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‘Books, words, ideas’ Mystery sculptures get the recognition they deserve
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AROUND TOWN Glasgow’s George Square is set for a revamp in preparation for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. City councillors said of the facelift: ‘We deserve to have a square of international significance. The city attracts thousands of tourists and conference delegates every year, who generate millions of pounds for Glasgow’s economy, and we need to invest in our city if we want that to continue.’ The redevelopment work will be carried out in two stages, with the first stage being completed before the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. THEATRE Britain’s oldest literary awards, the James Tait Black Prizes, will now include a new category for drama. The £10,000 award will go to the best original new play written in English, Scots or Gaelic anywhere in the world and will be organised by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland. The first winner of the annual award will be announced in August 2013 and theatre companies and agents are invited to nominate scripts by 28 February 2013. See nationaltheatrescotland.com for more.
MUSIC Happy Particles, Conquering Animal Sound, Aggi Doom and Alasdair Roberts will all perform at this year’s Music Language Festival. The fest, which runs on 1 & 2 Sep, will take place at various venues across Glasgow, including Grand Ole Opry, SWG3, the 78 and more. See musicisthemusiclanguage. tumblr.com/ 9–16 Aug 2012 THE LIST 101
H ere at The List, we adored the anonymous pieces of book art being left at venues around Edinburgh over a nine-month spell last year. Left with the simple message ‘in support of libraries, books, words, ideas,’, the creator remains unknown but the sentiment is pure. Lovely news then, that the mysterious book sculptures will be celebrated as part of a national tour around Scotland. All ten pieces, which were photographed as they were found by photographer Chris Scott, will be displayed together from 17 August in Aberdeen, Dundee, Wigtown, Glasgow and Dunfermline before returning to Edinburgh for Book Week in November.
Scottish Poetry Library Director Robyn Marsack said of the tour: ‘These book sculptures have moved us not only because of their exquisite and intelligent craft, and their tribute to what all of the recipient organisations try to nurture and share, but also because they are the purest of gifts, unrequested and anonymous. They remind us that we are a community that can dream, and nudge the impossible into the actual: a cap of feathers, a glove of bees’ fur.’ The tour will coincide with the publication of a gift
book about sculptures, published by Birlinn.
See scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk for full exhibition and tour details.