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SYRIA SPEAKS: AN EVENING OF RESISTANCE & CELEBRATION Syrian voices at Jura Unbound
‘Uprising literature’ is the term being used to encompass works which have followed on from the revolt and subsequent civil war in Syria, and this special late-night event will showcase many of its exponents, all of whom are featured in Saqi Books’ anthology Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline. ‘The book is an excellent introduction to the situation in Syria,’ says co-curator Dan Gorman of Reel
Festivals, ‘providing space for Syrian voices, something we see little of in mainstream media. The artistic community in Syria operated under extremely tight restrictions prior to 2011, and the revolution brought with it freedom of expression. This is a challenging time, but many Syrian artists pay homage to this with very critical work and discussion taking place on a daily basis.’ The range of writers appearing will be wide. ‘Samar Yazbek’s Pinter Prize-winning war diaries provide a stomach-churning account of the first hundred days of the conflict,’ details co-curator Ryan Van Winkle. ‘Golan Haji will also be joining us. He's an acclaimed poet who worked as a doctor in the early days of the uprising. Syrian / Scottish novelist Robin Yassin-Kassab will discuss his forthcoming novel on the revolution and, on a lighter note, Malu Halasa will share excerpts from her book The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie.’
The Raast collective will also be playing traditional Syrian music. ‘We hope this event won’t just be about tragedy but will highlight the resilience, humour and strength of Syrian art, even in these most challenging times,’ says Van Winkle. ‘There’s no uniform style of “uprising literature”. All those presenting work have reacted and responded to events in different ways, and whilst there are huge amounts of suffering taking place in Syria right now, the people and families experiencing this are expressing themselves in various ways. We hope this will be a celebration of people.’ (David Pollock) ■ Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 12 Aug, 9pm, free.
TRANSATLANTIC KISSING WITH CAT CLARKE & DAVID LEVITHAN Young Adult authors talk teen taboos
Young Adult books have changed a lot since David Levithan’s landmark 2003 debut, Boy Meets Boy. ‘LGBT YA is no longer seen as scary or niche,’ he says. ‘It’s just part of who we are.’ His new novel Two Boys Kissing – which he
discusses at the Book Festival alongside Scotland’s own Cat Clarke – is inspired by the true story of two teenagers, Matty Daley and Bobby Cancielo, who broke the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous kiss (over 32 hours) in September 2010. ‘While I’m not really telling Matty and Bobby’s story,’ Levithan explains, ‘I am certainly having my characters do the same brave, crazy thing that they did.’
Praised for his strong gay characters, Levithan has also co-written several novels with fellow YA authors, notably Will Grayson, Will Grayson with The Fault in Our Stars author John Green and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist with Rachel Cohn, now a cult film. But this summer will mark his first experience of
Edinburgh in August. ‘I’ve been to Edinburgh before,’ he tells us, ‘but never during festival season. I have been promised excitement!’ (Yasmin Sulaiman) ■ Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 9 Aug, 6.45pm, £4.50.
FIRST BOOK AWARD TOP EVENTS Unmissable debut authors
As ever, this year’s First Book Award features an exciting but slightly overwhelming plethora of authors, genres and styles. Two of this year’s most acclaimed nominees deal with health across the ages: The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer (9 Aug, 10.15am) looks at adolescence and schizophrenia, while Emma Healey's affecting novel Elizabeth is Missing (12 Aug, 3.30pm) is about an elderly woman living with dementia.
Proving there's more to the BBC than its string of recent scandals, Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark’s The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle (10 Aug, 8pm) is a poignant tale of the breakdown of a family dynasty, while her colleague James Naughtie (12 Aug, 6.30pm) has created a sharp political spy thriller in The Madness of July. If you like your books more experimental,
Anneliese Mackintosh’s Any Other Mouth (10 Aug, 3.30pm) brilliantly straddles the intersection between short story, memoir and novel, and A Girl is a Half- formed Thing by Eimear McBride (14 Aug, 3.30pm) – this year’s Bailey’s Prize winner – reinvents Joycean-esque stream of consciousness. Short stories reign supreme among this
year’s nominees. The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales by Kirsty Logan (21 Aug, 2pm) – full disclosure: she’s our former books editor – delves into magical realism, and Mai Al-Nakib’s The Hidden Light of Objects (12 Aug, 7pm) details the struggle of navigating daily life amid the conflict- riddled Middle East. Elsewhere, Young Skins by Irish author Colin Barrett (10 Aug, 3.30pm) depicts the grim reality of growing up in post-Celtic Tiger rural Ireland.
Brazilian writers Michel Laub (17 Aug, 6.45pm) and Daniel Galera (20 Aug, 10.15am) have both debuted their first English language novels this year. Laub’s Diary of the Fall follows the lingering trauma of a childhood prank gone wrong, while Galera’s Blood-Drenched Beard is about a man with a rare neurological condition on the trail of his grandfather’s murderers. For any of you still caught up in World Cup fever, a welcome reminder that Brazil has more than football to offer. (Maud Sampson) All events at Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, times and prices vary.
7–14 Aug 2014 THE LIST FESTIVAL 33