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ART & FICTION ADELE PATRICK (ED) 21 Revolutions (Freight) ●●●●●
21 Revolutions is the culmination of celebrations marking 21 years of the Glasgow Women’s Library. This ambitious coffee-table book is a success both in terms of the quality of its content and, perhaps more significantly, in the way it shines such a clear light on the valuable work and resource of the library itself.
The 42-strong list of contributing artists and writers – including AL Kennedy, Jackie Kay and Janice Galloway – reads like a who’s who of Scottish women creatives. They each made works in response to an item of their choice from the library’s collection, and the resulting poems, stories, paintings and prints are presented alongside images and references to the items that inspired them.
The power of these works is that they bring the specific reality of women’s experiences (painful, joyful, tragic) into an immediate, knowable present tense. From Anne Donovan’s moving Scots story ‘Lassie wi a Yella Coatie’ to Margaret Elphinstone’s thoughtful essay ‘We Thought We Were Going to Change the World’, there is so much here that is eye-opening, moving and inspiring. (Paul Gallagher)
POEM
THE DEEP by Samuel Tongue
where three men were lost on a single moonlit night,
their fathers combing the whitetops,
splitting each running wave open, straining for a call.
■ Samuel Tongue reads at StAnza’s Poetry in Protest, Byre Theatre, St Andrews, Sun 9 Mar.
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 20
Edinburgh FREE Robert Burns’ Glenriddell Manuscripts National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, 623 3734. 10am–8pm. Until Sun 30 Mar. View Burns’ unpublished poems and letters to his friend, Robert Riddell. FREE Pass on a Poem Golden Hare, 102 West Bow, 629 1396. 6pm. Submit a poem to read aloud, or just sit back and listen to an earful or two of verse. Rally & Broad Counting House, West Nicolson Street, 07989 508436. 8–11pm. £5. Literary-flavoured cabaret night. Words and music from Hannah Silva, Billy Liar, Jim Carruth, Claire Askew and Miracle Glass Company. Pitlochry Winter Words Festival Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Port Na Craig, 01796 484626. Times vary. Prices vary. Until Sun 23 Feb. The tenth Winter Words Festival returns with an emphasis on momentous events: the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup, the referendum and Bannockburn. Also featuring Neil Oliver, Tracey Thorn, Rob Low, Sally Magnusson and more.
Friday 21
Glasgow FREE Read Aloud! Celebrating Commonwealth Women’s Writing Glasgow Women’s Library, 23 Landressy Street, 550 2267. 2–3.30pm. Help develop a new Commonwealth Women’s section at the library, just in time for the Commonwealth Games, and gain research, reviewing and writing skills.
Edinburgh FREE David Cameron: Who Killed Alice Field? Looking Glass Books, 36 Simpson Loan, Quartermile, 229 2902. 6.30pm. Cameron introduces his new crime novel. Stirling Stuart Maconie: The People’s Songs Tolbooth, Jail Wynd, 01786 274000. 8pm. £12.50. The popular TV and radio presenter, journalist and author talks about his new book and epic radio series.
Saturday 22 Edinburgh Nothing but the Poem The Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close, 22 High Street, 557 2876. 11am–12.30pm. £5 (£4). Poetry discussion forum. This month’s session zeroes in on the work of Paul Muldoon. LOUD Poets Teviot, Bristo Square, 650 4673. 7.30–10.30pm. £4. Slam-style poetry devoid of pretension. Launch.
Sunday 23
Edinburgh Shore Poets Henderson’s @ St John’s, St John’s Terrace, 3 Lothian Road, 229 0212. 7.45–10pm. £5 (£3). Regular local poetry meet, with readings and live music. Tonight, it’s Diana Hendry, Stewart Conn and William Letford.
Monday 24 Glasgow FREE Last Monday at Rio The Rio Café, 27 Hyndland Street, robin.cairns@ btconnect.com 8pm. Poetry and spoken word night, hosted by Robin Cairns. Drop over an email to book a five-minute slot.
S W E R D N A W E H T T A M
INTERVIEW SARAH HILARY
What inspired Someone Else’s Skin?
I wanted to write about a crime with many witnesses, but unreliable ones; the idea that we don’t always know what we’re seeing. For years I’ve been haunted by a wartime propaganda photograph of my family, in which they look happy when in fact they were prisoners. I wanted to write about the cost of keeping secrets. What makes a good story?
Lots of layers. I like thinking that I’m reading one thing only to find it’s something else, then something else again. I think this started when my grandmother told me stories about my mother’s childhood. The first stories, when I was about five or six, seemed great fun; my mother running around barefoot and sleeping under mosquito nets. When I was a little older, my grandmother told me how my mother learnt to write with a stick in the sand, and ate raw potatoes, which seemed odd, but interesting. Each time she told the story, it had an extra layer; because I was getting older and could hear more of the truth. I was hooked on the story long before I realised that it was about three years of captivity: my mother was a child internee of the Japanese. The story, in one sense, is a terribly brutal one. But my grandmother knew how to tell it, with all its incredible layers intact. I’ve never forgotten that.
What do you love and hate about the crime genre? I love its anarchism, the way it breaks rules and pushes boundaries. I love its courage, the light it shines into murky corners. I’m not keen on crime novels that numb me, but the best books know how to balance horror with catharsis. (Kirsty Logan) ■ Someone Else’s Skin is out on Thu 27 Feb from Headline.
Edinburgh FREE Golden Hare Book Group Golden Hare, 102 West Bow, 629 1396. 6.30pm. Get your book on with some fellow bibliophiles down at the Goldeen Hare. This month’s big read comes from Irish writer Anne Enright’s The Gathering. 20 Feb–20 Mar 2014 THE LIST 39