Podcasts

Louise Peterkin

Louise Peterkin discusses how her love of classic horror films inspired poems, and her recurring character, a nun called Sister Agnieszka.

Adam O. Davis

Adam O. Davis discusses how we've come to use the language of the uncanny to describe the world we live in today.

Beverley Bie Brahic

Beverley Bie Brahic on how translating poetry inspires her own work, owning a secret shelf of erotic literature, and being a 'selfish translator'.

John Burnside on W.S. Graham

From a talk on W.S. Graham recorded in 2008, John Burnside discusses poetry and visual art, the poet as nomad and 'feeding the dead'.

Volha Hapeyeva and Annie Rutherford

Volha Hapeyeva and Annie Rutherford discuss the joys of translation, Britain's lamentable record on learning foreign languages, and whether now is the right time to be writing poems about the pandemic.

Nancy Campbell

Nancy Campbell is a writer of poetry, essays and non-fiction. She talks to Suzannah V. Evans at StAnza, Scotland's poetry festival.

Christopher Whyte

Christopher Whyte discusses how he came to learn Gaelic, why it is a language of resistance, and his relationships with several Scottish poetry greats.

Ella Frears

Ella Frears discusses sand, vintage erotica, and the interplay between her roles as a writer and visual artist.

Juana Adcock and Tessa Berring

The poets discuss violence against women in Mexico, writing long poems, and why language is like froth.

Aileen Ballantyne

Aileen Ballantyne on childhood plane journeys to America, the 1969 moon landings, and the Lockerbie bombing.

Alan Spence: Edinburgh Makar

In June 2019, poet, playwright and novelist Alan Spence performed at the Library to mark his first year as the Makar or Poet Laureate of Edinburgh. We recorded the event and present it to you now.

Stewart Conn

Stewart Conn discusses how Edinburgh inspired his latest collection and his collaboration with illustrator John Knight.