Jewellery from the American Southwest Henrietta Lidchi is an anthropologist and curator, currently the Keeper of the Department of World Cultures at the National Museum of Scotland, who has spent 20 years conducting research on the history of Native American jewellery in the American Southwest. Her book Surviving Desires investigates the politics … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: Henrietta Lidchi
EdBookFest: Ben Okri
The chair, Rosemary Burnett, introduced Ben Okri and his latest book with a description of his new and unique style. A journalist had called it fictive philosophy but Okri prefers the term Stoku. A fascination with the smallest possible unit of words that could form a story or poem led him to spend years working on blending haiku and short … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: Ben Okri
EdBookFest: David Mitchell
Stuart Kelly started this event by calling David Mitchell one of the most ingenious, intelligent and empathetic writers around. Mitchell seemed bashful at receiving this description, but immediately went on to prove it as extremely accurate. From the moment he stood to read from The Bone Clocks he was engaging, fascinating and always ready to poke … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: David Mitchell
EdBookFest: Ali Smith
Yesterday I started my spree of book festival attendance with Ali Smith delivering the PEN/HG Wells Lecture. It began with an introduction from Nick Barley, the director of the festival, who spoke of a Nazi book burning on the 10th of May 1933. Anything that was considered un-German went into the flames and a few weeks later a German author spoke … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: Ali Smith
Harmonium
Edinburgh in August has always been chaotic, colourful and utterly brilliant. The Fringe brochure can be a little intimidating and it’s best to avoid the Royal Mile if you want to move with anything resembling speed but the world has come to town and for a month anything goes. I have always spent a great deal of August in the Book Festival and … [Read more...] about Harmonium