Books EVENTS COMIC
INDEPENDENT SCOTTISH COMICS The Scottish comic scene isn’t all about Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Frank Quitely (however much we love their work) as there’s plenty talent on offer from Scotland’s small press. Taking Flight (Laser Age Comics) ●●●●● is a superhero tale from writer Stephen Sutherland, the Glasgow setting giving the action a solid grounding in our world with its story of heroes hiding their powers due to the tabloid press and compensation culture. Garry McLauchlin’s art is also crisp, clean and pleasing on the eye (see stores.ebay.co.uk/ Laser-Age-Comics to pick up a copy).
Now we take a detour into a world marked Iain Laurie’s Mountain of Horror (Graphic Eye) ●●●●● which easily lives up to its title. Writer/ illustrator Laurie’s work is your nightmares vomited onto the page in a jagged art style akin to the great Kevin O’Neill. You might crave a bit more structure but the unsettling nature is palpable (available from graphiceye.bigcartel.com)
Haunted Bowels ●●●●● is another anthology of oddness, from writer Craig Collins and a selection of artists (including the aforementioned Laurie, Dave Alexander and Curt Sibling). Not every gag works but the ones that do are satisfyingly weird as long as you like pitch-black sci-fi/fantasy-themed humour (craigcollinscomics.bigcartel.com).
Finally AJ Smith gives new meaning to the phrase ‘fashion victim’ while Gill Hatcher presents a sort of ghost story set in the Kelvingrove Museum in Taxidermy Tales ●●●●● a lovingly shambolic horror double bill, like a kooky indie take on Tales of the Unexpected (adamandgill.bigcartel.com). (Henry Northmore)
ALSO PUBLISHED PAPERBACKS
It’s almost ‘summer’ and the last thing you’ll want to lug onto the beach is a sackful of weighty hardcovers. Luckily, this is the busy season for paperbacks and the latest lot should keep your mind ticking over while avoiding chronic back spasms. That said, Stephen King’s 11.22.63 (Hodder) does clock in at a mighty 752 pages as he ponders how history might have altered had a time-traveller zipped back to stop JFK’s assassination. King is probably one of the few writers on the planet who could pull off such a set-up.
We gave acres of coverage last year to Ali Smith’s excellent There but for the (Penguin) so we’re not going to let one last chance slip away. Her fi fth novel is a complex and addictive tale of various people and stories all connected to one man who locks himself in a spare room during an awful dinner party. His continued refusal to come out sparks a media storm. On the non-fi ction front, Grant Morrison’s Supergods (Vintage) is
the history of comic superheroes from a man who knows a thing or two about their creation and reinvention, while Michael Johnson’s Gold Rush (HarperSport) will either put you right off or get you totally in the mood for the Olympics. Sprinter Johnson picked up four golds at the Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney Games; he writes here of his own experiences and chats to other winners such as Usain Bolt, Daley Thompson, Rebecca Adlington and Chris Hoy.
James Corden may have redeemed himself with the acclaimed One Man, Two Guvnors, so perhaps it might be worth stopping your sneering for a second and nab a copy of May I Have Your Attention, Please? (Arrow). Though that title is still pretty annoying. (Brian Donaldson)
54 THE LIST 21 Jun–19 Jul 2012
EVENTS Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 16 days before publication to books@ list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Laura Ennor. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 21 Glasgow FREE Unwind with a Book Glasgow Women’s Library, Mitchell Library, 15 Berkeley Street, 248 9969. Noon. A women-only reading group. FREE Mother Courage: Stories of Women and War Glasgow Women’s Library, Mitchell Library, 15 Berkeley Street, 248 9969. 5.30pm. Writers Zoe Lambert and Michelle Green discuss the impact of war in relation to their short story collections, The War Tour and Jebel Marra. Booking essential. FREE Scottish Writers’ Centre Debate: Wild Writing Scottish Writers’ Centre, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. Share literary ideas taken from the Scottish landscape and discuss expressions of wildness in writing. Taigh Ceilidh Ghlaschu Argyll Hotel, 973 Sauchiehall Street, 337 3313. 7.30pm. £2 (£1). An informal Gaelic night of songs, stories, music, comedy, poetry and craic, with Scottish Gaelic as the language used throughout.
Edinburgh ✽ FREE Scottish Refugee Week: Jonathan Falla and Leila
Aboulela Central Library, 7–9 George IV Bridge, 242 8100. 6.30pm. The two writers speak to BBC presenter Serena Field about their journeys and their understanding of different cultures. Booking essential. Part of Refugee Week. FREE Chris Beckett & Southern Tenant Folk Union Pulp Fiction, 43 Bread Street, 229 4444. 7pm. Award- winning sci-fi author Chris Beckett celebrates the recent release of his novel Dark Eden with a reading, Q&A session and live music.
Lochgelly ✽ Iain Banks: Stonemouth Lochgelly Centre, Bank Street, 01592 418141. 7pm. £4.50. Iain Banks discusses his new novel Stonemouth, a homecoming tale set in a small estuary town north of Aberdeen.
Friday 22
Clydebank FREE A Story to Tell Centre 81, 2–16 Braes Avenue, 07824 70785. 4pm. Join Tawona Sithole and the Isaro Social Integration Network for urban poetry, music and storytelling drawing on experiences of refugees settling in Scotland. Part of Refugee Week. Saturday 23
Edinburgh Canongate Talk: Is Our Pursuit of Happiness Making Us Miserable? Samye Dzong Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre, 4 Walker Street, 225 8359. 2pm. £4. Repeated at the Centre, Gladstone Court, 179 Canongate, at 7pm. £4. Apparently, true happiness involves embracing uncertainty, insecurity and failure. Sounds easy. Guardian columnist Oliver Burkeman talks to Alan Spence about his new book, The Antidote, and how the quest for happiness is the very thing making us miserable.
✽ FREE Simon Jackson/Torpedo Buoy, Poetry Book and Album
Launch Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 2pm. Multi-talented Simon Jackson, aka Torpedo Buoy, launches his poetry book Fragile Cargo and his new album Tomorrow When I Awake as God. Live music, poetry, drink and biscuits all round.
Spoken Erotica Whitespace, 11 Gayfield Square, 0800 411 8881. 3pm. £2. Live exhibition of literary erotica, with poetry and spoken word. Part of Festival of the Erotic Arts.
✽ Zoe Margolis: Modern Erotica – The Art of Sex Blogging
Whitespace, 11 Gayfield Square, 0800 411 8881. 4pm. £7 (£6) plus booking fee. Talk from the journalist and blogger behind Girl with a One Track Mind. Part of Festival of the Erotic Arts.
Sunday 24
Edinburgh Shore Poets Henderson’s @ St John’s, St John’s Terrace, 3 Lothian Road, 229 0212. 7.45pm. £4 (£3). Regular local poetry meet. This time, George Gunn reads with Christine De Luca and William Donald Stewart. With music from Just Voices. FREE Pressure Valve The Pear Tree House, 34 West Nicolson Street, 667 7533. 8pm. Weekly open mic session for poetry, music and spoken word.
Monday 25 Edinburgh FREE Edinburgh Creative Writers Pulp Fiction, 43 Bread Street, 229 4444. 7pm. Social meet-up for creative writers.
Tuesday 26
Glasgow FREE Reading the Leaves Tchai- Ovna House of Tea, 42 Otago Lane, 357 4524. 8pm. Join guest writers for an evening of poetry and creative writing. Edinburgh FREE Inky Fingers Open Mic The Third Door, 45–47 Lothian Street, 225 6313. 8pm. A fresh platform for poetic expression. Email ahead (inkyfingersedinburgh@gmail.com) for a chance to perform, or just watch and admire. Featuring the poetry of Anita Govan and Mark Mace Smith.
Thursday 28
Glasgow FREE Unwind with a Book Glasgow Women’s Library, Mitchell Library, 15 Berkeley Street, 248 9969. Noon. See Thu 21. FREE SWC Writers’ Hub Scottish Writers’ Centre, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 2pm. An afternoon of writerly chat, coffee, screenings of TED talks and a chance for all writers to use the desk workspace and browse the library. Taigh Ceilidh Ghlaschu Argyll Hotel, 973 Sauchiehall Street, 337 3313. 7.30pm. £2 (£1). See Thu 21. Edinburgh FREE The Warrior Poets: A Multinational Perspective on World War Two Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 6pm. An event exploring the poetry of World War II, with particular focus on ideas about national identity and Britishness.
Anstruther ✽Kathleen Jamie & Sara Maitland: Nature Around Us Kilrenny Church, Kilrenny, 0131 473 2000, eastneukfestival.com. 2.30pm. £10. Award-winning poet and nature writer Kathleen Jamie talks to Sara Maitland about the natural environment. See panel, page 55. Part of East Neuk Festival.
✽Andrew Greig & Tom Pow: The Coast and the Villages
Smugglers Inn Hotel, High Street East, 0131 473 2000, eastneukfestival.com. 5.30pm. £10. Novelist and poet Andrew Greig in conversation with author Tom Pow. See panel, page 55. Part of East Neuk Festival.
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