3 April 2013
'Balloon debate' marks World Book Night 2013
Award-winning author Kirsty Gunn, Professor of Writing Practice and Study at the University of Dundee, will later this month chair a special "balloon debate" to celebrate World Book Night.
Hosted by Dundee University Review of the Arts (DURA) and Dundee Contemporary Arts, the event takes place at DCA on Tuesday, 23rd April. It works by asking people to imagine they are in a hot-air balloon that is rapidly losing height and need to jettison seven of the eight books on board in order to lighten the load.
Advocates for each book will present their case for their favourite text to be the one that is retained before the audience is invited to join in the debate and then vote on which to throw overboard.
The books have been selected from the 20 that form the World Book Night 2013 reading list. World Book Night is a celebration of reading and books which sees tens of thousands of passionate volunteers gift specially chosen and printed WBN books in their communities to share their love of reading.
As part of the celebrations, DURA is reviewing all 20 books in the run-up to the DCA event and posting a new one on its website and Facebook page each day.
DURA is an online arts review magazine launched by the University's English programme. It aims to contribute to the local arts scene while giving students writing and publishing opportunities that they might not have had previously.
General Editor Dr Gail Low said, "This is the perfect way to celebrate World Book Night and to bring people together to share their love of reading and to hopefully trigger an interest in books in those who wouldn't previously have considered themselves big readers.
"Thinking about which books to throw overboard and which one to keep will make people think what they think is valuable about specific books or crucial to a good book. The evening will no doubt spark passionate debate. In the meantime, our reviewers are working their way through the 20 books and we want to invite responses on our Facebook pages to open up the discussion ahead of the night."
Tickets for the balloon debate are free, but places are limited so must be booked in advance by calling 01382 909900.
More information about DURA is available at www.facebook.com/dundeereviewofthearts or www.dura-dundee.org.uk.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
