BOOKS
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WATERST ON E’S
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SATURDAY 29 SEPT 3.00pm Meet LES and SUE STOCKER founders of St. Tiggywinkle's Wildlife Hospital who will be signing copies of their new book
THE HEDGEHOG AND FRIENDS
(CHATTO & WINDUS. £8.99)
FRIDAY 5 OCTOBER 12.30-2.00pm Meet CHRISTOPHER AWDRY who will be reading from and signing copies of
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE books
(HEINEMANN)
WEDNESDAY 10 OCTOBER 7.30pm Meet TONY BENN who will be talking about and signing copies of his new book
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (DIARIES 1977-1980)
(CENTURY HUTCHINSON. $320.00)
All events free. Refreshments provided. If you are unable to attend and wish to reserve a signed copy please phone 031 225 3436
WA TERSTONE & CO., 114 GEORGE STREET, EDINBURGH EH2 4LX
WATERST ON E’S . \BOOKSELLEiy/
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We are delighted to welcome
ALICE MUNRO
AUTHOR OF PROGRESS OF LOVE to Glasgow
She will be reading from and signing copies of her new book FRIEND OF MY YOUTH Chatto & Windus (£13.99) THURSDAY 11th OCTOBER at 7.30pm
Wine will be served 132 UNION ST., GLASGOW Gt. 041 221 0890
BOOKS
illustrated talk.
Wed 3 Dalkeith Library. White Hart Street. 663 2083/660 6818. 7.30pm. Free. A Poem for Midlothian. Midlothian‘s writer-in-residence. Ron Butlin. and eminent poet Norman McCaig will be joined by the winners of the Poem for Midlothian competition.
Thurs 4 Gorcbridge Library. Ilunterfield Road. Gorebridge 20630. Free. Anna Ritchie. author of a recent book on the Picts. discusses the lives of these mysterious people. Fri 5 Oct Bonnyrigg Library. Polton Street. 031 663 6762. Free. Angus and Patricia MacDonald: A Camera Above Scotland. The MacDonalds present an illustrated talk on aerial photography and will be joined by the winners ofthe Midlothian Photography Competition.
I EDINBURGH WOMEN AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY Southsidc Community Centre. Nicholson Street.
Fri 5 7.30pm. Free. Andrea Dworkin. political activist and campaigner against pornography will read from her new book Mercy (Seeker and Warburg) after which there will be a discussion on the subject of pornography. The event has been organised by Edinburgh Women Against Pornography which. at the moment is leading a campaign against John Menzies to have ‘top shelf‘ magazines removed from display. Also. see Rock Listings for details of the women
only benefit featuring music and cabaret. For further information contact EWAP. cm 43 Broughton Street.
I OLD GRINDLE'S BOOKSHOP 3 Spittal Street. 229 7252.
Fri 28 10am—1pm. Bill Dunlop. author of Female Wits (Canto £4.99) will be in the shop to discuss and read from his work.
I JAMES THIN 53-59 South Bridge. 556 6743.
Sat 27 Rosamund Pilcher will sign copies ofSeptember. the follow-up to the highly acclaimed Shell Seekers. I WATERSTONE’S l 14 George Street. 225 3436.
Sat 29 3pm. Les and Sue Stocker. founders of St Tiggywinkle's Hospital for Hedgehogs will sign copies of their new book The Hedgehog and Friends ( C hatto and Windus £8.99). Accompanying them will be some oftheir animal companions.
I WRITING FROM OURSELVES South Bridge Centre. Infirmary Street. Mon 8 7.3()—9.3()pm. First of eight creative workshops aimed at exploring various ways of encouraging creative flow through spontaneous writing exercises. The emphasis is on self-expression with no experience necessary. Places are limited and must be booked in advance by deposit of first two weeks fee at £3.50 (£2) per week. Contact Chris McKinnell. 4 Rosevale Terrace. EH6 SAN. 553 4629 (evenings).
MARSHA’S LAND
Sixties icons generally have a tough time of it and Marsha Hunt would, at first sight, appearto epitomise a beaded, beautiful person. The filer of a paternity suit against Mick Jagger, star of ‘Hair' and darling of the swinging London scene, she also became the embodiment of the flower child coping in a world where glitter bands and punk replaced peace and love.
In the 808 she began to fight back: first as an actress with The 880 and latterly as an author. Her widely acclaimed autobiography, ‘Beal Life’ appeared in 1985 and she is now releasing a first novel, ‘Joy’. If she ever partook of the Leary life-enhancers, it doesn‘t show.
‘Joy‘ is narrated (in a seriously black voice) by one Baby Palatine. At the onset, she is informed of Joy Bang’s death. By reflection, we see the development of Joy through the eyes of Baby— her adoring surrogate mother. It transpires that Joy was both more and less than she seemed with constant hints towards a darker side offered by Joy’s sisters and real mother before a final, tumultuous climax reveals all. Hunt avoids the usual trap of first time novelists - Iapsing into autobiography — and manages authentically to become the ill-educated, charlady character of narrator, Baby.
‘I had years of writing lyrics which
says Marsha, ‘I wanted them to reflect what was happening in my life on that day. So when I came to write ‘Joy', I didn't need that. That doesn't mean that I didn't draw on experiences and people who I had known. There's an element of real life in the world which you can use, so why create characters that don't exist? Baby Palatine speaks in the voice of someone I knew as a child, so any time she speaks, liust need to think of how this person would say it.‘
In ‘Joy’, each of the main female characters displays a range of faults which make Saddam Hussein appear in comparison a benevolent philanthropist. Marsha, though, has sympathy for each of them.
‘One of the things which I hope I’ve implied in the study of these characters is that childhood experience can pervert us. Without proper consideration from the adults who are in control of young people’s lives, you can make a huge mess of that little piece of clay that will form a grown-up person. That’s what happened to all of the Bang children. Baby herself is more than sympathetic, she's heroic. She may be blind to all of Joy's shortcomings but isn’t that a sign of an overwhelming motherly love? She carries on in spite of everything — she'll
still sing in the morning.’ And so, one assumes, will Marsha. (Philip Parr) Joy is published by Virago.
88'I‘he List 28 September— I 1 October 1991)