The A-Z of Poetry with Michael Rosen, Carol Ann Duffy, Tom Pow & John Sampson

Roger Robinson: ‘Ordinary Poems Won’t Change the World (2020 Event) Firmly rooted in the dub poetry tradition of his Trinidadian heritage, Robinson’s plain-speaking, fizzy, often joyous verse journeys through our contemporary preoccupations with a seasoned insight few could replicate. From the ongoing injustices of… Outriders: Ximena Escalante & Stef Smith (2017 Event) As part of our project to explore the Americas, leading Mexican playwright Ximena Escalante travelled across Mexico with Scottish theatre writer Stef Smith. Starting in the US city of San Diego, they journeyed south across the Mexican border, making their… Casey Gerald talks to DeRay Mckesson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Called ‘extraordinary’ and ‘electrifying’ by Marlon James and Colm Tóibín, Texan writer Casey Gerald’s powerful memoir traces fault lines in American racial and masculine identity… Alasdair Gray (2014 event) Hear the inimitable Alasdair Gray talking about his almost-autobiography, his masterpiece Lanark and his meetings with other literary figures at the Book Festival… Gerda Stevenson (2018 Event) In histories written by men, good women have rarely been given much credit. In Scotland, there’s a growing urge to redress the balance and, with her new collection Quines, Gerda Stevenson has produced a very necessary corrective. These unforgettable… Kenny MacAskill (2016 Event) In 2009, then Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill controversially granted the release on compassionate grounds of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only man ever convicted for the Lockerbie Bombing in 1988. Now MacAskill has written his own account of the… David Vann reading Bain de Soleil Young award-winning US author David Vann reads his story on the theme of Elsewhere… Emma Donoghue and FIona Shaw (2010 event) Listen to two unique writers as they look at love and trauma through a child’s eyes. Emma Donogue’s Room and Fiona Shaw’s Tell it to the Bees are two remarkable works, discussed in depth in this event chaired by Pru Rowlandson… The Siobhan Dowd Trust Memorial Lecture: Matt Haig (2015 Event) Award-winning author Siobhan Dowd died in 2007, bequeathing her royalties to a trust which aims to bring the joy of reading to those who need it most. This year the Siobhan Dowd Trust Memorial Lecture was delivered by novelist Matt Haig, whose books for… Claire MacDonald - with John Dickie