Festival Front
Boethius
To mark the return of the Book Festival’s Imprisoned Writers series, we are proud to publish a poem by EDWIN MORGAN, Glasgow’s poet laureate, specially written for the occasion.
his is the sixth year of the Imprisoned Writers series at
the lidinburgh International Book Festival: free daily
readings supported by Amnesty International. I’Ii.\' and Index that promote freedom of expression for writers worldwide. Iiach eyent features readings from writers who hate been persecuted or imprisoned for the lltHI-VIUICIII expression of their views.
Such readings are important to imprisoned writers because it means their thoughts are being shared with people around the world. that they have not been forgotten and that their words haye not been in yain. 'I'he Imprisoned Writers series has been used as a platfortn for the release of writers including Yehude Simon who was released early from his prison sentence. after the considerable international pressure on the Peruvian goyet'tttttcttl.
This year some of the Book liestiyal‘s leading authors will be showing their solidarity with their international peers. Some of these writers may haye suffered imprisonment themselyes. The great Iigyptian feminist pioneer Nawal el Saadawi was incarcerated by the Sadat regime for expressing liberal yiews while her husband Sherif lletata was in prison for l3 years. They open this year‘s series in a special eyent that includes a reading of [fuel/tins. a specially commissioned poem by Iidwin Morgan. printed exclusiyely below. Atticitts .\Ianlius Severinus Boetliitis was born in or near Rome about 480;“). Very well edttcatcd. he served as magister officiorum to king 'l'heodoric who came to suspect him ofdisloyalty and had him executed in 525. While imprisoned and awaiting trial. Boethius wrote The ('onw/ulinn (if.l’lIi/(M'U/i/It'.
Boethius
‘Even the thrush. garrulous among the trees. Caught and caged. and cosseted to please A room of folk, regaled with frisky seeds. NOI quite amen-
Bells. mirrors. all the honey it needs. They gave him chains. they gave him pain. Twininng fingers. Voices cooing it to sing. But in candled darkness he wrote a bOOk lf once through the windows the winds should to Question fate. to challenge desolation. bring Spiteless. Christless. working through
Take a cell. a shirt. a pen. Amen.
6 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE “
Shifting shadows of leaves. 0 how it rages.
It scatters the well-meant seeds. nothing assuages Its longing for the wild woods and the sky. Nothing can stop its cry.
And yet the kindly jailers wonder why.‘
Silvas du/c/ voce susurrat. So wrote Boethius. caged in Pavia.
how many years. in chains. ex—senator. ex-orator, ex—everything. dignities and dignity swiped off. tears not wiped off.
groaning alone unheard
by Theodoric on his throne.
Grim in iron or gold or in iron and gold Gothic kings will not be told
how to rule Rome. Romans
will not pack senates: Goths will. Boethius. you stub your toe on iron. You have stumbled into displeasure. Fate must fulfil.
to a ‘Yes' at last. in his late late Latin.
it gave a god a labyrinthine chance
to make a case for present suffering. eternal sufferance. We look askance
at its title. The Consolation of Philosophy.
That was a bravado to pique Theodoric. Theodoric the Great was out of patience. Theodoric had not heard of judicial murder but used it well. issued his order
for a little torture. then execution.
There is no such thing as philosophy. There is no such thing as consolation. Tyrants have lapsis-lazuli and porphyry. Prisoners. the iron and gold of indignation. <0 Edwin Morgan 2002
The Imprisoned Writers series runs throughout the Book Festival, 624 5050, 10-26 Aug; Edwin Morgan will appear on 10 Aug, 5.30pm, free.