list.co.uk/books COMIC
REVIEW: GRAPHIC NOVEL ARTHUR FLOWERS & MANU CHITRAKAR I See the Promised Land (Tara Books) ●●●●● The life and times of saints and heroes have long been the base for storytelling traditions. With I See the Promised Land, African-American writer and blues singer Arthur Flowers repositions civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s story into an eastern tradition where destiny, gods and fate are at play. It’s an interesting if not entirely successful transgression.
Working with Bengali artist Manu Chitrakar, Flowers boldly presents King’s life as a cosmological event, one imbued with signs, wonders and divine tragedy. It’s all a bit of a stretch for the modern western reader, more used to secular schematics. The thing to bear in mind, however, is that Chitrakar is a Patua scroll artist. Patuas wander from village to village singing songs and explaining Hindu legends with the help of scrolls. The nearest comparison we have is the craftspeople that created the Bayeux tapestry or Grayson Perry. The flow of history and the ascent of astrology are everything in this context.
There is no denying the distinction of Flowers and Chitrakar’s interpretation of a well-known life story, yet Flowers’ narrative fails to hold the reader. It’s as though the intervention of kismet is too much, even when we know the outcome. (Paul Dale)
ALSO PUBLISHED COMEDY BOOKS
With the annual Glasgow comedy beanfeast having its last laughs, there are a bunch of opportunities to seek solace in book form. Extreme Rambling (Ebury) by Mark Thomas is the paper version of his current touring show in which he walks the entire length of the Israeli West Bank ‘separation barrier’ in order to understand what is happening on both sides. Along the way he meets a Jewish dub reggae band and Arab ale brewers. Emma Kennedy undertook an equally exhaustive voyage for I Left My Tent in San Francisco (Ebury) as she recalls the year (1989) when she headed to the US with her best buddy to make their fortunes. And if you thought her journey might not be as peril-laced, think again as she encounters earthquakes, snakes, voodoo and dogs with dodgy bowels.
Jon Richardson is not a comic who immediately springs to mind as
someone who would willingly venture into danger, but with It’s Not Me, It’s You (HarperCollins), he may well be taking the biggest risk of them all. Can an OCD-afflicted control freak and quarrelsome perfectionist ever find the perfect partner? This is his search for ‘The One’. The chap behind bunny suicides, selfish pigs and DIY dentistry (in cartoon form only, we hope) returns with the easily-digestible Wine Makes Mummy Clever (Hodder) while Paul Barker brings us an updated version of his 2007 classic paean to fatherliness, The Book of Dad (Fourth Estate). Chapters include ‘Dads Through the Ages’, ‘The Dad-to-Be’ and ‘Know Your Dad’. This book is top of the pops. Sorry, bit of a dad joke, that. (Brian Donaldson)
EVENTS Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 16 days before publication to books@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Laura Ennor. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 31
Edinburgh ✽✽ FREE Quintin Jardine Waterstone’s West End, 128 Princes Street, 226 2666. 1–2pm. Quintin Jardine launches his latest criminal offering, The Loner, with free tapas from La Tasca.
Friday 1
Glasgow Reading the Leaves Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 42 Otago Lane, 357 4524. 8pm. £2. Poetry and storytelling evening. Edinburgh Shifting Shapes, Selkies and April Foolery Columcille Centre, 2 Newbattle Terrace, 447 7404. 7.30pm. £5 (£4). An evening of (April–) foolish storytelling suitable for all the family.
Saturday 2
Glasgow FREE Glasgow Scribes Book Sale Mitchell Library, North Street, 287 2999. 10am–1pm. A sale of books organised by Glasgow’s resident group of calligraphy enthusiasts. Edinburgh Scots and Lowland Stories and Traditions Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579 . 2–5pm. £17.50 (network members £15). Senga Munro examines stories from the Lowlands, examining their structure, humour and meaning. Part of Ceilidh Culture.
Sunday 3 Edinburgh FREE Memoirs of a Lighthouse Keeper National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. 2–3pm. Dr Peter Hill rounds off the Shining Lights exhibition at the museum with reminiscences from his 2004 Saltire- award winning book, Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper, which details his life as keeper of various flames in the 1970s. Booking essential. FREE Spark! Creativity Showcase The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 6pm. Open session for musicians, songwriters, poets, storytellers and performers of any kind, all hosted by William Douglas.
Monday 4
Edinburgh FREE Blackwell Book Quiz Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8201. 6pm. Test your literary credentials in teams of up to five members. Arrive for 5.45pm. FREE Spoken Word Night Blind Poet, 32c West Nicolson Street, 667 4268. 9pm. An open mic-style event: simply bring your party piece and step up to read.
Wednesday 6
Glasgow FREE Seeds at the CCA CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7.30pm. Acoustic music, African drumming, stand up comedy and urban poetry night in a relaxed atmosphere, presented by Seeds of Thought. Edinburgh FREE Lee Rourke and Lars Iyer Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6.30pm. Debut authors Lee Rourke and Lars Iyer discuss their books, The
EVENTS Books
Canal and Spurious. The Big Edinburgh Bookshop Book Swap Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 7.30–9.30pm. £5. Everyone’s got one of those books that you just have to tell everyone about as soon as you finish reading it (or sometimes before), right? Well now you can engage in some sanctioned lit-pushing at this literary soiree organised by The Edinburgh Bookshop. Entry gets you a glass of wine, nibbles and some equally bookish company – just don’t forget to bring a book to swap (one that you’re prepared to give up in return for another!).
Thursday 7
Glasgow FREE Poetry Discussion Group Mitchell Library, North Street, 287 2999. 6pm. Lively and informal discussions about poetry on the first Thursday of every month. Edinburgh FREE Readeasy Writers’ Group The Forest Café, 3 Bristo Place, 220 4538. 6–9pm. A fun, welcoming and constructive environment in which to try out scraps of new writing in front of a friendly audience of fellow writers. Email your piece (max 500 words) to inkyfingersedinburgh@gmail.com to get involved. FREE Edinburgh Reads . . . Marianne Wheelaghan Central Library, George IV Bridge, 242 8100. 6.30pm. Wheelaghan’s discusses her debut novel, partly based on a true story about a young girl growing up in Germany during the 1930s, the details of which she gathered from letters and diaries of the time. Places are free but must be booked in advance. FREE Sheila Stewart: A Traveller’s Life Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6.30pm. Storyteller and ballad singer Sheila Stewart MBE recounts her life travelling around Scotland and tells how she became part of the folk scene in 1954. A Visit to the Old Town in Story & Dance Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7pm. £6 (£4). A mix of music, stories and dance to tell the tales of the Old Town’s twists and wynds. Part of Ceilidh Culture. FREE Debating Delusions: God? Dawkins? Jesus Christ? The Granary, 32–34 The Shore, Leith, 554 9465. 7.30pm. Is God a delusion? Or is it Richard Dawkins who’s a figment of the imagination? Who knows, but here to get to the core of the issues is David Robertson, author of The Dawkins Letters, a Christian response to Dawkins’ famous and controversial book.
Friday 8
Glasgow FREE Reading Allowed Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 42 Otago Lane, 357 4524. 8pm. A monthly evening of storytelling and poetry reading.
✽✽ Luke Wright’s Cynical Ballads: Seven Caustic Tales from
Broken Britain Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, 552 4267. 10pm. £10 (£8). The key revivalist of performance poetry, a man about whom even John Cooper Clarke said ‘he must be on some kind of dope’, shines light on obese teenagers, chip shop owners and posh twits. Part of Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival.
Saturday 9
Edinburgh Open Stage Words and Music Polwarth Parish Church, Polwarth Terrace, 447 2741. 7–10pm. By donation. Performers of music and words of all ages and abilities are welcome to show their stuff at this fundraiser for the church roof. Email steve@burnettviolins.co.uk to book your slot, or just turn up on the night. 31 Mar–28 Apr 2011 THE LIST 45