Highly regarded novelist, poet, playwright and writer for screen and stage, Jackie Kay, will be reading from her poetry at the Festival of Spirituality and Peace tomorrow (23 August), as part of the popular ‘Poetry in the Persian Tent’ series.
Highly regarded novelist, poet, playwright and writer for screen and stage, Jackie Kay, will be reading from her poetry at the Festival of Spirituality and Peace tomorrow (23 August), as part of the popular ‘Poetry in the Persian Tent’ series.
She will be performing with Scots makar (national poet) Liz Lochhead, along with William Letford and Helen Mort. Music will be supplied by Lise Sinclair. The MC is poet Stephanie Green, who has organised the series, which runs each day at 11am at St John’s Church, through to 26 August.
Professor Kay is appearing at a number of venues in Edinburgh across the festival season, but this appearance will be the main opportunity to hear her read poetry.
Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1961 to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father. She grew up in Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, but now lives south of the border and holds the post of Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. She has written numerous books and screenplays, and is the recipient of a range of prestigious awards.
She is also well known for her outspoken attention to social issues and injustices. Her adopted parents were involved in socialist politics and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
“In the last 20 years or so, Jackie Kay has moved from marginal voice to national treasure,” claims the British Council. Her literary and poetic voice has been described as “passionate and strong”.
Proceeds from these hour-long daily poetry and music events will benefit the Old MacDonald Had a Farm in Africa Project, devised by Jim Carruth, with help from Liz Lochhead, in association with the global charity, Oxfam.
These high-profile readings take place 11am to 12 pm each weekday. The Festival of Spirituality and Peace, now in its twelfth year, features 400 events across 21 venues throughout August. It is the only Edinburgh festival to make charity fundraising a core part of what it does, attracting some 25,000 attendees.
£10 tickets (£8 concessions) are available through the Hub box office in Edinburgh or from the venue, which is on the corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road.
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