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International poetry projections in Edinburgh!

City of Literature lights up Leith with 11 days of international poetry projections

City of Literature Poetry Projections, an 11-day series of international poetry projections by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, launches tonight on Constitution St in Leith on Thursday 3 March, World Book Day. On March 13th, Krakow’s poet Marek Porąbka will be spotlighted with his poem, which you can learn more about here.

11 poems from the first 11 UNESCO Cities of Literature will be projected onto the Royal Bank of Scotland building on Constitution Street from 3-14 March, one poem each evening. The light projections are part of the Words on the Street (#wordsonthestreet) campaign being run by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, bringing literature to the streets of Edinburgh and celebrating international poetry. The campaign is the next stage in a series of projects that started with the successful Great Scott! project in Waverley railway station and the recent illuminated quotation revealed by Terry Gilliam on Jeffrey Street.

The poems to be projected in Leith are from each of the following cities: Edinburgh-Scotland, Iowa City-USA, Reykjavík-Iceland, Krakow-Poland, Dunedin-New Zealand, Heidelberg-Germany, Granada-Spain, Prague-Czech Republic, Dublin-Ireland, Norwich-England andMelbourne- Australia.

Ali Bowden, Director, Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust said: “It has been great towork with the other Cities of Literature to bring poetry to the streets of Leith. Today, World Book Day, is the ideal time to launch a project showcasing international work, when books are being celebrated across the country and around the world.”

Lord Provost Edinburgh commented: “Edinburgh is proud to be the founding UNESCO Cityof Literature, and to be able to welcome poetry from 10 Cities of Literature to Leith. This is a real opportunity to celebrate the ongoing work of the designation and bringing 11 of the Cities together to share in this ongoing and vibrant network of literary celebration.” Edinburgh Makar, Christine De Luca is the Edinburgh poet featured in the City of Literature Poetry Projections. The first stanza of her poem Through the Traffic of Tongues will be projected on Thursday 3 March. The poem was written to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Edinburgh’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature.

City of Literature Poetry Projections is delivered in partnership with Krakow, City of Literature. Designated a City of Literature in October 2013, Krakow was the first UNESCO City of Literature to create an international collaborative poetry projection campaign called Multipoetry. Running for three years, Krakow’s Main Square has hosted poetry projections showcasing poetry from across the UNESCO Cities of Literature, including the work of many Edinburgh poets such as Robert Burns, Christine De Luca, Stewart Conn, Rachel McCrum and Michael Pederson.

Justyna Jochym, Head of Development and International Cooperation, Krakow City of Literature said: “Having worked with Edinburgh City of Literature Trust since 2014, it is lovelyto see a project that started in Krakow coming to the streets of Edinburgh. We have enjoyed sharing international, national and local poetry with the residents of Krakow and have no doubt that Edinburgh will enjoy this glimpse into cultures and thinking around the world as much as we have.

Marek Porąbka’s poem will be featured on Sunday, March 13th. Read more about Marek and Krakow’s contribution to the project here.

The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2016, awarded jointly with the UK Publishers Association (PA), are granted in 14 different categories and are designed to identify the best international initiatives and events related to the book industry. They are also rewarded to international academic publishers as well as those specializing in children’s literature and translated works and initiatives connected to digital innovation in the field of literature. A group of experts in each respective field is elected to judge the applicants. The Conrad Festival has been nominated for the Best International Literary Festival and it will compete with the South African festival “Open Book” and the Brazilian “Flupp” and “FLIP”. The winners will be announced during a gala event on April 12, 2016 – the first day of the London Book Fair.

LONDON BOOK FAIR

The London Book Fair is a place where the publishing world comes to negotiate, buy and sell copyrights to the content distributed through print, audio, TV, film and digital channels. The Fair, held each spring in one of the world’s most renowned capitals of the publishing industry and culture, represents a unique opportunity to explore and use innovations shaping the future of the world of publishing. The London Book Fair provides direct access to readers, content and emerging markets. The 45th edition of the fair will be held between 12 and 14 April 2016 at London Olympia. For more information visit: www.londonbookfair.co.uk.

CONRAD FESTIVAL

Conrad Festival, organized since 2009 by the City of Krakow, Krakow Festival Office and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation, quickly gained a reputation as the biggest literary festival in Central Europe and one of the most significant in the world. During the previous editions of the Festival, it hosted Nobel Prize winners Orhan Pamuk, Herta Müller and Svetlana Aleksijevič, as well as Etgar Keret, Marjane Satrapi, Jaume Cabré, Paul Auster, Boris Akunin, Jeanette Winterson, Jonathan Franzen, Amos Oz, Robert Coover, and hundreds of Polish writers and journalists, including Wiesław Myśliwski, Hanna Krall, Olga Tokarczuk, Marek Bieńczyk and Mariusz Szczygieł.

For more information, go to: www.conradfestival.pl

In March, literature fans will have an opportunity to swap books on the occasion of the Francophone Month at the French Institute at ul. Stolarska 15. It will be a huge free book swap based on the same rules as previously. Everyone can bring minimum one and maximum ten books. Publications released before 1995 can be exchanged only for books published up to 1995. People who bring new books (published after 1995) are allowed to select from all books, both new and old ones. ATTENTION: only books in French can be exchanged. 19th March, 12.00 a.m.

  • Lokator

The bookshop invites you to attend a meeting with Piotr Paziński devoted to his book Rzeczywistość Poprzecierana [Reality Wiped Here And There]. The meeting will be an ideal pretext to meet the author, ask him the questions that bother you in particular and join the conversation hosted by Tomasz Fiałkowski from the Tygodnik Powszechny weekly. 9th March, 7.00 p.m.

  • Barakah Theatre and ArtCafe Barakah

You are invited to participate in the detective Dramatorium event, during which we will trace, scent and look for crime perpetrators together with detectives and inspectors. The latest portion of the inspector’s adventures comes from Morte in mare aperto [Death in the Open Sea) – a book by Andrea Camilleri. 10th March, 8.00 p.m.

  • Pod Globusem Bookshop

The bookshop invites you to attend an exceptional author’s meeting with Zośka Papużanka – the author of the widely acclaimed debut book Szopka [Farce], which was nominated for the Nike and Polityka Passport Awards. The protagonist of this book is an unexceptional character. He does poorly at school, bites his nails, does not fulfil any ambitions and generally is not good enough to be the protagonist of a novel. During the meeting hosted by Magdalena Miśka-Jackowska, the author will try to explain how to love someone of whom it is easier to be ashamed. 10th March, 6.00 p.m.

  • Manor House in Biały Prądnik

The Artistic Salon will organise the promotion of Alicja Zemanek’s poetry book Nikt nie zbiera rajskich jabłuszek [Nobody Collects Crab Apples]. The Salon has been run by Beata Anna Symołon since the very beginning, and its stage has already been occupied by dozens of poets, writers and critics. It was established as a result of the interference of poets’ and artists’ circles in 2010. 14th March, 6.00 p.m.

  • Nowa Huta Public Library in Krakow

The Branch no. 9 invites you to a virtual walk entitled‘Londyn pod ręką’ [London Close At Hand].During the meeting, the history of the capital of England, the most important architecture gems and tourist attractions will be presented.The speech will be enriched with a virtual presentation of London, during which we will see the characteristic spots of London.16th March,4.00 p.m.

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