SPL Programme » Summer Programme |
| Thursday 31 July, 6-8pm |
Exhibition Preview
Join us for the opening preview of our idyllic summer exhibition: 'From Kyoto to Carbeth: poems & plants from the hills'.
Free, but please RSVP to reception@spl.org.uk or call us on 0131 557 2876 to let us know you plan to come. |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
| Saturday 2 August, 11am-1pm |
From Kyoto to Carbeth: walking and talking with Gerry Loose
Join Gerry Loose for an inspirational summer walk on Arthur's Seat, looking for plants with the eye of a poet. Then back to the Scottish Poetry Library for green tea, and a chance to
talk to Gerry about how the hills of Kyoto and his friendship with Takaya Fujii have shaped the poems in the exhibition.
Finally, explore the exhibition itself. If you enjoy writing, take some time afterwards in the library to write down ideas for poems while the morning is fresh in your mind; or simply soak up the complementary beauty of the calligraphy, ceramics and ikebana.
Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear for an hour's walk, with some uphill walking but no climbing. We'll go ahead with the walk despite rain (well, within reason), so if it's looking grey bring a waterproof... Meet at Scottish Poetry Library at 11am.
£5/£3 (limited places, please book in advance) |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
Thursday 7 August, 1-2pm
|
Haiku Aloud
Bring your favourite haiku to read aloud - they can be by anyone! Choose from your own bookshelves, or browse our collections of haiku in the library.
Enjoy our exhibition 'From Kyoto to Carbeth: poems & plants from the hills' before and after this lunchtime event.
Free
|
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh
|
Mon 11 August – Sat 16 August & Mon 18 August – Sat 22 August, 2-3pm |
School of Poets Courtyard Readings
The School of Poets meets monthly in the Scottish Poetry Library, and every summer during the Festival they host this series of open readings. Sessions last an hour, and are outside on the library's steps in fine weather.
Bring one of your own poems, or a poem by someone else, and let the session host know you'd like to read. That's it! No fee, no booking - just come and share poems. If you'd just like to listen to the eclectic mix of readers and poems, you're very welcome to come and enjoy these sessions as a listener. In, we hope, sunshine.
Free |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
Monday 11 August, 7.30pm
(or on Saturday 9 August, 7pm at Crear) |
SPL at the Edinburgh International Book Festival
The Music of Language / Language of Music
A performance by Scottish poet/musicians Gerry Cambridge and Lise Sinclair, Icelandic poet/musician Aðalsteinn Sigurðsson, Icelandic accordionist Astvaldur Traustason, and Lithuanian poet/musician Gintaras Grajauskas. Presented with Literature Across Frontiers.
Book from 20 June direct with EIBF, www.edbookfest.co.uk
£12/£10
This performance will also be given at Crear, Kilberry by Tarbert, Argyll (www.crear.co.uk ) at 7pm on Saturday 9 August. Call Crear direct on 01880 770 369 or email concerts@crear.co.uk to book.
£10.00 includes supper (Crear season ticket holders free); booking essential |
Edinburgh
EIBF, Charlotte Square
Crear
Kilberry by Tarbert, Argyll |
| Thursday 14, Thursday 21 August, 11am |
SPL at the Edinburgh International Book Festival
‘Nothing but the Poem' poetry reading sessions
Join us in the leafy Charlotte Square gardens for one of these 'Nothing but the Poem' sessions. Just like the ones we run throughout the rest of the year, all you need to do is come fresh to the texts of one or two poems, with time to read deeply and let new discoveries emerge. No special knowledge or preparation needed, and copies of the poem(s) provided.
Book from 20 June direct with EIBF, www.edbookfest.co.uk
£12/£10 |
Edinburgh
EIBF, Charlotte Square |
| Friday 15 August, 4.15-5.15pm |
Andrew O'Hagan's Selected Works
Andrew O'Hagan is an outstanding novelist, critic, journalist with an intellectual curiosity that ranges from the nature of celebrity to Scotland's relationship with the Atlantic in his new book The Atlantic Ocean (you can hear him talk about it at the Edinburgh International Book Festival earlier in the day). We can't tell you what he'll choose as his favourite poems in this discussion with Robyn Marsack, but we can guarantee you'll be riveted to this most eloquent of writers.
£5/£3 |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
| Tuesday 19 August, 10am-2pm |
Renga in the Secret Garden, with Colin Will
Take one secret walled garden - the secluded treasure of Dunbar's Close, rescued by Geddes then by the Mushroom Trust - and add the experienced guidance of renga master, poet Colin Will. Mix renga session with a green oasis in the middle of Festival buzz, to create collaborative poem with Japanese aesthetic.
To complement the Japanese-Scottish work in our summer exhibition, come and share in writing a renga. You can come along at any time you wish between 10am and 2pm, but please book with us first so we can let you in. It's that secret. (And we all know what the Scottish summer can be like - so come prepared for any kind of weather. We'll be inside if it starts to rain.)
£5/£3 |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
| Thursday 28 August, 6pm |
An Leabhar Mòr – The Great Book Show
An Leabhar Mor is a vibrant and beautiful anthology, binding together modern and ancient, poetry in Scots Gaelic and Irish language, accessible to fluent speakers and total novices. Whether you speak Gaelic or you'd just love to hear more about its modern cultures and poetry, let Irish poet Louis de Paor and friends welcome you into the world of the Great Book.
£5/£3 |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
SPL Programme » Poetry
reading groups |
| When |
What |
Where |
| Various times |
With four different reading groups
to choose from, and an online group too, there’s bound to
be one that suits you.
See our brand-new readers' website Reading
Room, for poetry reading ideas, an online
reading group and more.
We’d like to keep you up to date with reading choices and
any changes of plan, so please let us know if you’re intending
to come along to any of the groups. To find out more contact the Scottish Poetry
Library
|
Various locations and online |
Monthly as shown
6.30-8.30pm
|
New Books
Explore some of the best collections arriving on our shelves,
selected by our Librarian Julie Johnstone. Share the excitement
of discovering today’s poets and form your own opinions on
the poetry books people are talking about. Led by Julie Johnstone.
New Books group is taking a break for summer - check here for our autumn programme.
£5 per session (£3 concessions and
Friends of the SPL) |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh
|
Tuesday 26 February
Monday 3 March
Tuesday 25 March
Monday 7 April
Tuesday 29 April
Tuesday 27 May
Monday 2 June
Tuesday 24 June
Tuesday 7 July
6.30-8pm |
Nothing But the Poem
Renew your love of poetry with this fresh approach to reading.
In these relaxed discussions you won’t need any background
knowledge; you’ll simply come fresh to the text of single
poems, take the time to read deeply and let new discoveries emerge – without
the pressure of reviews, criticism and hype. Facilitated by SPL
staff.
£5 per session (£3 concessions and
Friends of the SPL) |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
Monday 17 March, Monday 28 April, Monday 26 May,
Monday 16 June, 6-8pm |
Round Table
This informal, friendly evening gives you the freedom to choose
for yourselves what poetry you’ll read. With as many different
approaches and passions as there are readers round the table, discussions
truly take off. Led by group members.
Free, but please book in advance
Send your email address,
and we can send you a reminder email before each meeting |
Edinburgh
The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh
|
SPL Programme » Exhibitions |
| When |
What |
Where |
Saturday 19 April – Saturday 19 July 2008
|
In a Different Light
Glimpses of the fleeting; language distilled to its essence; perception
given breath on paper. Julie Johnstone creates minimal yet resonant
works exploring the visual and linguistic nuances contained in
short phrases. Her hand-bound books, cards and screen-prints pursue
the beauty of the ephemeral, with a gentle and contemplative simplicity.
An exhibition of new works from her Essence Press imprint.
Opens Saturday 19 April
You are warmly invited to the afternoon opening 1.30-4.30pm, Saturday
19 April. For further details contact Essence Press.
Website: www.essencepress.co.uk
|
Edinburgh
Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
| 1 August - 12 September |
From Kyoto to Carbeth: Plants and Poems of the Hills
'From Kyoto to Carbeth' represents the cross-cultural fertilisation of the arts of poetry, ceramics, calligraphy and ikebana, as well as showcasing the traditional arts of Japan. It also demonstrates a meeting point, not simply between the interaction of art and artists and their cultural connection with the natural world that is quintessentially Japanese, but also an interaction with another culture: that of Scotland and its love of landscape and its response to the common threads of culture. Poems by Gerry Loose, with the ikebana
of Takaya Fujii, and with calligraphy by
Seigan Urai mounted on luminous silk scrolls, and the ceramic vases of Mikako Kawai.
|
Edinburgh
Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh |
SPL Programme » Booking
Please book in advance for events held at the Scottish
Poetry Library.
Address: The Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate,
Edinburgh
Telephone: 0131 557 2876
Email: reception@spl.org.uk
Please let us know in advance if you wish to cancel. Bookings can only
be held until five minutes before the start of each event.
|
