list.co.uk/books
COMIC ILLUSTRATED NOVEL BLACK FRANCIS, JOSH FRANK & STEPHEN APPLEBY The Good Inn (Self-Made Hero) ●●●●●
The debut work of fiction by Pixies frontman Black Francis is an illustrated novel based on an unfinished soundtrack to an unmade film about the first ever pornographic movie to feature a narrative. Co-written with Pixies biographer Josh Frank, The Good Inn is based on an idea Francis had for a film (part of the score for which he pre-emptively recorded with his fellow Pixies Joey Santiago and David Lovering) set in turn-of- the-last-century France about a shipwrecked soldier who has lots of sex with a farmer’s daughter. The illustrations, by Steven
Appleby (who also illustrated the Pixies’ last studio album, Trompe Le Monde), were originally commissioned as a way of creating a storyboard for the as-yet-unmade film. So far, so fascinating. But is The Good Inn any good? Well, yes and no. It’s packed with plenty of outré ideas that interweave lost history with an alternative universe, and one can discern some of the Pixies’ songwriter’s recurring motifs of eroticism and old Europe. However, the novel is written in screenplay format and as a result it feels thin and unfinished. But then again, perhaps it’s meant to. (Miles Fielder)
FLASH FICTION
THE EEJIT PIT by Jenny Lindsay
Jaggy, numpty mooth – Wheesht wi yer chitter!
The nicht wiz sair an’ jiggered;
Noo, a thrang ae claes Drapt oan the eejit pit . . .
Oor fear kist awa’
Wi carry-oot, (Braw shoogle?)
Maun noo, Bidie-in,
Fair morn isnae close.
■ Jenny Lindsay is the featured poet at Inky Fingers, The Forest Café, Edinburgh, Tue 17 Jun.
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication by using our ‘Add an Event’ service at list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Jaclyn Arndt. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 12
Glasgow FREE Welcome & Culture Sharing: International Women’s Group Street Level Photoworks, Trongate 103, 552 2151. 11am–4pm. The launch of International Haggis Journey, with ten haggis recipes from around the world. Part of Refugee Week Scotland. Michael Tierney: The First Game with My Father Waterstones, 153–157 Sauchiehall Street, 332 9105. 6.30pm. Free but ticketed. Tierney shares his intimate family memoir. Poetry in the Park Kelvingrove Park, Otago Street, 248 9969. 7–8.30pm. £2 (free). A selection of lovely writers read you their lovely poetry. Meet near An Clachan Cafe. Part of West End Festival. Edinburgh Hazel McHaffie: Over My Dead Body Central Library, 7–9 George IV Bridge, 242 8100. 2.30–3.30pm. Free but ticketed. McHaffie introduces her new book, about a mother who faces the decision of whether or not to donate her deceased daughter’s organs. FREE Eileen M Taylor: Footprints on the Moon Word Power Bookshop, 43 West Nicolson Street, 662 9112. 6.30pm. Edinburgh writer Taylor launches her debut novel. FREE Pass on a Poem Golden Hare, 102 West Bow, 629 1396. 6.30pm. Submit a poem to read aloud, or just sit back and listen to an earful of verse. Café Voices Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7–9pm. £5. Storytelling, poetry and song. Tonight, Calum Lykan launches An Audience with Bannockburn.
Melrose Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival Harmony Garden, St Mary’s Road, 0844 357 1060. Times vary. Prices vary. Until Sun 15 Jun. The festival attracts world-class writers and also hosts the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown talk about Scottishness and Britishness, while Allan Little and Katie Adie commemorate WWI. Plus talks from Paddy Ashdown, Steve Backshall, Jennifer Saunders, Chris Brookmyre, Kirsty Wark and more.
Friday 13
Edinburgh FREE Literature Tour – Language and the Land The Scottish Parliament, Horse Wynd, sp.bookings@ scottish.parliament.uk 2.30pm. A literary tour of the Parliament building, including links with Rankin and Burns. Email to book. Caesura Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, 07719 481092. 7pm. £3. Night of poetry, performance and spoken word, with Alan Halsey, Geraldine Monk, Jow Lindsay and Lila Matsumoto. Neu! Reekie! Does Titian Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. 7.30–10.30pm. £10. See Around Town listings.
Saturday 14 Glasgow FREE Welcome to Your Home – Uniting Nations in Scotland Trongate 103, Trongate 103, 276 8380. 1.30–4.30pm. The launch of a new book of stories from refugees in Scotland today, in particular those who have fled Syria. Refugee Week Scotland.
Events | BOOKS
Edinburgh ✽ Exploration of Dangerous Ideas Summerhall, 1 Summerhall,
0845 874 3001. 7–8pm. Free but ticketed. Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death) and Ken MacLeod (Descent) discuss their favourite science fiction from their own works, plus Q&A. Stuart Kelly chairs and Scottish PEN presents.
Sunday 15
Edinburgh Appletree Writing Courses The Whole Works, Jackson Close, 209 Royal Mile, appletreewriters.co.uk 10.30am– 4.30pm. £40. Today’s workshop is ‘Rough Greeting’ by Alice Mitchell, about finding your way to stories (and poems) and exploring ways to tell them.
Monday 16
Glasgow FREE Alan Veale: The Murder Tree Mitchell Library, North Street, 287 2999. 6pm. Manchester author introduces his latest, based on true story of Glasgwegian murderer Jessie McLachlan. Edinburgh Peter James: Want You Dead Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street, 226 2666. 6.30pm. £3 (£2). The crime writer talks about his tenth book featuring Brighton detective Roy Grace.
Tuesday 17
Edinburgh FREE Emporium of Dangerous Ideas: Can Libraries Survive Online Technology? National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, 623 3734. 6pm. A panel debate on the future of libraries, hosted by Lesley Riddoch. Booking essential. Nothing but the Poem The Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close, 22 High Street, 557 2876. 6–7.30pm. £5 (£4). Poetry discussion. This month, explore poems by Douglas Dunn. Poetry Launch with Mariscat Press Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8218. 6.30pm. Free but ticketed. Christine De Luca and Hugh McMillan each launch a poetry collection: Dat Trickster Sun and The Other Creatures in the Wood, respectively.
Wednesday 18
Glasgow FREE Weegie Wednesdays CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7.30pm. Forum offering anyone with a literary interest the chance to get together and go book crazy. With guest speaker Alan Grant (probably the famous comic book writer, not the fictional Jurassic Park character). Edinburgh FREE Chris Bambery: A People’s History of Scotland Word Power Bookshop, 43 West Nicolson Street, 662 9112. 6.30pm. Writer and broadcaster Bambery delves into Scottish history.
Thursday 19
Glasgow FREE Poetry Café | Seeds of Thought Stereo, 20-28 Renfield Lane, 222 2254. 1–2.30pm. Also Fri 20. Pick a poem from a menu and have it delivered to your table, by the poet who wrote it. FREE Sue Reid Sexton: Rue End Street Waterstones, 174 Argyle Street, 248 4814. 7–8.30pm. Sexton launches the sequel to her Mavis’s Shoe, about the bombing of Clydebank in March 1941. Edinburgh Lesley Riddoch: Blossom – What Scotland Needs to Flourish Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street, 226 2666. 6pm. Free but ticketed. The journalist and commentator discusses the impending referendum.
12 Jun–10 Jul 2014 THE LIST 45