futures InstituteThere is a Tide: Writing the Ocean Wild, with Paperboats
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
This immersive writing experience from Paperboats is part performance, part writing opportunity. Join us and learn how literature can be used as an inspirational force for change by engaging with success stories of sea rewilding, as well as sights and sounds of the ocean. With a reading by Roshni Gallagher.
Get TicketsBehind Disrupting the Narrative
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Curator of Discomfort at the Hunterian Museum Zandra Yeaman, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association Lisa Williams, and poet and anti-racist campaigner Shasta Ali, join the former Edinburgh Makar Hannah Lavery to discuss Disrupting the Narrative and the decolonisation of Edinburgh’s past. Part of the Edinburgh 900 Anniversary programme.
Get Tickets20 Ways to Be a Better Poet
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
A fast-paced online workshop with legendary writer, poet and performer Roger Robinson, filled with tips, quotes and prompts to level up your poetry practice. For poets who want to refresh their poetry on the page and explore how we combine inspiration, commitment and productivity to balance earning a living and being an artist.
Get TicketsA Life of Poetry: Alexander McCall Smith
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Alexander McCall Smith is perhaps best known for novels such as The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. But did you know that he’s also a poet? In this unmissable event, Smith will share his fascination with the sounds of language, poetry, and music before showcasing his work set to music in beautiful short films.
BSL interpreted.
Get TicketsDouble Bill: Len Pennie and Lorde Fuhl
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Join poets Len Pennie and Lorde Fuhl as they perform some of their most recent and exciting works. Not only will you enjoy some of the freshest poetry coming from Scotland and Ireland, but Len and Lorde will also be in conversation, discussing how social media has impacted their careers.
Get TicketsOpen Book: No Such Thing As Lost
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Sit back, relax and enjoy as members of Open Book’s community of writers share their latest pamphlet, No Such Thing as Lost. These collaborative poems will take you on a tour of Scotland – from Shetland to Stranraer, Portree to Perth and many other places in between – touching on protest, postcards, heritage and hope.
Get TicketsTakeover: Glasgow Women’s Library
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Glasgow Women’s Library hosts this performance Takeover event with some of the writers shortlisted from Bold Types, their nurturing, encouraging and warm creative writing competition. Four writers will take to the stage based on shortlisting by this year’s incredible judges Maisie Chan, Kirsten MacQuarrie and Wendy Kirk.
Get TicketsBlack History and Poetry Walk
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Lisa Williams, poet, author, and founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association, will lead this Black History Walk and share some specially written poetry as we explore the histories of The Royal Mile’s surrounding areas. These little-known stories of Edinburgh’s many visitors and residents of African, African American and Caribbean heritage may surprise some; what tales lie beneath the sunny Mile?
Get TicketsDrag Poetry with Digital Diasporic Souls
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Accent Society presents three immigrant poets and artists from China, Columbia and Cuba in their speculative drag personas and digital projections of self. With river-dark eyes, daisy-woven wigs, and hearts of broken beads, they are coded with whispers of fear and anger. Join us for a ghostly nocturne and a fictional panel where ancestors in displaced genders speak of their fantasia of being a good alien through chanting and performance lectures. Performers include Vic Fu, Jiaoyang Li and Metal.
Get TicketsOn Fatherhood, with Raymond Antrobus and Niall Campbell
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Becoming a father is no easy process: the sleepless nights and burden of new responsibilities can weigh heavily. But amidst the challenges, there’s an untold joy that comes with meeting your child and discovering a new kind of love that can reshape your world. Join poets Raymond Antrobus and Niall Campbell as they reflect on own fatherhood journeys.
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BSL interpretedBreaking Ground Ireland
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Breaking Ground Ireland is a landmark project showcasing over 90 writers and illustrators from ethnic minority backgrounds, including Irish Traveller writers, from the island of Ireland. Featured poets Christie Kandiwa, Neo Gilson, and Lorde Fuhl will be chaired by Speaking Volumes’ Sharmilla Beezmohun in this fascinating event showcasing some of Ireland’s best contemporary talents.
Get TicketsAI and the (Un)translatability of Poetry
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
At this event Pip Thornton and Evan Morgan, the minds behind Machine Whispers, and poet and translator Rachel Rankin will come together to discuss and debate AI’s role in translation. Are machines capable of translating human communication, let alone poetry? How has this new technology challenged and changed the field of translation?
Supported by Design Informatics and Edinburgh Futures Institute
Get TicketsKathleen Jamie’s The Keelie Hawk
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The Keelie Hawk is the new landmark collection from celebrated poet and non-fiction writer Kathleen Jamie. A resonant collection written in Scots, with accompanying English translation, it promises to be a significant moment for both Scottish literature and language. She is joined on stage by Alistair Heather.
Get TicketsHannah Lavery and Michael Pedersen – Makar-athon
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Join renowned poet and playwright, Hannah Lavery, as she hands over the baton of Edinburgh Makar to the ever-effervescent Michael Pedersen. Hannah and Michael will discuss their own work including Hannah’s recently published, Unwritten Woman, as well as what holding the position of Makar means to them and how the city influences their work.
Get TicketsBetween Two Forms
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
From Sylvia Plath to Ocean Vuong, there is a long tradition of poets writing not just poetry, but novels and short stories too. But what does poetry offer that’s different from fiction, and vice versa? Writers Salena Godden, Andrés N. Ordorica, and Alan Spence explore the blurring, or otherwise, of the boundaries between prose and poetry
Get TicketsLoud Poets Slam Series: Edinburgh Heat
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
The prestigious Loud Poets Slam Series returns for its third year! Watch Edinburgh’s top poets compete in the first of 10 heats across the UK, for the biggest prize in UK slam poetry. Featuring current Edinburgh Champion Heather Rose as sacrificial poet, this is a thumping celebration of some of the best spoken word from Scotland today.
Get TicketsCocktail Hour with RJ Hunter
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Tonight, poetry and cocktails combine to create the greatest mix of all! Mixologist Jamie Shields from Ruma will take you through a dizzying array of luscious cocktails, sharing each drink’s story and history. Our poet for the evening, RJ Hunter, will be your poetic aperitif, with a poem to accompany each drink.
Get TicketsPoetry Jam with Leyla Josephine
6:30 pm - 7:45 pm
Long time collaborators and friends, fiddler Laura Wilkie, harpist Gillian Dawson, and poet Leyla Josephine, join forces for the Push the Boat Out Poetry Jam. Come hear them improvise together and, if you’re feeling courageous, there will be chances to read your writing alongside two of Scotland’s leading musicians.
Get TicketsPush the Boat Out Presents: Iona Fyfe and Friends
8:00 pm - 10:15 pm
Doors open at 7:30pm
Push the Boat Out’s Saturday gig is back! Fresh from a triumphant US tour, Iona Fyfe, the award-winning folk singer and Scots Language activist, headlines an unforgettable night of poetry-fused song and sounds. Iona will be joined by Emma Capponi and Fionnbarr Byrne, who bring a captivating blend of folk and ethereal sounds, and Iona Lee and DJ Nikki Kent layering poetic vocals over electrifying beats.
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