15 October 2012

Festival promises treat for poetry fans

Lovers of the verse will have the chance to nourish both body and spirit later this month when the popular ‘A Poem And A Piece’ sessions return to the Dundee Literary Festival, along with an appearance by Scots Makar Liz Lochhead.

The events, which see leading poets talk about, and read from, their work take place from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th October. Admission to the events, which take place in Bonar Hall, cost £5 and £3 for concessions, which include a sandwich for lunch.

The Scotland-Palestine collaboration A Rug of a Thousand Colours will be presented - in English and Arabic - by the poets behind the collection, Tessa Ransford and Iyad Hayatleh during the first of the sessions.

That will be followed by the appearance of Glasgow poet David Kinloch, the author of five collections and the founder and former editor of the internationally respected magazine Verse on the Friday.

Another Glaswegian, Alan Spence, will be explaining how he used the haiku form to explore the essential paradox of life during the Saturday slot. Immediately afterwards, Liz Lochhead will make a special appearance at the festival based around her book A Choosing: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead.

"Memories of McGonagall" on Sunday 28th October will be a fun tribute to the world’s best-worst poet where modern-day wordsmiths are challenged to write and perform an original composition in the style of William Topaz McGonagall.

"We're really looking forward to seeing some of the entries to the McGonagall competition," said Literary Festival Director Anna Day. "This sums the festival up perfectly - promoting a love of reading in fun and relaxed surroundings.

"A Poem And A Piece has always been a very popular part of the festival, and we are also looking forward to welcoming Liz Lochhead, the Scots Makar, to Dundee for this special event."

Tessa Ranford, Iyad Hayatleh, and David Kinloch will appear at 12pm on the respective days. Alan Spence’s appearance and Memories of McGonagall are scheduled for 1pm, while the Liz Lochhead event will be held at 2pm on Saturday, 27th October.

The 2012 Dundee Literary Festival is the biggest to date, with a total of 42 events scheduled to take place from October 24th-28th. Leading figures from the world of fiction, poetry, journalism, comics and the publishing industry will take part in a series of workshops, talks, book signings, and readings.

For more information about all Literary Festival events, or to buy tickets, please visit www.literarydundee.co.uk. Tickets are also available from Literary Dundee, 6th floor, Tower Building, University of Dundee, tel 01382 384413.

All events take place in Bonar Hall, unless otherwise stated.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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