list.co.uk/books Events | BOOKS
India, and talks about the writing life. Edinburgh Jo Caulfield Presents . . . The Speakeasy Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 8–10pm. £6. A relaxed evening featuring a diverse bill of artists telling true stories, from the haunting to the hilarious, live on stage. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. The School of Poets Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 8–11pm. £2 for taster session; £10 for annual membership. Monthly workshop session aiming to encourage and develop writing skills. Beginners and more experienced poets equally welcome.
Wednesday 9
Glasgow Word Play Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, 552 4267. 8.30pm. £2. Open mic night with acoustic music, poetry and prose. Edinburgh Katherine Grainger: Dreams Do Come True Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street, 226 2666. 6pm. £4 (£3 with loyalty card). The Olympic rowing champion signs copies of her autobiography. Café Voices Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7–9pm. £5. Tonight, storyteller Jane Mather celebrates the exhibition Away with the Fairies. Part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.
Thursday 10 Edinburgh Mslexia on How to Get Your Poems Published Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6.30pm. £5 (£4). Debbie Taylor, founder of Mslexia magazine, shares her tips on getting your foot in the publishing door. Followed by a Q&A.
Saturday 12
Edinburgh FREE Gareth Williams: Paralysed with Fear Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6.30pm. The professor and award-winning writer chats about his new book, Paralysed with Fear: The History of Polio.
Wednesday 16 Glasgow FREE Weegie Wednesdays Saramago Café Bar, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, weegiewednesday. org 7–10pm. Forum offering writers, poets, publishers or anyone else the chance to get together socially to talk about books. First timers, please contact the organisers via the website.
Thursday 17
Glasgow FREE Vagabond Voices: Human Rights in a Big Yellow Taxi CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. The publisher launches its newest ‘Rant’ offering, in which Peter Kerr takes on anti-terror legislation. Edinburgh FREE Lesley Riddoch: Blossom National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, 623 3748. 6–7pm. The journalist and commentator takes her new book, Blossom: What Scotland Needs to Flourish, on the road and discusses the impending referendum. Judy Brown and Carola Luther Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6.30pm. £5 (£4). The current and former Wordsworth Trust’s poet-in-residence (Brown and Luther, respectively) share work created during their stays at William Wordsworth’s cottage.
5 MINUTES WITH
JEFF VANDERMEER You describe Wonderbook as ‘an illustrated guide to creating imaginative fiction’. How would you define ‘imaginative fiction’? I think using terms like ‘realistic’ or ‘fantastical’ fiction sets up a kind of false opposition. You can find flights of fancy in mainstream lit and you can find a dogged pursuit of realism in fantasy. But what all of the best fiction exhibits, in my opinion, is applied imagination and an attempt to get beyond cliché and stereotypes to some place that’s unique, different and the perfect expression of what only you, that one particular writer, could create. How did you decide on this new approach to writing guides? I’m a very visual person; my mom is an artist (currently in France studying graveyard art) and I grew up around an art studio. Also, the next generation of beginning writers responds very well to images and instruction conveyed through image. I was able to analyse passages of fiction through diagram and image, show the differences in character arcs and even portray Joseph Campbell’s mono-myth as the journey of a Mexican wrestler. If you could give new writers one piece of advice, what would it be? There’s no magic bullet, there’s no one way. If Wonderbook is trying to get across anything, it’s that you’ll find a wide range of options. Don’t force yourself to do things you don’t want to do with your writing, but use your beginning years as a writer to experiment, to get to know what you’re good at and what you need to improve. And, also, to find out what you don’t like. It’s important to reject things, too. Sometimes sticking to your guns means success takes longer, but I can tell you that nothing beats making it on your own terms. Nothing. (Kirsty Logan) ■ Wonderbook is published by Abrams Image, Tue 1 Oct.
19 Sep–17 Oct 2013 THE LIST 47
INTERVIEW MARGARET ATWOOD
This month, we were lucky enough to have an exclusive chat with the Canadian writer about her new book, MaddAddam. You can read the full Q&A on list.co.uk. In this excerpt, she talks about interpreting the Bible and shaping your own belief systems. ‘It’s pretty easy to misuse any book in that way. First of all, it’s a book. More accurately, it’s a series of books that the codex form allowed to be stuck together so it looked like a book. And because we invented pages with a spine, you can put it in that package and it looks like a unified thing. And once it was in that package, people started interpreting it like a unified thing, in which you have the beginning in pictorial form: creation, the Garden of Eden, the prophets, kings and so forth, then up to Jesus and then the last judgment. It becomes a unified story because of the way the books were arranged – heaven above, God in it, angels; down below, last judgement, hell, devils; very unified, complete universe. Talk about imaginary worlds to explore!
I studied with one of the great literary-Biblical scholars, Northrop Frye, who said “this is a book; here’s how it works as a book”. People thought in about 1975 that religion was over, and it was no longer relevant to our modern world. I have never believed that, because I believe that religion is a subset of the narrative programme that we come with. And if people are not ascribing to an “established religion”, they’re doing something else. Could it be worshipping the stock market, horoscopes, channelling the spirit world? They’re doing something; they have some relationship with the unseen world. That took the form in some portions of the 20th century of Freudianism: you can’t see your unconscious. It’s invisible! Or Jungianism: you can’t see the archetypes. But they’re out there! Scratch anybody and you’re going to find some belief system that is not entirely rational, because we are not entirely rational beings.’ (Interview by Paul Gallagher) ■ MaddAddam is out now from Bloomsbury.
Edinburgh Portobello Book Festival Portobello Library, 14 Rosefield Avenue, Portobello, 529 5558. Times vary. Prices vary. Until Sun 6 Oct. A chirpy wee seaside lit fest run by volunteers. This year marks Portobello Library’s Golden Jubilee, so things get under way with an opening gala themed ‘1963: The start of the modern era’. Authors include Archie Foley, Margaret Munro, Lesley Riddoch and Doug Johnstone. Adam Nevill: House of Small Shadows The Banshee Labyrinth, 29–35 Niddry Street, 558 8209. 6pm. £3. The horror writer gives an exclusive reading from his new book, then discusses his work with blogger Jim McLeod.
Saturday 5 Edinburgh Lugs Tae Arthur’s Seat Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close,
Canongate, 557 2876. 10am. £7 (£6). Part healthy walking excursion, part mind-expanding poetry event. Begins at the SPL and ends atop a giant rock, with poet, actor and historian Andrew Sclater at the helm. Price includes breakfast. Starting with Stories 2 Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 10.30am–4.30pm. £36 (members £30). Aimed at anyone who has attended Starting with Stories 1, delving deeper into the techniques and skills of storytelling. With Fiona Herbert. Booking essential. Nothing but the Poem Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 11am. £5 (£4). See Tuesday 1. Glasgow In Process with Bashabi Fraser CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. £6 (£3; members free). The poet and author reads from her cross-cultural work, which explores Scotland and