Edinburgh and Glasgow Preview Events for StAnza 2014

For those of you who like to hold it in your hands, to flick through poetry and take a spoonful of events with each cup of coffee, the StAnza brochure for 2014 is almost ready and will be available fresh from the printers at this year’s programme previews.

The first of these free public events takes place at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EW on Wednesday 29th January at 6pm, and as ever we’re very grateful to the NLS for their support. There will be short readings from two of this year’s festival poets, Diana Hendry and Gerda Stevenson. All this, plus some music from Edinburgh’s own John Sampson, who will be accompanying Carol Ann Duffy at her events in March, and a round-up of some of the festival highlights. It promises to be a delightful hour of entertainment and if you’re in the Edinburgh area, be sure not to miss it. It’s a free event but please book a seat by calling 0131 623 3734 or via the NLS web page at http://www.nls.uk/events/booking.

The following week the StAnza Roadshow rolls into Glasgow. We’re thrilled that the Tell it slant poetry bookshop at 134 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G3 6ST will be hosting a preview event for us in collaboration with St Mungo’s Mirrorball, as part of an evening of poetry. The StAnza preview will take place on Thursday 6th February at 6.30pm lasting half an hour, with taster readings from some of the Glasgow poets on this year’s programme, Alexander Hutchison and Kathrine Sowerby, and some spoken word from Colin McGuire.

Then there’s the chance to take a short walk up Rose Street for Mirrorball’s Seamus Heaney celebration hosted by the Director of the Scottish Poetry Library, Robyn Marsack. She will be in conversation with award winning novelist and short story writer Bernard MacLaverty on his personal reflections of the life of the Nobel Prize winning poet, including a reading of some of his own favourite pieces by the great man, starting at 7.30, Glasgow Art Club, 185 Bath Street, Glasgow.

The StAnza Pre-Festival Book Group III

More good news for poetry lovers living in and around St Andrews. Once again in association with the University of St Andrews’ Open Association, StAnza is offering free places at its pre-festival Poetry Book Group sessions. Introduced for the first time two years ago in the run up to StAnza 2012, they have been very popular over the last two years and make a very welcome return this year. They allow people the chance to read and talk about some of the poets who will feature at StAnza 2014, including Paul Muldoon, Jacob Polley and Hannah Lowe.

As before, there will be three sessions, the first taking place on Wednesday 29th January, and two further sessions will take place on Wednesdays 12th and 26th February.

Christian Livermore from the University’s School of English will again lead these three early evening sessions from 5.30pm-7.30pm on Wednesdays in the Conference Room at St Katherine’s West at 16 The Scores, St Andrews KY16 9AX. To book a free place and for information on the poems to be discussed, contact Debbie Wilbraham on 01333 462275 or open.association@st-andrews, or just turn up at one or more of the sessions.

More information can be found at online at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/admissions/openassociation/open-association.pdf.

Tickets now on sale for StAnza 2014

Tickets are now on sale for StAnza 2014, in person, by phone and online. Full box office details are online at our, or telephone VisitScotland on 01334 474609. The printed brochure will be available from late January and you can request a brochure by emailing brochure@stanzapoetry.org or phoning 01334 474610, if you’re not already on our mailing list.

The festival, which takes place in St Andrews, lasts for five days from 5th to 9th March 2014 and features almost 100 events, many of them free – a diverse range of performances, readings, music, drama, talks, workshops and a masterclass, open mic events, films, exhibitions and installations. This is the place to hear your favourite poet, discover new voices, meet other poets, writers and publishers and enjoy the energetic buzz of the beautiful and historic town of St Andrews. More than 65 poets from a dozen countries worldwide will take part along with a wide range of visual artists, musicians and film-makers. Once again the festival’s lively and friendly hub will be in the Byre Theatre, which has two theatre spaces, a café/bistro and gallery areas, but events will also take place in venues in and around the town centre of St Andrews.

Headline poets include Carol Ann Duffy, Paul Muldoon, John Burnside, Menna Elfyn, Tishani Doshi, Sujata Bhatt, Ron Silliman and, as Poet in Residence for 2014, Brian Turner. For Scotland’s year of Homecoming in 2014, an in anticipation of the Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow this year, the first theme is A Common Wealth of Poetry. The second theme Words Under Fire responds to the legacy of the poetry of the First World War.

David Constantine will give this year’s lecture on the Great War in poetry at Home and abroad, our Past & Present series of talks will include past war poets David Jones, Isaac Rosenberg, Charles Hamilton Sorley, Vera Brittain and George Campbell Hay. There will also be a presentation on poetry and propaganda featuring JOOT Theatre Company, and exhibitions include Stephen Raw’s response to the poetry of Wilfred Owen, War is for this the clay grew tall.

The festival gets off to a spectacular start on the opening night with Rime a retelling through acrobatics and modern dance of the Coleridge classic, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Before the acrobatics start, the celebrated novelist, Louis de Bernières, will launch this 17th annual festival. In 2004 he came to St Andrews to talk about his love of poetry, and now a decade later he returns with his own debut collection of poetry.

For creative inspiration, sign up for one of six workshops this year which tickets last, our Masterclass with Paul Muldoon, or an individual session with Poetry Coach in Residence, Philippa Johnston. From Poetry Café breakfast panel discussions to evening open mics and the famous StAnza Slam, this year hosted by Rally & Broad, there’s something for all tastes, including lots of interactive events.

Carol Ann Duffy (photo copyright Michael J Woods 2010)

A date to note for 2014

Tanya Shirley

Happy New Year! Now 2014 is with us, here’s an early date for this year’s diary. Tickets for StAnza 2014 will go on public sale next week on Friday 10th January. For full details, check our website at http://www.stanzapoetry.org and before you draw up your own StAnza schedule, be sure to note several updates to the programme with new events and participants just added, including the poet W. N. Herbert and King Creosote of Fence Records.

First of all, we’ve several additions to the programme for Friday 7th March.

At 10.30am, Tanya Shirley will tutor a workshop on “Pop Story Gi Mi: The Art of Narrative Poetry”. Later that day the poet W. N. Herbert will join Tanya Shirley for the Five O’Clock Verses reading at 5.00pm in Parliament Hall.

On the Friday afternoon at 3.30pm, we’re delighted to be collaborating with the University of St Andrews Library on their first Poetry Aloud competition, in which students will compete for a prize for best recitation or performance of a published poem.

In another innovation for 2014, for the first time we will also have a poetry coach in residence at the festival. Philippa Johnston will be available to book for 90 minute individual sessions. And for our final night party to play out the festival, King Creosote will be making his first appearance at StAnza.

Full details of all these new events can be found online at http://www.stanzapoetry.org, and keep watching this space for more updates on ticket sales.