PLANET VERSE:
Shetlander Roseanne Watt is one of three Scottish poets taking part in a Cop26 literary event looking at the challenges climate change poses for island communities. Pàdraig MacAoidh and Donald S. Murray, both from Lewis, will also read from their work at Weathering the Storm: Scottish Poets Discuss Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation.
Open to delegates and visitors from around the world, the event is chaired by poet Drew McNaughton – a former events coordinator for the Scottish Poetry Library and committee member of Seachdain na Gàidhlig.
Weathering the Storm is supported by the Gaelic Books Council, Scottish Book Trust and Scottish Poetry Library and takes place in Glasgow on Saturday, November 6. For more information visit https://ukcop26.org/the-conference/green-zone-programme-of-events/ and check November 6 events.
WRITING SOLUTIONS:
Ahead of the summit, the Arkbound Foundation launches a new book, Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change, at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow next Saturday (October 30). With contributions by 16 authors, the book “takes an unflinching look at climate change – drawing upon the latest data to analyse what the next decades hold in store” and showcases “sustainable alternatives to the current socio-economic model of extraction and exploitation of people and the environment in order to provide a constructive and informative vision of a positive future”.
The event features readings from three of the book’s authors – Rupert Read, an environmental philosopher who focuses on Transformative Adaptation; Renuka Thakore, founder of Global Sustainable Futures, who looks at the effects of climate change on oceans; and Global Generation founder Jane Riddiford, who focuses on community gardens in London.
The Arkbound Foundation is a Glasgow and Bristol-based social enterprise that aims to support authors from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds to get their voices heard, especially for writing that covers important social and environmental themes.
The Mitchell Library event takes place on Saturday, October 30 2-4pm. Tickets are free but limited in number so book https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arkbound-foundation-book-launch-mitchell-library-tickets-169662895287
A THRILLING CANVAS:
A fictional Charles Rennie Mackintosh painting is at the heart of a forthcoming literary thriller by Phil Miller. To be published by Polygon next year, The Goldenacre will be the former Herald journalist’s third novel and is described as “an enthralling literary thriller set in the world of fine art” which “plunges the reader into a heady mix of wealth, scandal and murder”.
Set within “an Edinburgh full of shadows and intrigue”, the plot centres around an artistic masterpiece titled The Goldenacre – the last work by painter and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which has been gifted to the people of Scotland. While the art world is enthralled by the painting, an art expert and newspaper reporter attempt to uncover the dark and violent mystery that lies behind it, in the process, becoming “engulfed in the machinations of money, crime and identity in a work that reveals unseen forces at work in modern Scotland”.
Based in Edinburgh, Philip Miller is the author of two previous novels, The Blue Horse and All the Galaxies (Freight), and a published poet. Goldenacre will be published by Polygon in June, 2022.
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