Jubilee Lines

There’s much to enjoy in Faber and Faber’s new anthology, Jubilee Lines – 60 Poets for 60 Years, edited by Carol Ann Duffy.  Each of the last 60 years is represented by one poem and one poet, many of them very familiar names. Just four poems in, for 1956 there’s Class Photograph from Douglas Dunn, looking back at “pensioners in disguise”. And the roll call from StAnza 2012 just past includes Grace Nichols (1965), Christopher Reid offering “The Clearing for 1969, followed by John Burnside (1981), Robert Crawford (1984), Lachlan Mackinnon (1988), Michael Symmons Roberts (1996), Don Paterson (1997), Jackie Kay (1999) and Lavinia Greenlaw (2001).  

To accompany the book, Faber and Faber have collaborated with  Somethin’ Else and The Space to produce a groundbreaking interactive digital platform, which brings together actors’ readings, sound-based generative design and archive footage to create an exciting new way to experience poetry. At its heart are audio readings of the poems in Jubilee Lines, read evocatively by distinguished actors Dan Stevens, Samantha Bond, Lyndsey Marshal and Alex Lanipekun. Graphic designer Stefanie Posavec has produced visualisations of the audio readings using generative design techniques. Derived from characteristics such as the length of the recording and its decibel level, she has created unique artworks for each of the 60 poems.

The twenty poems that most vividly evoke our collective memory are enhanced with rich archive material, including film footage and audio uncovered in the BBC and British Movietone archives, as well as newspapers, adverts and photographs. It includes many items transferred from telecine for the first time, with material that ranges from the iconic (Michael Fish’s weather report in 1987), to the unseen (Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova preparing for her first space flight in 1963), and from the jubilant (children eagerly awaiting the end of sweet rationing in 1953) to the turbulent (miners clashing with police during the strike in 1984).

We are invited to navigate the poems by year, by poet, through archive or by theme (eg. remembrance, identity, vigilance), plotting your own path through 60 years of history, by going to their website at  www.jubileelines.com

(NB  at the time of posting this the link doesn’t seem to be working, we have let them know.)

Lavinia Greenlaw wins the Ted Hughes Award

Congratulations to Lavinia Greenlaw who won the Ted Hughes Award for her sound work, Audio Obscura. Lavinia was StAnza’s Poet-in-Residence this year.

Judges Edmund de Waal, Sarah Maguire and Michael Symmons Roberts presented the award, which was founded by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and is run by the Poetry Society.

Taking place at Manchester’s Piccadilly station in July 2011 and at London’s St Pancras International station in September / October 2011, Audio Obscura is a sound work in which the listener enters interior lives and discovers, somewhere between what is heard and what is seen, what cannot be said. Audio Obscura was commissioned and produced by Artangel and Manchester International Festival, and Lavinia collaborated with sound designer Tim Barker to produce the work.

The judges  described Audio Obscura as ‘a groundbreaking work that fully captured the spirit of the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry. The judges felt this was a particularly outstanding year with six stellar entries on the shortlist’.

Nice to note here that two other members of that shortlist were at StAnza: Christopher Reid and Robert Crawford.

Read more about the award here

Book your free place at the StAnza Book Group, St Andrews

Good news for poetry lovers living in and around St Andrews. StAnza is offering free places at its Book Group, a new collaboration between StAnza and the Open Association at the University of St Andrews, which will meet next month to read and talk about poets who will feature at StAnza 2012, including Michael Symmons Roberts and Kathleen Jamie.

Robert Crawford, one of Scotland’s leading poets and currently Professor of Modern Scottish Literature, and PhD students from the School of English at the University will lead three early evening sessions from 5.30pm-7.30pm on Wednesdays 1^st, 15^th and 29^th February in the Conference Room at St Katherine’s West at 16 The Scores, St Andrews KY16 9AX. To book a free place contact Ruth Harris or Debbie Wilbraham on 01333 462275 or open.association@st-andrews.ac.uk.

StAnza tickets on sale today: book early!

Tickets for StAnza go on sale today! As well as the big centre stage readings with Jackie Kay, Kathleen Jamie, Christopher Reid and Michael Symmons Roberts  – to name just some of the top poets on the bill, now’s your chance to book early for those other in-demand events, such as our intimate round table events and interactive workshops with leading poets. And don’t forget to check out our  discounts. Booking details are here

We have been blogging recently about the programme, so have a look at our posts and the programme is available online too. Recent additions include a special performance of Denise Mina’s play A Drunk Woman Looks at a Thistle, with Karen Dunbar (pictured below). And we are pleased to announce that the actor David Hayman will be joining us on our launch night, with the Dave Batchelor Quintet and poet/musician Don Paterson, to celebrate Philip Larkin’s poetry and love of jazz.

StAnza takes place at the Byre Theatre, and other venues in St Andrews, from 14-18 March. It is part of the Year of Creative Scotland.

Make plans for StAnza 2012: programme now online

 

With the Christmas and Hogmanay offering  us all the chance for a well-earned break, when better than to browse through the StAnza 2012 events programme? It’s now available online here

As well as the list of events already confirmed (and watch out for extra ones to be announced shortly), you can find out more about the poets, writers, artists, film makers and musicians who are taking part.  To whet your appetite, we have provided some biogs, sample poems, links and clips.

The Dave Batchelor Quintet will be celebrating jazz and Larkin

Headlining poets include Jackie Kay (pictured), Kathleen Jamie, Christopher Reid, Lavinia Greenlaw, Joe Dunthorne and Michael Symmons Roberts; from the USA, Chase Twichell and Kwame Dawes, plus international voices from Germany, South Africa, Poland, Macedonia and Sweden.

Meet Jackie Kay at StAnza 2012

The festival’s themes are The Image and Poetry by Degrees. Expect a wide range of events – exhibitions, a book launch and breakfast discussions – linking poetry with visual art and photography, TV and film. Check out StAnza’s celebration of poetry in education with an expanded range of workshops, inspire sessions and discussions.

Lively performances, drama and music are also a key aspect of the festival. Highlights include Karen Dunbar’s hilarious A Drunk Woman Looks at a Thistle and Kind of Larkin, a tribute to Philip Larkin’s love of jazz with the Dave Batchelor Quintet (pictured) – whose line-up, please notice, includes poet/musician Don Paterson.

Tickets will be on sale in January, so enjoy savouring the prospect of what’s to come.

 

Book Group for StAnza 2012

Ever wished you had a chance to read and discuss poetry before you hear the poet read? If so, read on. Every March StAnza’s spring festival brings a wide range of poetry to St Andrews, presenting poets past and present from around the world. In 2012 as a collaboration between StAnza and the Open Association at the University of St Andrews, a new Book Group will meet before the festival to read and discuss some of the poets who will feature at StAnza 2012, including Michael Symmons Roberts and Kathleen Jamie.

Robert Crawford, one of Scotland’s leading poets and currently Professor of Modern Scottish Literature, and PhD students from the School of English at the University will lead three early evening sessions from 5.30pm-7.30pm on Wednesdays 1^st, 15^th and 29^th February in the Conference Room at St Katherine’s West at 16 The Scores, St Andrews KY16 9AX. For more details contact Ruth Harris or Debbie Wilbraham on 01333 462275 or  open.association@st-andrews.ac.uk.