I I
U L R E F N N E J
list.co.uk/books EVENT
LITERARY TOUR THE EDINBURGH LITERARY PUB TOUR (www.edinburghliterarypubtour.co.uk) ●●●●●
This entertaining mash-up of pub crawl and street theatre uses conflict to bring its subject alive, with great results. Hosted by two characters (one a bohemian who believes Edinburgh’s famous writers were formed from the city’s squalor, the other an academic who sees a more refined spirit as the true fire of the capital’s literature), the tour begins with the academic gazing out of the Beehive Inn window to evoke an 18th- century scene of a lauded Robert Burns entering the Grassmarket. Then the bohemian points further down the street to recall the hanging of shamed Deacon William Brodie, one of the inspirations for Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The actors are first-rate, slipping easily between their dual roles as performers and guides, packing in great trivia, awful gags and plenty of banter. The choice of pubs is less inspired, with most feeling more like convenient stopping points for a drink than locations integral to the literary theme. Disjointed as it is, this tour offers a contagious enthusiasm for Edinburgh’s literary history that is immediate and inspiring. (Paul Gallagher)
FLASH FICTION
SHELLS by Liam Bell
The house is built half-in, half-out of the water. At high tide the water laps at the supporting wall beneath their bedroom window. When the wind rises, the breaking waves send spittle and spray up to the rattling glass. Then the tide ebbs out and the salt water dries into the brickwork, crumbling the mortar until it falls to the stones of the beach.
She used to repair the pointing in the summer, with the knife that she kept separate from the set they’d been given as a wedding gift. Bent and battered, with a curl of mortar along the edge, like butter ready for the loaf. It still sits where she left it on the side-shelf in the kitchen, beneath a layer of dust as thick as lamb’s wool.
Every year, on their anniversary, he takes shells from the tideline and works them into the gaps in the wall. They send a fine powder trailing as they are forced into place, bristling from the concrete like barnacles on a hull. He fills all the spaces between the bricks, lifting handfuls of sand to press into the cracks and crannies between the shells. Then he climbs the stairs to lie on their bed and listen to the wind seeking out the weaknesses and the seawater seeping in at the foundations. As the house groans and gripes, bracing itself against the incoming tide, he closes his eyes and trusts that it will not cave and collapse into the water, but that it will lift from the shore and drift away, towards that line where sea and sky never quite meet. ■ Liam Bell’s debut novel So It Is is published by Myriad Editions.
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to books@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Jaclyn Arndt. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 16 Glasgow FREE Mandy Haggith: Bear Witness Waterstones, 153–157 Sauchiehall Street, 332 9105. 6.30–8pm. The author and environmental activist launches her latest novel, which centres on the brutal shooting of a bear cub. Booking essential. FREE William McIlvanney: Laidlaw Waterstones, 174 Argyle Street, 248 4814. 7pm. William McIlvanney, founder of the ‘tartan noir’ genre, chats about his award-winning 1977 novel. Notes from a Quarter Life Crisis Queen’s Park Cafe, 530 Victoria Road, kevinpgilday.tumblr.com 8pm. Donations welcome. Kevin P Gilday explores the mid-twenties breakdown through thoughtful and ranty spoken word and songs. Part of Southside Fringe.
Edinburgh FREE Christine De Luca: Havera Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6.30– 7.30pm. The small island of South Havera is the focus of the poet’s new book, which she co-produced with photographer Mark Sinclair.
✽ FREE Jenny Mayhew: A Wolf in Hindelheim Blackwell’s, 53–59
South Bridge, 622 8222. 6.30pm. The launch of Mayhew’s debut, a thriller set in the Germany of 1926. Booking essential. See review, page 54.
Stirling John Cooper Clarke Tolbooth, Jail Wynd, 01786 274000. 8pm. £16.50. The legendary Mancunian punk poet, who is a spiritual godfather to the likes of Mike Skinner and Plan B. See interview on list.co.uk. Friday 17
Edinburgh ✽ Rally & Broad Counting House, West Nicolson Street, 07989 508436.
7.30pm–1am. £5. A literary-flavoured cabaret night, boasting spoken word, ‘live literature’, new music and dancing into the wee small hours. Literary scene heavyweights Jenny Lindsay and Rachel McCrum host.
Auchinleck ✽ Boswell Book Festival Auchinleck, boswellbookfestival.
co.uk Times vary. Prices vary. A quirky literary festival devoted to biography and the first modern biographer, James Boswell. Set at his former home of Auchinleck House, talks, performances and workshops are accompanied by the opening night play, book-themed karaoke and events in the neighbouring towns of Auchinleck and Cumnock. This year also offers a day of children’s events.
Saturday 18 Glasgow Four Winds Writers’ Workshop Hilton Grosvenor, 1–10 Grosvenor Terrace, 339 8811. 9.30am–5pm. £50– £65. An all-day workshop on writing children’s books with sessions led by Victoria Campbell, Liz Rettig, Lynne Rickards and Wendy Storer. FREE Paul Hollywood: Bread Waterstones, 153–157 Sauchiehall Street, 332 9105. 12.30pm. The master baker signs copies of his latest cook book. FREE Mirrorball Showcase 1 The Poetry Club, 100 Eastvale Place, jim@
Events | BOOKS
carruth.freeserve.co.uk 7pm. The poets converge for this Clydebuilt showcase, with readings from Ellen McAteer, Mark Russell, Maggie Rabatski, Vicki Husband and Clydebuilt 05 mentor Alexander Hutchison. Edinburgh FREE Denise Mina: Museums at Night Crime Lecture Surgeons’ Hall Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Nicolson Street, 527 1649. 6–7.30pm. The author gives a talk, speaks about her latest novel and reveals how her criminology background has influenced her writing. John Cooper Clarke The Picture House, 31 Lothian Road, 0844 847 1740. 7pm. £16.50. See Thu 16.
Auchinleck ✽ Boswell Book Festival Auchinleck, boswellbookfestival.
co.uk Times vary. Prices vary. See Fri 17.
Sunday 19
Auchinleck ✽ Boswell Book Festival Auchinleck, boswellbookfestival.
co.uk Times vary. Prices vary. See Fri 17.
Dundee John Cooper Clarke Gardyne Theatre, Gardyne Road, 01382 434940. 7.30pm. £15 (£13). See Thu 16. Monday 20
Edinburgh FREE Andrew Greig: Found at Sea National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, 623 3918. 6pm. Grieg’s mini epic recounting his journey by dinghy from Stromness to Cava, told through music and poetry. FREE Blackwell’s Book Group Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6pm. An evening of friendly discussion for booklovers. This month: The Crow Road by Iain Banks.
Tuesday 21
Glasgow Alistair Moffat: Writers in Scottish Literary Organisations Scottish Writers’ Centre, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7–8.30pm. £6 (£3; members free). The non-fiction writer and journalist talks about his work and the Scottish literary community. Edinburgh FREE Rosalind K Marshall: Columba’s Iona Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 7pm. Celebrate Scotland’s history and the arrival of Marshall’s new book, which commemorates the 1450 years (to the month, no less) since Columba first arrived on Iona.
Wednesday 22
Glasgow FREE Poems for the Millennium: Vol 4 CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7.30–10pm. The launch of The University of California Book of North African Poetry, with a survey of Maghrebian literature, a Q&A session and readings in the poems’ original languages. Edinburgh FREE Fallen: A Memory of Leith Leith Library, 28–30 Ferry Road, 529 5517. 6–7pm. Miles Tubb and Ian Emerson talk about their graphic novel, inspired by images of Leith from the 1920s. FREE Alice Thompson: Burnt Island Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6.30pm. The release of Thompson’s sixth book, a horror novel about a horror novelist.
16 May–13 Jun 2013 THE LIST 55