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The 2011 Festival Blog
Media interns David Kerr and Jennifer Owen had never been to the Wigtown Book Festival before. Over 10 days, they were given free range to write about whatever excited them at this year's event.
4 October 2011
Hi all, it's David here.
I couldn't let Jennifer take the last word could I?
Also I promised that I would post something looking back at the whole thing and I couldn't let down everyone that was waiting for that.
Now that the tents are all down and the place has returned to being Wigtown instead of the Wigtown Book Festival, it seems like a good time to reflect on the two weeks here. Writer in residence Robert Twigger described it by saying that once you are here there is nothing other than the festival to distract you.
It's quite apt. I feel like I've been living in book festival world and now I'm preparing to go back to the real world. Hopefully it'll still be there.
Not that it hasn't been a fantastic experience. We've essentially been left to our own devices to interview who we wanted, to watch talks by who we wanted and write on here whatever had occured to us that day. Walking up the street and bumping into authors and exchanging 'good mornings' felt slightly odd to begin with but soon became normal. I've seen half a dead rabbit being microwaved, I've been running with a man who ran from Scotland to the Sahara, I got lost in Newton Stewart with an explorer and I met all sorts of interesting people along the way.
Put simply, the Wigtown Book Festival world is a fun place to be. Hopefully we've brought you a flavour of this over the last couple of weeks.
Anyway, all that remains now to say, from both us, is thanks for reading and goodbye.
So, thanks for reading and goodbye!
4 October 2011
Hello, Jennifer here.
Well, that's the festival over for another year, so I just thought I would leave a little farewell message on the blog. It's now two days since the festival finished, and David and I have been helping out getting the place back to normal with the other interns, and I must say it all looks rather odd now it's all over! But it's been a great couple of weeks all the same and I'm looking forward to a return visit next year.
And as a parting gift to you, our loyal readers, I'm posting up my piece on the Middle East content of this year's book festival programme which I've been working on since the very start.
Thanks for reading,
Bye!
The Wigtown Book Festival, its rural setting not withstanding, has a remarkably global outlook. And just as the Western world has been coming to terms with the ‘Arab Spring’, so too has the festival opened its doors (and tents) to the Middle East with a series of debates and discussions focusing on both the politics and literature relating to the region.
The opening lecture of the Baillie Gifford Series was, in fact, ‘Beyond the Arab Spring’, with Martin Bell, Rosemary Hollis, Robert Irwin and Rafid Ali. The panel debated for an hour, among other things, on the revolutions in the Arab world, and the predicted problems regarding water supplies in countries like Yemen and Syria. Furthermore, the role of social media as both product and proponent of the revolutions was considered, a matter similarly relevant to Britain in the wake of the recent riots.
Being the inaugural lecture, this subject matter highlights the amount of content focusing on the Middle East in this year’s programme, reflecting the increased overlaps between the Eastern and Western worlds in general.
Westerners everywhere are still coming to terms with this year’s uprising in the Middle East, and many of the highlighted books sought to guide audiences through material which was unfamiliar to listeners and readers, almost by definition.
Robert Irwin, for example, was present to discuss his Memoirs of a Dervish, chronicling the events around his conversion to Islam in the 1960s. The book narrates his experience of the Middle East through a Westerner’s eyes, offering a personal perspective that served as an invaluable introduction for the audience at Wigtown.
Another book in a similar vein is Sadakat Kadri’s forthcoming Heaven on Earth: A History of Sharia Law, which seeks, in his own words, to understand what the Sharia actually is by considering its historical evolution.
As Kadri points out, ‘Sharia’ is a trigger word that brings forth all sorts of connotations for Western audiences. This history then, while perhaps ‘introductory’ in nature, is helpful as it addresses a matter which the general population will likely know little about.
Johnny West also appeared at the festival to discuss Karama! Journeys through the Arab Spring, which takes the reader through the recent Arab Spring uprisings through interviews with regular people about the effects of the revolutions on them. This personal approach too is key for an understanding of the events going on, as such a wide spread overhaul of political systems has not occurred in the Western world in quite some time.
Also, at the Wigtown Ink tent, Robin Yassin-Kassab discussed ‘Blogging in the Middle East – from Castle Douglas’, which provided a contemporary, relevant, and Middle Eastern perspective on the blogging phenomenon that similarly dwarfs Western culture today.
Yassin-Kassab also added that one of his motivations to ‘blog’ in the first place was to tackle the misrepresentation and at times inaccurate (whether consciously or unconsciously) reporting of events in the Arab world in the Western media.
Naturally, a book festival will represent the books currently being written, and as such Wigtown’s festival will reflect these books which broach the subject from a more introductory angle. And this is not a failure – as it is perhaps not unfair to say that many Westerners viewing the large-scale uprisings across the Arab world may feel out of their depth.
This indeed was my motivation for attending the events that discussed both Arab and Islamic matters, as my own ignorance of the subject felt at times overwhelming. And it has been a fascinating experience. It would perhaps have been easier to maintain an insular approach, simply considering matters relevant to a rural Scotland. But instead the Wigtown Book Festival has embraced literature and discussions that, while perhaps outside its comfort zone, are of increasing relevance to our culture as a whole.
2 October 2011
Hi all, David here.
Following on from my slightly gloomy tone from yesterday - the end is upon us.
The festival has drawn to a close and it has been quite an experience.
I'll try and post a few reflections on the week in due course but for now I'll just let you know what's been happening today.
Despite much of the country basking in a heatwave, Dumfries and Galloway has somehow avoided this indian summer.
This did not deter a group of hardy swimmers who took to the sea at Garlieston, among them Laura and Katie from our office who insist that it was very refreshing. Me, I thought it sounded completely mad.
Instead, I went to interview Allan Massie, the author and journalist and talked to him about his career, his politics and Scotland's exit from the rugby world cup.
I then wrote this up and hoepfully you will read it in the next few days.
Now though the clean up is in full swing and soon Wigtown will return to normal.
Yesterday, Jennifer and I caught up with our writer in residence Robert Twigger who was also reflecting on his week in Wigtown.
Here it is here.
Robert Twigger has had adventures all over the world.
He has led a camel train across the Sahara. He has paddled a birch-bark canoe across Canada. He has trained in martial arts with the Tokyo police service.Somehow though he always ends up at the Wigtown Book Festival.Twigger has been to every festival for the last four years and has been described as 'in with the furniture.'"Yes, they nail me down to the floor, throw a dust sheet over me and leave me there until next year," he smiles.Twigger holds the title of writer-in-residence at the festival and therefore has been kept busy with several talks and presentations over the week."I've been worked very hard," he says."I've been to some schools, I did a talk about the Nile, I'm going off to do a talk in the kid's tent about giant snakes so it's good to get stuck in and do lots of stuff."It's more fun than just doing one event," he says.Twigger believes that Wigtown's remote setting is what makes the festival, combined with the variety of events on offer."Once you are here the book festival is everything," he says."It's great to have that remoteness from other things and I think Adrian (Turpin, Festival Director) has got a fantastic, really interesting variety of programme."They get some really interesting people and they all join in."In a big town people come and do their thing and go away again because there's lots to do in the town."Here people stay and really get into the spirit of the festival," says Twigger.He certainly has been very much involved in the festival and he has been very much a familiar face at many events including 'Not the Wigtown Film Festival', the charity auction and the ceilidh.He has also been getting involved in some of the festival's active events including a canoeing trip down the Bladnoch, an event inspired by his trip across Canada for the book Voyageur."It's quite sterile just coming and hearing authors talk so the idea was to go for a walk with an author because quite often when you're walking it stimulates ideas and you can drop back and talk to different people," Twigger explains."The canoeing was a really good idea and it worked very well."It's a very different thing for a book festival to do; an adventurous,active, exciting and slightly foolish pursuit."They seemed to assume that just because there was an author there it made it completely safe," he laughs.The restless Twigger is now preparing for a trip around Britain on an inflatable Trimaran, simply, it would seem, to stave off boredom.One thing seems sure though.Robert Twigger will be back in Wigtown this time next year."Last night I was saying to myself: 'I'm never coming back' but I'll be back," he says.
"I'll definitely be back."
Hope you've been enjoying this blog. We've had a lot of fun making it.
2 October 2011
Jennifer again:
Well, in my quickest turnaround yet - was speaking to Liz Niven this morning about her appearance at the festival and managed to write it all up just now. Niven is a poet who writes mainly in Scots, and she had some interesting things to say about Scots language education.
Enjoy! Also, make sure you try out the writing challenge she suggested.
Liz Niven recently appeared at the Wigtown Book Festival both to host events in the Children’s Programme, and to discuss her Scots poetry – two areas she has much experience in. Previously having worked as an English teacher, Niven is a keen supporter of Scots education in schools.
I caught up with Niven to discuss her writing and her inspirations.
Niven was one of six children raised in Glasgow, and states that while she loved reading in general, she particularly loved the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton. She felt that these stories, based in a boarding school, were “exotic and wonderful”, and describes them as probably the first books that inspired her to write. Niven adds that: “For some reason I wanted to create that world.”
However, while Niven always enjoyed writing, she feels that she rather left this behind during her teacher training. Instead, she turned to painting, but eventually returned to writing prose after having children. Niven later moved down to Galloway, writing plays for local drama groups in the Galloway Scots dialect. She finally turned to poetry after an encounter with a visiting poet, and states she just “fell into the form”, feeling that beyond the narrative element, “something else is going on with poetry”.
Niven enjoys reading contemporary Scottish poetry, and counts Iain Crichton Smith, Edwin Morgan, and Kathleen Jamie among her inspirations. However, due to her translations of foreign poetry, she also is an avid reader of work by international poets.
When I asked Niven her suggestions for some tips for aspiring writers, she replied, “Read contemporary writing, and read widely.” She also suggested reading anthologies compiling a range of voices, advising not to worry or think that you are copying: “Immerse yourself in other voices and you’ll find your own voice.” Niven also advocates being “honest”, and “not being feart to dip into your own world”.
Her own voice, it seems, is very much within the Scots language. For a long time, Niven has stressed the importance of Scots education in schools, and was pleased when the government included the question of the Scots language in the recent census. When I asked Niven why she felt so strongly about Scots, she replied that it was “to do with self-worth, human and linguistic worth.” She strongly believes in the worth of the Scottish voice, as distinct from English (and certainly not ‘slang), declaring that it is a complex language able to deal with major issues like every other language.
However, Niven feels the language is now being taken more seriously, and suggests that with the spread of social media, more Scottish children are writing in Scots as it is closest to spoken Scots. As such, she is hopeful that contemporary Scots will be taught in schools, instead of the “mad” decision to focus on the eighteenth-century work of Robert Burns. Niven sees this method of teaching Scots as nonsensical, stating that “you wouldn’t teach English starting with eighteenth-century literature.”
Liz Niven’s Challenge:
“Write a three-line poem. You can choose your title from three ‘somethings’ in the world – the three quietest, the three noisiest, anything – but remember you only have three lines to describe them!”
2 October 2011
Hello, Jennifer here.
Well, yesterday was quite a mixture. In the morning I stopped by Liam Crichton’s exhibition “Black Country Sonata” to look round the works and have a few words with the artist himself. Crichton, who graduated from the Edinburgh College of Art last year, is a Wigtown native. He is currently settled in the area post-university for a little recuperation before heading back to the central belt. His show, filled with monochrome works in black and white, references both digital and analogue methods of creation. Blacked-out ordnance survey maps and a mirrored (but empty) plinth are among the works sited in the Wigtown parish church hall. The last day of the exhibition is today, so I recommend you all go along and take a look.
Also managed to squeeze in a session of Lightning Writing at the Wigtown Ink tent with Kate Tough which was a fun short session of creative writing – quite different to my last few pieces on the blog anyway. After that I set off round the bookshops for a browse before stopping by Nats and Bolts: The Devilish Detail of Scottish Independence at the Baillie Gifford for an interesting discussion of the practicalities of independence.
Then I dropped in to the Poetry Debate with Christie Williamson and Liz Niven in advance of my interview with Niven tomorrow, before heading home to prepare for the night’s entertainment at the Ceilidh. That turned out to be great fun – David and I joined in the dancing quite a bit but I must say the highlight was the Virginia Reel stretching from one end of the room to the other!
Well, I hope you’re all looking forward to the events today, I’ll hopefully have another update on the last day’s activities tomorrow.
Bye for now!
1 October 2011
Afternoon everybody, David here.
It's Saturday again (I suspect you knew that already) and that means it's very busy here in Wigtown and after a week of running a book festival everyone's a bit tired. Exhausted actually but the end is in sight. That makes it sound like I want it over. If you could keep it going without it being so tiring that would be fine. But you can't so the end is looking welcome.
In the meantime, there's been plenty happening. I wrote up the story of my conversation with Gary Sutherland, the results of which you can read below. I was also listening to the rugby while writing it so I might have been a little emotional while doing it.
This afternoon, I met up with writer in residence Robert Twigger to reflect on his stay in Wigtown and on his adventures in life which I will post a full write up tomorrow.
Then I went to see Kevin Telfer doing a talk about his book on Peter Pan author JM Barrie's cricket team which was very interesting. The team featured several other famous writers including Arthur Conan Doyle, Jerome K Jerome and AA Milne.
Sunday tomorrow (though I suspect you knew that too) and the last day of the festival. The end, whether we want it or not, is almost upon us.
Here's the write up on Gary Sutherland.
Before giving his talk at the Wigtown Book Festival, Gary Sutherland went for a round of golf.
For a man who has written a book about the game it's hardly surprising but it very nearly gave him the ideal anecdote for his talk as he played round the St Medans course at Monreith.
Playing off the Par 3 ninth, he struck a seven iron off the tee which bounced through the green before rebounding off the pin and stopping inches from the hole.
It was the closest he had ever been to a hole-in-one but as the man himself says: "it would have been just too perfect."
Sutherland's main motivation for playing St Medans was its status as Scotland's most southerly course.
Over the course of writing his book, Golf on the Rocks, he played on Scotland's most northerly course (Whalsay on Shetland) and the most westerly (Barra) so a trip to St Medans when at Wigtown seemed in order.
Golf on the Rocks is the story of Sutherland's personal golfing odyssey to play 18 rounds of golf on the Scottish islands which he decided to undertake after the death of his father, a keen amateur player in the north-east town of Hopeman.
Sutherland himself grew up in Hopeman, though he now lives in Glasgow, and learned to play golf by going straight to the course after school and playing until late.
He says the town is still a big influence on him, his work and indeed his golf.
"I'm very proud of where I come from and I miss it when I'm in Glasgow.
"I've never played golf on a Glasgow course, probably because it wan't the kind of coastal golf that I grew up with.
"I guess I was kind of spoiled growing up with the golf at Hopeman," he says.
The catalyst that launched the story was winning his father's putter as part of a family competition as Sutherland explains.
"The family play every year on my dad's birthday as a tribute to him.
"We play a different course every year and decided to play for a trophy. We decided the most apt thing to play for would be his putter because it was a running joke that he was no use at chipping the ball near the greens so he used to putt from miles off the green. Old school," smiles Sutherland.
Having won his dad's putter Sutherland, by his own admission a lapsed golfer, decided to take it on the road having been inspired by a golfing map of Scotland.
"I find it incredible that you can play golf on 18 islands, more if you wanted to, and it's a different to Scottish golf.
"It's a million miles from St Andrew," says Sutherland.
"You encounter all sorts of things; cattle, sheep, some of the courses even have electric fences round the greens to keep the animals off them.
"You walk in a gate to putt which could be fun if they introduced it to the Open," he says.
"Imagine Colin Montgomerie holding it open, going 'after you Tiger.' It would be brilliant."
He travelled across Scotland in the company of his friend Brian Noble, rechristened Noble Brian in the book for dramatic purposes and together they encounter all manner of obstacles including courses mainly made of rocks, getting lost while playing and even arriving to play a course that doesn't seem to exist.
"Brian phoned just after I'd completed my first round and he'd hear what I was planning to do.
"He became a real character in the book, we became a bit of a double act. He's actually a golf architect and knows much more about the game than me.
"I don't know what the book would have been without him."
Another recurring character in the book is the Caledonian Macbrayne breakfast which Sutherland says is enough to power you through a full days golf without any need for lunch.
Travel is an important part of Sutherland's work and he says that this a good way of bringing character to his stories.
"I don't drive so I'm reliant on public transport which can cause headaches but it means I always bump into people.
"The people of the islands that we met were a very important part of the story so getting buses and ferrys definitely helped the book."
Despite these adventures, Sutherland says that he doesn't play golf for anything other than enjoyment.
"I don't even keep score," he says.
"I sometimes do when I get a good start to a round but I always come a cropper on at least one hole and there's almost a sense of relief that I can go the rest of the round without counting," he says.
This sense of fun runs throughout the book with a sense of adventure and various anecdotes that show the more rough and ready side of Scottish golf.
It is also a personal account of how Sutherland pays homage to the islands, a way of life and his father's love of golf.
It is a truly fitting tribute.
1 October 2011
Morning all,
Well yesterday was rather exciting – as David has already informed you I made my radio debut on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Brian Taylor’s Big Debate’. Aside from the nerves I don’t think I made too bad a job of asking my question on Scottish subsidies for the arts, and the ensuing debate was certainly relevant to the Wigtown Book Festival, with some very positive conclusions.
After that I rushed off to hear Heather Middleton talk about the history of women’s participation in comics and graphic novels, before an interesting discussion with Robin Yassin-Kassab on blogging. His talk was particularly interesting as he blogs on the Middle East while being resident in Castle Douglas, and so the assembled audience at Wigtown Ink were treated to not just a chat on the technological side, but the relevance of blogging in the wider political scheme of things.
Then, I stopped by the Baillie Gifford to listen to Julie Myerson discuss Then, her new novel set in a post-apocalyptic London. Myerson, you may remember, was vilified by the Daily Mail back in 2009 after her book The Lost Child came out, so it was interesting to see how the course of her life had affected the route she pursued in this new novel.
After that I snuck away from the office to do a little more writing, and hope to post up a couple more articles for you in the next couple of days, inbetween the busy weekend of events including tomorrow night’s Ceilidh at Bladnoch Distillery.
Bye for now,
Jennifer
30 September 2011
Afternoon all, David reporting for duty.
Busy day so far,
We were at the BBC Radio Scotland show 'Brian Taylor's Big Debate' which proved very interesting, especially when Jennifer made her radio debut which I'm sure she will fill you in on later.
Also, we caught up with Nicola Hill and Bill Middlemiss from the Dumfries and Galloway LEADER Programme for a little chat about our experiences at Wigtown so far, and managed to get this lovely photo with them:
Then I nipped down to Bladnoch to see the latest of our active events setting off - a canoeing/kayaking trip with our writer in residence Robert Twigger.
I'm sure the instructors will look after him, although Robert claims to have done some canoeing before. He said something about a trip across Canada in a home made canoe which took three seasons to complete but it remains to be seen whether he can handle the Bladnoch.
I am going to be interviewing Gary Sutherland this afternoon who wrote a book about golfing on 18 Scottish islands and was the latest author to brave the KAOS cafe last night.
Here's a link to resident artist Kim Ayres' photos from his time at Wigtown. See if you can spot Jennifer, me or any famous writers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimayres/sets/72157627752630956/
Plenty more coming up as the festival enters it's final weekend so keep checking back for updates.
Here's a few pics of the canoeing to keep you going for just now.
30 September 2011
Morning all! Jennifer again.
Well last night's entertainment was rather exciting: Elaine C. Smith proved hilarious in the Baillie Gifford tent, and during our inaugral charity auction, which included a lot offering the services of Adrian our Festival Director for a day's hard labour, we managed to raise £3,115 for the festival!
I'm also pleased to report I've finished off my interview with Kim Ayres, Spring Fling Artist-in-Residence, so here it is:
If you go down to the Hut today…you’d better be ready for your close-up. Spring Fling Artist-in-Residence Kim Ayres is on a mission to photograph as many faces as possible, so I stopped by to talk portraiture, photography and his particular brand of psychotherapy before the (inevitable) photo shoot.
Ayres’ current project is a departure from his regular photography: while used to spending 1-2 hours with one client, he has now condensed his sessions to a matter of minutes for this residency, something he trialled at the Spring Fling open studios event earlier in the year. Managing to get roughly 130 photographs over those three days in May, Ayres is confident that he can apply this project to Wigtown.
But it is not sheer volume that Ayres aspires to. In actual fact, he is dedicated to both the personalised and storytelling aspect of photography.
“I take photos of faces because I love faces. I find faces infinitely interesting and fascinating…I’ve not yet come across a face that I didn’t want to photograph.
"The kind of photography I like doing is all about making the connection with the person I’m photographing.”
As for storytelling, that is clearly exemplified by Ayres’ decision during this project to suggest everyone “glare down the lens” of his camera, stating that this overcomes our traditional fear of having our photo taken, by allowing us to focus on the ‘acting’ part.
This fear of photography greatly concerns Ayres:
"Actually, having your photograph taken is pressure…to do with that expectation thing – we have one idea of who we are in our heads and the world shows us a different thing.”
He attributes this to a number of factors – our familiarity with the image of our face in reverse, as in mirrors; poor-quality images on mobile phones; and unattainable role models found in magazines. And so as a portrait photographer - with a background in philosophy - Ayres has to build up trust with his subjects, seeking the root cause of their hesitation before the camera lens:
“I do sometimes feel my role is part photographer part psychotherapist.”
Due to these exterior pressures, Ayres feels a number of myths have sprung up around photography.
“The first myth is the camera never lies…The camera never tells the truth would be a far more accurate description. When we interact with people, we interact with them not just in three dimensions but in four dimensions – we interact with them through time. So the idea of a two dimensional capture of somebody is incredibly limited and actually not very lifelike at all.
“The other myth which ties in with it is that you can capture the essence of a person in a photograph… [but] no one has an essence. We are all multiple and complex people, with many different sides to our personalities and many different moods, and it’s constantly changing.
“This myth, then, that we’ve captured the essence of a person – we don’t. What happen is we look at a photo and maybe we identify with an emotion that they happen to be expressing.”
His passion for portrait photography is obvious: this project is all about adding to his collection of emotive faces. Yet he also feels very strongly about the position of photography in the artworld, something which also feeds into his practice.
Ayres commonly uses digital manipulation after having taken his photographs, the most obvious of which being their transformation into black and white, but may include other editing techniques. However this manipulation, Ayres points out, has been rife since the beginning of analogue photography.
“Some people think that’s cheating, but cheating against what? If you’re talking about pure documentary yes, that’s cheating – but if you’re talking about storytelling, no it’s not.
“What’s important is either the message or the mood or emotion of what you’re trying to convey, and we perfectly accept that in other artforms.
“In the photography world you have this debate of is it ‘creation’ or ‘capture’. The hard-line photographers will talk about capture, then those who are in to digital manipulation will talk about creating. And I think it’s all creation.”
I was not the best subject for Ayres’ swift yet successful process – with more than a few failed attempts to my name, I was thoroughly outdone by a local Wigtown resident when it came to staring the camera down. But if you go down to the Hut today…well at the very least you‘ll have the chance to contribute to a rather exciting story indeed.
29 September 2011
Jennifer here -
Just popped on to the computer to upload my article on David Mach.
Speak soon - I'm off to see Elaine C. Smith!
I must admit that I am somewhat hesitant to write about David Mach. The Scottish sculptor recently described himself at the Wigtown Book Festival as “wary of things written on art”, adding that too often the writer’s agenda establishes the tone, instead of the artworks. This may be why Mach tends to remove himself from his exhibitions once they open, stating that his inclination is still to sod off.
Yet during Precious Light: A Celebration of the King James Bible 1611-2011, Mach has remained for the ensuing conversation, giving interviews and being present on-site for much of the exhibition. I caught up with him recently to discuss his thoughts as the exhibition approaches its final fortnight.
Mach first considered the idea of producing work around the Bible over a decade ago. His first plan was, ambitiously, to produce a Bible, though in his own words this “arrogant” venture was not feasible, being both time-consuming and expensive. But the concept never fully escaped his mind, as his collages became more violent and emotional, somewhat pointing him towards the Bible. And after hearing of the forthcoming 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Mach finally decided to pursue the project from another angle.
Precious Light contains large-scale collages and sculptures, commandeering five floors of the City Art Centre, Edinburgh. Naturally there has been some controversy as Mach is non-religious, leading many to question his motives. This no doubt stems from his attitude towards art, as he states he is “unashamedly a businessman”, and is firmly aware of both the marketable, and emotional, nature of art. Indeed specifically with this project, it was partly the conjunction of a commercial venture with the ethical nature of the Bible that attracted Mach.
This practical approach to the art world has been with Mach for some time, as during his discussion with Stuart Kelly at Wigtown he noted his discomfort interacting with the fine art world of dealers and galleries, instead preferring to remain on the periphery. His choice of materials for Precious Light reflects this also – the immense figures of Golgotha are formed from coat hangers which he feels are, like the contemporary photographs and magazine cut-outs used in his collages, instantly recognisable and capable of forming a connection between the viewer and the work. While these may seem random or thoughtless decisions, this all ties in to Mach’s determination to step outside art and attempt something new in order to define what art can be.
However, the decision to tackle the Bible was not taken lightly, as Mach was aware that some may object to his position as a non-religious artist, and view the exhibition as a gimmick. Yet Mach views his emphatic non-religious stance as one of the most positive elements of the project, allowing him to be more convincing as he is not trying to persuade the viewer of anything.
Instead, Mach has focused on representing people, with many of his collages reacting to the destructive capabilities of humanity. He describes the project as “a little about trying to deal with the world outside and all its problems”, which he feels has also been a reason for its positive reception with audiences. When asked by Kelly if any of the historical religious artists inspired him, Mach responded that while the works of Goya and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel are strikingly emotive, he instead feels closer to artists like Breughel, who focused on the folk of their time.
Intriguingly enough, Mach’s sidelong glance at the Bible, interpreting stories through the contemporary world around him, has resulted in an oddly parallel sentiment to the book itself. For example, by recasting his vision of Hell in cities around the world (with, yes, a canny nod to his plans to tour Precious Light), the collages are global in aspiration. Mach says that this exhibition does intentionally refer to the fact that “the Bible goes everywhere in the world” – so his work attempts this also.
Yet after two months of discussion and debate on this ambitious project, Mach is now very keen to talk about something else. His next plans revolve around the Kama Sutra, again exploiting collage. He intends to include people of all shapes, sizes and ages, something hinted at by the composite figures of Adam and Eve posed in their jungle paradise within Precious Light.
Away from visual art, Mach is also in a band, something he clearly feels very excited about. He declares that music is “more honest than art is”, with a different ceremony of reception involved, where people are more willing to respond directly to what they hear. This attitude is perhaps unsurprising considering his ambivalent relationship with the art world, and one cannot help feeling that while still a departure, Mach’s musical endeavours will fit his present artistic productions. Both commercial and emotive, one can see why music appeals to Mach’s commitment to a direct, approachable and affecting experience of art.
29 September 2011
Hello everybody - David here.
No morning blog post this morning because it's been even more breathless and hectic in the festival office than usual. In fact festival manager Anne was heard muttering: "it's not meant to be like this on a Thursday" while dashing around solving problems.
Jennifer and I just sit in the corner writing as the chaos goes on round about. I think everyone else wonders what it is we actually do. Sometimes I wonder that too.
Anyway, we went to 'Not the Wigtown Film Festival' last night. Cannes it most certainly wasn't but it was a fine way of spending an evening. Entries ranged from a comparing the past and present of Dumfries and Galloway, a music video, a strange look at grey squirrels and others before it deteriorated into youtube favourites. Jennifer even suggested a video about a dog falling asleep on some stairs. Bless.
It's also the festival auction tonight so if you want to bid for various services from famous authors then come along to the county buildings tonight at 8pm.
I've also attached the interview with long distance runner Andrew Murray underneath this post.
Also another plug for our youtube site - youtube.com/user/wigtownbookfestival
Here's the Andrew Murray article:
PROBABLY the most striking thing about talking to Doctor Andrew Murray is his ability to talk in a normal way about things that are utterly incredible.
Take for example: “for Christmas we got up, opened our presents, ate some chocolate Santas and then I went out and ran 38 miles.”
Welcome to the world of the ultra runner.
Murray has raised awareness of the sport in Scotland, thanks mainly to his incredible trip late last year which saw him run from John O’Groats at the top of Scotland to the Sahara desert in just 78 days, averaging 34 miles a day.
This meant trekking through thick snow on the west highland way, then the whole way through France, running over the Pyrenees and the Atlas mountain ranges before eventually reaching the desert a whole week ahead of the scheduled 85 days.
To most people this sounds like an impossible and gruelling thing to do but to Murray it is an attainable ambition.
He says: “It’s a different way of seeing the world.
“I’ve ran in fantastic places; the Himalayas, the poles, the Indonesian jungle, Outer Mongolia. Running to me is not a profession at all - I just really enjoy the freedom.”
Murray, a practicing doctor, has written a book about his experiences, Running Beyond Limits, and was at the Wigtown Book Festival promoting his work as well as taking a group of around thirty willing volunteers for a gentle run around the surrounding area, supported by Active Scotland.
“It’s really important to get Scotland active,” he says afterwards.
“Once people are active, they stay active but it’s not a question of telling people what they have to do.
“Giving them more opportunities like this and more information of what’s out there can’t hurt.”
His fellow runners at Wigtown were all clearly in awe of what Murray had achieved and with good reason.
His career so far as a long distance runner is a list of mind boggling numbers.
First place in the 350 mile Arctic ultra marathon, winning the week-long 250 kilometres Sahara race and smashing the record for running the length of Hadrians Hall are just some of his achievements despite only taking up the sport five years ago.
Another extraordinary list of figures is Murray’s calorie intake in order to complete the Scotland to Sahara run.
“I was taking in between 7,000 and 8,000 calories every day. If I was eating 6,000 a day I was on a diet,” he says.
“It’s two-and-a-half times what you’d normally eat but that was me on a diet. I needed to keep fuel in the tank but the volume of food that encompasses is phenomenal.
"It sounds like fun but after the first day, it really isn’t.”
Another remarkable aspect of his story is that he was not allowed to drink water because it took up too much space without giving any calorific value.
“Water was completely banned,” he confirms.
“I was drinking energy drinks and chocolate milk which is really good for recovery because it has both protein and some carbohydrate to repair the muscles that I was inevitably damaging.
“It was great to get to the Sahara and get to drink, first of all a beer, but also just getting a glass of water.”
A pressing concern for Murray when on the trip was his impending marriage to his now wife Jennie, which was scheduled for immediately after the completion of the run.
This pushed Murray on to make the run within his 85-day limit but he admits that this added distraction did have a bearing on his plans.
“I would have quit the challenge if I was running late. I’d have dumped it straight away and come back because getting married was the most important thing.
“Jennie was phenomenally understanding though. She had to do most of the planning for the wedding, both before hand and en-route.
“It must have been a bit of a marathon for her as well to be honest.”
Jennie accompanied Andrew for some of the trip in a campervan, in which they shared a Christmas dinner of bangers and mash high on the Spanish sierra.
Despite these achievements, Murray insists that he is not that special.
“I’m not an especially quick or talented runner so it’s a lot of hard work but that’s part of the fun for me.
“You don’t do things like this if you don’t enjoy them.”
Enjoyment is a big part of what drives Murray onward as he says that he enjoys something so simple as running three miles through the Wigtownshire countryside despite his experiences of looking down from the Atlas mountains on to the Sahara desert or racing for days through the Himalayas.
He says that this is a big part of his work with Active Scotland to try and get more Scots taking part in sport and exercise.
“People can run, they can dance, they can cycle, they can play football. In fact even gardening or doing vigorous housework can be counted as activity.
“If there was a tablet that could be produced that had the same effect as exercise it would be sold out straight away. It would be unbelievably popular but I think some people are a wee bit afraid of exercise. Part of what I’m doing is making people aware of it.
After all this extraordinary effort, Murray could be excused if he decided to put his feet up and settle into his medical career and wedded life.
However, he is not the sort to rest on his laurels and he is promising something next year which he says will get more people talking about his exploits. He refuses to be drawn on the exact details but he promises it will be a “pretty substantial challenge.”
Considering his previous achievements, something that Doctor Andrew Murray thinks is substantial should be quite extraordinary.
28 September 2011
Jennifer here -
Just back from a chat with the organisers and kids at the Kaos cafe with author Jane Robinson, who is giving a chat on the History of the Women's Institute tonight. Over our all-day breakfast we had a nice chat, but among the questions I do think my favourite has to be: "Does suffragette mean you suffer on a plane?" ...
I also have some photos for you from this morning, as when I was passing by the Wigtown Beach I spotted Elizabeth Tindal from the Dumfries and Galloway Council Ranger Service making some art in the sand, so I joined her for a few minutes to add to the underwater scene. There's a video of Elizabeth up on our new YouTube channel, and here's one of the photos I took. You can also keep up with the rangers on twitter at: twitter.com/DGCRangers
Two turtles and a jellyfish make an appearance on the Wigtown Beach (that's mine on the left with the broken leg)
Actually on the subject of the beach I also got a shot of the impressive sandcastle by two local boys, Alan and William, which I promised them to post, so here it is:
And finally, as promised here is my piece on Louise Stern talking the other day in the Wigtown County Buildings about Chattering.
There is no ‘sound’ in Rio. The first story in Louise Stern’s Chattering contains only a single reference to sounds – laughter. The rest is silence, filtering through the regular descriptions of sights and smells and sensations. But as Stern herself makes clear, these are not simply stories exploring the world from a deaf point of view. It is not ‘sound’ but ‘language’ that is under scrutiny within Chattering – as any language, be it verbal or indeed sign, is capable of letting us down.
Raised in a deaf community in California, Stern initially embarked upon an artistic career following her degree in Art History at Gallaudet University, and currently works as an assistant to the artist Sam Taylor-Wood in London. One may well wonder what inspired her to move to writing, as Stern concedes that English is her second language, after American Sign. Yet Stern feels writing is “more direct”, free from the seemingly endless interpretations that may (and have) been applied to her artworks.
Chattering, however, is a careful experiment: wanting to avoid writing a “tragic” human-interest story, Stern avoided non-fiction, but having less interest in an extended plot, she also steered away from a novel. Instead, she describes these short stories as shards, allowing her to investigate “the emotional aspect of how people try to make them understood”.
Naturally, many stories are guided by Stern’s personal experiences, as young deaf people explore the world around them, attempting to overcome the barrier presented by the shortcomings of language. But they are not exclusively deaf; as Stern makes clear the idea of people struggling to communicate is just as applicable to the hearing community.
Stern willingly proposes that there is an agenda to her work. While she recognises the technical advances that have made communication in the deaf community easier – stating she would never have been able to work with Taylor-Wood had email not been invented – characters such as Abel in Chattering emphasise the struggles faced by those who have no language at all. In a manner that echoes her father’s commitment to ensuring that deaf children can communicate, Stern’s short stories, as well as focusing on the direct experience of her protagonists, also emphasise the necessity of language, something she feels is often overlooked by politicians.
Chattering, at times, is deliberately difficult to read. The translation from sign language to English is not an easy one, but these somewhat jerky, stilted sentences are an integral aspect of Stern’s approach. Stern wants her reader to work hard, stating that “hearing people put deaf people in a world they don’t understand,” and that Chattering is an attempt to reverse that situation. By inserting silence into her narratives, whether the reader is familiar or unfamiliar with this situation, Stern manages to place language under scrutiny, making her short stories relevant to all.
Jennifer Owen
28 September 2011
Hello everybody, David here.
Exciting news from the Wigtown blog HQ - we have a youtube site with heaps of exciting videos for you to look at. We have had loads of videos that we've been waiting to share with you all but we couldn't figure out how to get them working on the blog. Then we realised that it is really very simple so here's the link -
http://www.youtube.com/user/WigtownBookFestival
We already have Shoo Rayner on writing, Andrew Murray on running, Maria Cairnie performing from her new book with more coming up including Owen Sheers, Shadakat Kadri and Sarah McIntyre so that's somewhere else to check for festival updates.
I've also got a quick write up on the interview that myself and Jennifer conducted with children's authors Debi Gliori and Sarah McIntyre which is just underneath this post.
Enjoy.
Debi Gliori and Sarah McIntyre are both writers and illustrators, and asked them about their favourite children's writers, and how they would encourage youngsters to write and be creative.Debi Gliori described how she grew up with reading after falling in love with a picture of a lonely frog in a book called Kingcup Cottage before moving on to famous stories such as The Wind in the Willows and The Hobbit. She explained that her love of reading drove her to create her own stories which she illustrated.
Debi said: "I think if you fill yourself up with enough stories from reading, you'll get so full that stories will begin leaking out of you."Read everything. Not just books but newspapers and everything else, even things that you don't like reading and it will make you a better writer."
Sarah McIntyre agreed with this advice adding: "A good way of understanding books is to make a book."It doesn't take much, just fold some pieces of paper and you have a book then you can photocopy them and give them out to people. "It's how lot of comic writers start - so make your own books.Seattle-born Sarah also enjoyed reading from a young age enjoying the books of Maurice Sendak and also Watership Down.She said: "I used to get an apple box and take it to the library and fill it up with books, and then I would have half of them read by the time I got home, and then read the rest of the box and go for another load the next week.
"I loved my library when I was little."
Both authors' enthusiasm for their work was obvious and hopefully their talks to the school-children will have inspired a whole generation of young writers and illustrators in south west Scotland.
28 September 2011
Hello and good morning - Jennifer here.
Well after spending most of the day attached to my keyboard, I managed to get out to chat to Kim Ayres about his Spring Fling Artist-in-Residence portraiture project. I'll be posting the content of that soon but for now I can only urge you to head along and get your picture taken Hopefully you'll be a bit better than I was - after a few miserable attempts to 'glare down the camera lens' we had to settle for one of me looking reasonably haughty, so never mind!
Kim also left me some links to both his Wigtown blog and his regular one, so I'd recommend you check those out if you can.
www.kimayreswigtown.blogspot.com
Then last night we set off to Stuart Kelly's Literary Pub Quiz. I'm pleased to announce that David and I did not come last - we came third mainly through a not-so-subtle combination of guesswork, sparse literary knowledge and some juvenile doodles. We did in fact end up with 18 5/8 points (but I'll not tell you the total we could have had...)
So, today, *fingers crossed* we shall be bringing you an extended version of David's interview with Andrew Murray, and details from our talk with children's authors Debi Gliori and Sarah McIntyre. I'll also be uploading some more information on Louise Stern, before putting the finishing touches to my David Mach interview.
See you soon!
27 September 2011
Here we are - as promised, we're posting our interviews with Shoo Rayner and Maria Cairnie at the weekend. And I expect you all to try out their challenges!
Maria Cairnie talks to David Kerr:
DK: How’s your Wigtown Book Festival been so far?
MC: I’m having a really lovely time, really relaxing and high-energy at the same time. There’s a really nice buzz.
DK: So what was your favourite book when you were young?
MC: I had lots of favourite books but one that I went back to time and time again – a Roald Dahl treasury with all of his revolting rhymes.
DK: Did you enjoy writing too when you were younger?
MC: No I didn’t. I could never write prose so I never thought of myself as a writer. But I did like poetry and any time I tried to write it came out in some kind of rhythmical poetic format.
DK: And that’s the other thing; that rhythm feeds into your performance work –
MC: I do lots of performance and active work with young people. I tend to bring my stories into a dramatic context where the children are singing and dramatizing scenes. There’s a big storytelling side to what I do and it’s very interactive. I like to wrap them up in the story.
DK: So what’s your writing process?
MC: I do lots of power-walking, and when I do I get this rhythm. I usually have an idea for my next piece in my head and I tend to just think it out. Sometimes I can go for months without writing anything, and sometimes I’ll be writing all the time. And I edit constantly, I can edit one small piece of poetry maybe forty times. It’s really organic, I don’t have a set process – it changes all the time.
DK: Why children’s books?
MC: Because I love children. I’ve been a teacher for years, and I love young people. I enjoy the way they process information, the way they see literature and talk about it. I enjoy the artistry that’s involved too, I love talking to young people about illustration and animation. I think it’s really crucial for authors or people working with young people to listen to what they want, because that’s our biggest market, and these are the people that will keep the process alive.
DK: Your performances keep people going too –
MC: I love this kind of work. I call it highly interactive storytelling. I’ve seen many storytellers and we all have different styles. My style is to move – I move with the story, animate it. I like to bring it alive with dance, music and composition, and live music if I can. Sometimes it’s difficult when you use your voice so much, but the children really appreciate it, they tune into that and I find that really special.
DK: Roald Dahl apart, which other children’s authors do you like?
MC: I’m a huge Julia Donaldson fan because I work mainly in infants, and I loved the union with Axel Scheffler on The Gruffalo. I like many children’s illustrators and authors, but the person that inspired me to write the Blitzy Boy series was probably Lynley Dodd, because working with very young children I read the Hairy Maclary series hundreds of times over. I love stories about dogs, and I’ve got my own dog ‘Blitzy Boy’, my flame-haired terrier, and he inspires me.
DK: What do you think would help children improve their writing?
MC: I often think a great way to improve what you’re writing is to improve what you’re reading. Because I mainly write in song and lyrical form I listen to lots of songs and music, and that’s how I inform my own writing. There’s an artisan culture there, you have to soak in as much of it as you can and that will inform what you do next.
Shoo Rayner talks to Jennifer Owen
JO: How are you enjoying Wigtown?
SR: It’s fabulous, I love Wigtown.
JO: What was your favourite book when you were growing up?
SR: My favourites were the Narnia books – I was Prince Caspian…
JO: Why were those your favourites?
SR: Because of the adventure and the mystery-history part of it. It wasn’t real history but Narnia felt very like an Old England, just a simpler and more exciting time.
JO: Did you always enjoy writing and drawing?
SR: I hated writing at school. I’m dyslexic; never knew it at the time. It was only about ten years ago that I suddenly realised.
JO: So you didn’t enjoy classes then?
SR: No, not particularly. Drawing classes, I loved that, and anything that didn’t really involve much writing!
JO: What made you decide to start writing children’s books?
SR: I started as an illustrator. I was really lucky – among the first books I ever illustrated were Michael Morpurgo and Rose Impey. And at the same time my editors kept encouraging me to write because they recognised that I was a storyteller. And illustrators are storytellers – they tell stories with pictures.
JO: How do you go about writing children’s books?
SR: I’ve developed a system of mind-mapping. I start with a character, sometimes just the name. And I’m always sketching to think what the character might look like, I wasn’t quite sure and then suddenly this version popped up and I knew he was right.
JO: So there’s lots of trial and error?
SR: Yes, and when I drew that I just knew where it was going. I’d find the characters and they’d help me develop the story. I did a lot of research on Ancient Greece, I went to Olympia which was fascinating. I’ve woven Ancient Greek myths in with the stories – he uses the gods and myths like we use sports psychology! Then somewhere there reaches a point where I have to start planning an actual story. And everybody does things differently, some people just sit down and write.
JO: Which other children’s authors do you admire?
SR: Michael Morpurgo – though I think the person who really got me started was Maurice Sendak who wrote Where the Wild Things Are. When I saw it I was amazed - I felt I’d finally found what I was good at.
JO: So how would you recommend improving your writing skills?
SR: Well I’m very old now and I’ve only just started learning about writing, and I know there’s so much more to learn. I read a lot – reading books is the best way to learn to write because you’re just filling your head full of words, and you see how others put them together. So READ READ READ! And keep writing, and editing as well – editing is where the real work happens.
Shoo's Challenge:
Hello there! I’m Shoo Rayner and I’m going to set you a writing project! I’ve written these stories about a boy called Axel Storm. His mum and dad are incredibly rich rock stars, and he has these eight uncles who take him off on incredible adventures. So my idea for you is to imagine you have an uncle who can take you anywhere in the world, on any kind of adventure. He could be a spy, a deep-sea diver, anything.
So who is your uncle? What’s his name, his job – he’s got to have a really amazing job – and when he takes you away, what adventures are you going to go on? And how are you going to get back home in time for tea…?
Maria's Challenge
My name’s Maria Cairnie and I’m the author of Blitzy Boy’s Night on the Town, and Blitzy Boy on Cattle Show Day – two books part of a bigger series, hopefully coming soon to your bookshelves. I’m going to challenge you to write a comic strip about dogs and cats, and also to write a rap song!
27 September 2011
Hi again David here.
Third blog in a day - it's a record.
As promised here is a write up of the interview that I did with Welsh writer Owen Sheers yesterday. I found him to be a fascinating guy to talk to with a very interesting body of work.
OWEN Sheers is a man who has dipped his pen in many mediums when it comes to writing.
He started his career as a poet, writing two highly acclaimed collections The Blue Room and Skirrid Hill. He is also the author of the novel Resistance and has also co-written the screen play for the forthcoming film of the book.
He was also the writer on the three day Passion play which took place in the South Wales town of Port Talbot over Easter this year starring Michael Sheen.
Sheers explains that learning about how to tell stories in different forms drives him as a writer.
"The excitement in writing is actually when you are quite far down the learning curve and you are basically finding out story telling works in that medium," says Sheers.
For someone who started out as a poet he has found himself working in some very different environments, most recently working on the screenplay for the adaptation of his own book, Resistance, which tells the story of what would have happened if various key events of World War 2 had gone the other way.
"I still think of myself as a poet working in other mediums and to be honest, I am at my happiest when I am sitting at a desk work on a poem that I think is working. Which is very rare," he says.
"I liked screenwritng though, because it's a very inventive art form but you've also got to solve practical problems, like the budget, with creative solutions."
Probably the most ambitous undertaking of Sheers' was The Passion.
The three day performance was the brainchild of actor Michael Sheen, who wanted to produce a Passion play in his home town of Port Talbot, and the National Theatre of Wales who were looking for a fitting end to their season of open theatre.
Sheers was enlisted to write the script for the play, a challenge considering it would take place in public places in the town accross three days.
"From the outset I knew whatever I wrote it was going to appear in really open spaces, not a specific theatre," he says.
"Some of it was on the beach, some was on the roof of the council house so you are aware you need to work with clarity and simplicity so I tried to work in really clear metaphors and allegory, as the Bible itself does quite often actually."
Both The Passion and Resistance took very famous stories and adapted them in different ways, a challenge for the writer.
"Because (The Passion) is such a famous story, you can do scenes likes the supper and everyone konows the broad beats of the last supper; some bread is broken, there is a betrayal and the Jesus figure talks to his followers.
"We had these beats that everyone would recognise but there are so many gaps and ambiguities in the original material and I found that you coulld sort of write into these gaps and find all sort of contemporary motivations that were relevent to the town of Port Talbot," says Sheers.
"In Resistance, the most surprising stuff that people think I've made up is based on real British and German plans.
It's a piece of history that never had to happen," he says.
"I read some of the German invasion pamphlets and used details in the novel like cutting Nelson's Column in half and taking it back to Berlin.
"In the novel someone stumbles upon a load of British road signs written in German which are sitting in Belgium ready to go," says Sheers.
"That's all true and when you add them all together, it's the writers job to make all these details work within the covers of the book."
"It was weird (doing the film).
The first day I walked onto the set and I saw the houses and farms and I met the actors who were playing my characters.
"It was like being shrunk down and put inside my own head," he says.
The Passion has expanded the horizons for it's writers thanks to it's ambitous approach to retelling the world's most famous story and the way it spread worldwide thanks to the power of social media.
With a film version cut from footage of the performance due out in time for next Easter, it should reach an even wider audience.
With the film of Resistance due soon, the work of Owen Sheers is coming to a wider audience and with such ambitous projects in the last year it will interesting to see where he goes next.
Next up for Owen Sheers is the film version of Resistance which is released on November 25 as well as the novelisation of The Passion, The Gospel of Us, which is available from the National Theatre of Wales website.
27 September 2011
Good morning, Jennifer here.
So after a long day camped out in a hidey-hole away from the hectic Book Festival office, I was duly dispatched to Cardoness Castle to hear Robyn Young discuss Insurrection, the first novel in her new trilogy focusing on Robert the Bruce. Well I say dispatched - one missing bus and a lift from David later, we managed to arrive at the castle only ten minutes late.
I was certainly intrigued by Robyn's discussion - being a Dumfries and Galloway native, the story of auld Rab 'n' the spider was part of my upbringing (although she assured us this won't be going in her novel). After reading a short extract, Robyn went on to describe how this series grew out of her previous trilogy on the Knights Templar, and how she undertakes research for her historical novels.
While Cardoness Castle was admittedly a rather draughty venue for the occasion, the atmosphere was certainly right for Robyn's discussion, no less enhanced by the slight hill-walking from the road up to the castle. And thankfully the bus was there to take us home again!
I've also got a couple of links for you - following the Wigtown Women's Walk yesterday I have a shortcut to the podcast related to the event:
For a free, downloadable podcast that takes you on a tour around Wigtown, using commentary, poems, music and stories to celebrate the women of its past and present go to:
http://womenslibrary.org.uk/inspiring-resources/podcasts/
And children's author Shoo Rayner has very nicely posted a new YouTube video all about his visit to Wigtown! Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1NNU8de32E&feature=youtu.be
27 September 2011
Hi loyal readers, it's David again.
Just a quick situation report from blog headquarters after not managing an update yesterday.
Slightly odd day with an interview with Welsh writer Owen Sheers about his book Resistance which is now being turned into a film, as well as a chat about his work on The Passion - a three day production in Port Talbot starring Michael Sheen. I'll be posting a full breakdown of the interview later on.
After that it was more childrens authors; Debi Gliori and Sarah McIntyre. It was certainly a unique experience - Sarah McIntyre is quite a striking person anyway due to her considerable height but she was also dressed in full pirate costume adding a slightly surreal edge to the chat.
Then I went to a meet the author event at the KAOS cafe with writer in residence Robert Twigger telling the kids about his incredible adventures.
He also did his best to put them off their stir-fry with vivid descriptions of some of the more unusual food that he has eaten all over the world.
There should be plenty coming up soon so keep checking back.
Ciao for now.
Robert Twigger with the KAOS cafe users
26 September 2011
Afternoon all - Jennifer here.
Well I had a considerably less active day yesterday than David, preferring to check out the children's marquee and Flo the beltie calf before attending David Mach's discussion of his exhibition Precious Light, which was held at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh. I also dropped by Ian Macpherson's 'everlasting book launch', for a bit of comedic diversion in the McNeillie tent before heading home to start some write-ups. I'll be posting the content of my interview with David Mach once I've worked it up a little, but for now I'll settle for popping up a photo of Flo in her pen!
25 September 2011
Hello again readers!
It's David again and as reported earlier on I've been having quite an active day so far. I did indeed take part in ultra runner Andrew Murray's 5km run this morning and I am pleased to report that I managed to take some pics while jogging around.
Bearing in mind that I was running very, very fast when I took these photos I'm quite proud of them, though I haven't posted the many I took of the road and the sky by mistake.
I even managed to finish in the leading few after forgetting that I was meant to be working and got a bit competitive. I also caught up with Andrew after the run and it seems he was thoroughly enjoyed his time in Wigtown.
He said: "I was really excited to see Wigtown and the surrounding area today. It's beautiful here."
Andrew is of course famous for running much further - he recently ran from John O'Groats to the Sahara desert in 78 days and has competed in, and won, extreme distance races in places like the Himalayas and the Arctic.
He said: "I enjoyed my five km today and it was enough for today.
"There are other days when I prefer to crack on and just see where the road takes me."
His event was supported by ActiveScotland and he is keen to use his achievements to promote a healthy lifestyle in his home country.
"It's really important to get Scotland active," he said.
"Once people are active, they stay active," said Andrew.
"People can run, they can dance, play football, they can cycle.
"In fact even things like gardening and doing vigourous housework can be counted as activity and the more people get, the better," said Andrew.
It certainly seemed that everyone who was taking part in the run were inspired by Murray and your correspondent certainly enjoyed it thoroughly.
Active blogging is definitely the way forward.
25 September 2011
Hello, Jennifer here (at long last).
Well yesterday was a busy day of talks and events for me - I stopped by Martin Bell's discussion of his new book of poetry, getting a sneaky glimpse of those that didn't quite make the final cut. Then it was off to see Robert Irwin's chat about his new memoir, focusing on his university years and his conversion to Islam. After a quick lunch break I went to hear Sadakat Kadri discuss his fascinating new book on the history of Sharia law, before popping along to Toby Young and Tom Hodgkinson discuss the potential future of British school education. I capped that all off by dropping in to see Louise Stern discuss 'Chattering', a new book on language and communication informed by her experiences growing up in a deaf community in California. Finally I dropped by Kim Ayres, Spring Fling Artist-in-Residence at the Hut behind Reading Lasses to see the near-empty studio he plans to fill with your faces! I've not posed yet but fingers crossed I'll get the chance to in the next week.
Didn't see much of David yesterday, being camped out in talks all day, but from what I hear Wigtown's Got (More) Talent went down a storm at the Distillery last night! He's off on the fun run this morning, (and I got a quick shot of them all setting off for you) but I think I'll have a more leisurely day today; meeting David Mach after his chat for a speedy interview before spending the afternoon working on working up my interviews from the last few days.
Speak to you all soon...
Robert Irwin
Sadakat Kadri
Toby Young and Tom Hodgkinson
Louise Stern
Kim Ayres' Studio
The fun-runners before setting off (you can see David there on the left!)
24 September 2011
Hi all, David again, and I’ve got good news – the Wigtown Book Festival is finally, properly underway.
It got off to an explosive start last night, thanks to a spectacular fireworks display, accompanied by the Lochryan pipe band.
Hopefully you will be able to see a video of some of the fireworks display with this post.
I say hopefully because our technology isn’t exactly cooperating with us at the moment but fingers crossed it’ll all be fine soon.
Anyway, loads happening over the weekend and both of us will be looking to bring you as much of it as possible – there’s marathon runners, middle-eastern debates, science shows and much more.
If our equipment keeps on working the way it is, I’ll pop round and re-enact what’s going on for everyone.
Hope to see you about.
Last nights fireworks.
23 September 2011
Hi all, David here.
Just a quick reminder that the unpublished writer's jam takes place in the McNeillie tent at 6pm on Saturday September 26.
Any unpublished writers who want to test out their work should give their name to the festival box office, with names being drawn out of a hat.
If successful you will be given the opportunity to read some of your work in front of a friendly audience and a panel of authros and publishers.
The winner will be chosen by an audience vote so for the chance to get your work in front of some influential people, get your name in for the unpublished writers jam.
Who knows, you could be appearing at the next Wigtown Book Festival!
23 September 2011
Maria Cairnie Shoo Rayner
Hi, it's Jenny and David here - just spent the morning at the Baillie Gifford tent for the first morning of the schools programme. After watching the demonstrations we were lucky enough to get five minutes with both Shoo Rayner and Maria Cairnie.
Shoo is a writer and illustratior, and also has an extensive catalogue of drawing tutorials on youtube, which we highly recommend you all take a look at. He spoke with us about his 'Olympia' books, and gave us some tips on writing and drawing children's books. Maria is a writer and performer, who discussed her most recent series of books and why she thinks it is important to communicate with children.
We'll be posting our interviews soon, but this afternoon we're heading off to Wigtown Primary to get feedback from all the children who participated this morning, before getting ready for the fireworks tonight!
22 September 2011
Welcome to the festival blog! Just checking in to say hello before things kick off tomorrow night.
We arrived yesterday to find the town all but ready for the festival and after a perilous trip up a narrow road to find our holiday home, where the internet is non-existent, we're back in the office preparing for the opening weekend.
In the blog, we'll be bringing you news, photos and more from the most exciting events in Wigtown.
David is going to be taking a look at the opening festivities, including the fireworks display on Friday night. Over the weekend he will be chatting to ultra-runner Andrew Murray, who recently ran from from John O'Groats to the Sahara in just 78 days - the equivalent of 101 consecutive marathons.
Jennifer will be heading off after the fireworks to check out 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' (and trying to keep hold of her head). Then on Saturday and Sunday she'll be stopping by The Hut at Reading Lasses to meet the Spring Fling Artist in Residence, Kim Ayres, and chatting to David Mach about his ambitious Edinburgh exhibition Precious Light.
Check back soon for our first updates...
This project is funded by Creative Scotland, the Scottish Government, the European Community, and Dumfries and Galloway LEADER 2007-2013 programme
Wigtown's 2011 Media Interns
David Kerr is a twenty one year old journalism student from Ayrshire. His journalistic career so far has seen him credited with saving the River Doon, discovering the world of employee wellbeing and learning how to ride a
Clydesdale horse. Away from this, he enjoys most sports, particularly rugby and he captains the Cumnock Rugby team. David can be found on twitter - @davidtkerr
Jennifer Owen is twenty one and studying for a Fine Art degree in Edinburgh. When she is not painting in a draughty studio or peering at medieval manuscripts, she writes art exhibition reviews for local magazines and tries not to be too critical (without much success). In the last six months she has spent an eventful week at the Venice Biennale and an even more eventful month in New York, but when she is not jet-setting likes to stay in playing her guitar.