Home 
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.