Wordly Wise – April Collisions
Opened doors, public art and poetics…
The Culture Collider
Now that the stooshie over spoken word performance has hopefully died down, here are this week’s collisions of culture and – even – science from resident perveyor of poetry J. A. Sutherland.
As spring tries to fight its way through the fog (that some folk erroneously called the “ha’ar”) there has been a profusion of public art popping up. Lights in St Andrew’s Square, photographs on The Mound and, last week, a dazzling display of artwork in the dank dungeons of Market Street.
Hidden Doors was more than just public art; it was a statement about how we use the empty spaces in our city and illuminate our darkest places. Particularly thought-provoking was the installation by GS Smith, exploring themes of incarceration, hope and social determinism: Out Doors.
During the week, there were readings, talks and opportunities to engage with the work by reading words written by past and present inmates of Polmont Young Offenders Institute, printed on slips of paper rolled up and placed inside eggshells with either ‘GOOD’ or ‘BAD’ marked on the outside. The challenge to the reader was to forget whether these fragments of truth came out of good or bad eggs. The week culminated on Friday with performance by GS Smith, of his story ‘Out Doors,’ a talk, ‘Art Crime et Châtiment’ by Martin Belk – writer-in-residence at Polmont – and in the evening, a cracking line-up for CEASURA #22, including Holly Pester, Martin Belk, and Ali Robertson.
This week sees the Science Festival engaging with Live Literature and Spoken Word. The City of Literature has its ‘top picks’ on the What’s-On page, but my own recommendation has to be my friends Illicit Ink. Following the ages-old tradition of women crafting tales and textiles, in this Friday’s Skyground showcase, ‘lady-scientists’ show how their ‘herstories’ are woven through – and beyond – time as they ‘Stitch and B*tch.’ They promise to be illuminating, heart-breaking, and funny but, be warned: this is no genteel knitting circle.
Unfortunately there are a few event-clashes this week, but we end with a bang. On Saturday the Loud Poets are back at Teviot for another blast of high-octane verbiage, and Sunday evening sees the return of Writers’ Bloc (who have been quiet for too long) for The Culture Collider – an expression that seems to sum up this city.
Listings: Mon 7 – Sun 13 April 2014
Monday 7
◉ Antihoot Henry’s Cellar Bar, 8pm, free.
Weekly open-mic of words and music in Henry’s Cellar Bar. Sign up at 7.30pm. Cash prizes to be won!
Henry’s Cellar Bar,, 16 Morrison Street, EH3 8BJ Facebook page: www.facebook.com
◉ Women of Letters The Voodoo Rooms, 7pm, £10.
Reading letters with the prompt: ‘A letter to my missing puzzle piece’. Featuring Regi Claire, Jenny Lindsay, Rachel McCrum, Lake Montgomery, Katrina Bryan, Sian Bevan, and Katharine Grant.
The Voodoo Rooms, 19a West Register St, EH2 2AA Ticketing site: www.eventbrite.com
Tuesday 8
◉ The Speakeasy, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 8pm, £6
Invited artists, an eclectic mix of storytelling, song, spoken word and cabaret. Guest-hosted by Julia Sutherland with guests including Alan Bissett, Grant Stott and comedy, magic and mindreading fusion with The Colour Ham trio.
Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, EH1 1SR Event website: www.tracscotland.org
◉ Accelerator Canons’ Gait, 8pm. £4/£3.
MCs Jem Rolls & Bram E. Gieben, with spoken word from Michael Pedersen, Jenny Lindsay, Tim Turnbull, Michael McGill, Agnes Torok, Carly Brown, and Tayllor L Johnson
Canons’ Gait, 232 Canongate, EH8 8DQ Facebook page: www.facebook.com
◉ Electric Tales The Stand, 8.30pm. £5/£4.
A blended mix of comedy and storytelling, making for a chilled night of funny yarns and verse told by a range of performers, hosted by Sian Bevan.
The Stand Comedy Club, 5, York Place, EH1 3EB Event website: www.thestand.co.uk
Thursday 10
◉ Poetry and Coffee Henderson’s Cafe, 10.30am. Free.
Steve Harvey will be reading his poetry. Lesley Duncan will be reading from the poetry and talking about the life of Charles Hamilton Sorley, who was killed in 1915, and also reading from Hamish Henderson’s Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica.
Henderson’s Cafe, 94 Hanover Street, EH2 1DR Event website: www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk
Friday 11
◉ Illicit Ink, Skyground: Stitch and B*tch Scottish Storytelling Centre, 8pm. £6/£4.
Ft. Jojo Sutherland as Mary Leakey, Rachel McCrum as Ada Lovelace, Caroline Von Schmalansee as Mary Curie, Melissa Hugel as Cecilia “Ass Hats” Payne-Gaposchkin, Dr Mhairi Stewart as Mary Somerville, Emily Dodd as Emma Darwin and Jessica Johannesson Gaitan as Florence Nightingale.
Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, EH1 1SR Event website: www.tracscotland.org
◉ Portobello Poetry Circus The Dalraida, 7.30pm. £2.
Presented by The Porty Poets, with Carly Brown and Colin McGuire topping the bill, plus Agnes Török, Kevin Mclean, Stephen Barnaby and Alec Beattie. Your ringmaster for the night is Mr Kevin Cadwallender.
The Dalraida,77, Promenade, Portobello, EH15 2EL Facebook page: www.facebook.com
Saturday 12
◉ Loud Poets Teviot House, 7.30pm. £4.
“Slam-style, make some noise, fist-thumping, pint-drinking, heart-wrenching, side-splitting poetry”. Featuring Jenny Lindsay, Sam Small, Tayllor Johnson, Max Scratchman, Graeme Hawley and Joe with the glasses – plus many more!
Teviot Row House, 13 Bristo Square, EH8 9AJ Facebook page: www.facebook.com
Sunday 13
◉ Culture Collider, hosted by Writers’ Bloc Summerhall, 8pm. £8.
The Writers’ Bloc laboratory of writers, musicians and artists bring tales of science and surprises that detonate the cultural divide.
Summerhall, 1, Summerhall Place, EH9 1QH Facebook page: www.facebook.com
J. A. Sutherland also has his own blog at: http://throughtheturretwindow.blogspot.co.uk/
If you would like a spoken word event listed on All Edinburgh Theatre, please use the contact page to get in touch: https://www.alledinburghtheatre.com/about-2/contact/
ENDS
