Past Poets
Piloted in 2005 as Dead Poets Sessions, these events have proved hugely popular. The Past & Present series generally features two poets (appearing in their own right elsewhere in the festival). Each talks about a nominated poet from the past, touching on their enthusiasm for the work and any personal connections, ending with a short reading. Poets of the past are also present in other ways during the festival: in performances, as the subject of talks, on film and as illustrations in workshops, and on Poetry Walks around St Andrews.
Thu 15 March | 10.00-11.15am | Poetry Walk: Town and Gown
A poetic perambulation through 600 years of St Andrews as a university town
The Byre Theatre, Abbey Street – Theatre Garden
Thu 15 March | 11.30am-12.30pm | Past & Present
Jonathan Falla on Ramón López Velarde, Judith Taylor & A.C. Clarke on Gavin Douglas
The Town Hall, Queens Gardens – Council Chamber
Fri 16 March | 11.30am-12.30pm | Past & Present
Kwame Dawes on Anthony McNeill, Lavinia Greenlaw on Sir Thomas Wyatt
The Town Hall, Queens Gardens – Council Chamber
Fri 16 March | 2.15-3.15pm | My Dante
Enthusiasts introduce their favourite passages from the great mediaeval poet
Parliament Hall, South Street
Sat 17 March | 11.30am-12.30pm | Past & Present
Chase Twichell on Robinson Jeffers, Keston Sutherland on William Wordsworth
The Town Hall, Queens Gardens – Council Chamber
Sat 17 March | 12.00-4.00pm | The Edinburgh Poem
Gael Turnbull’s famed kinetic poetry machine
The Town Hall, Queens Gardens – Supper Room
Sat 17 March | 2.15-3.15pm | Past & Present
Christopher Reid on Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Anna Crowe on R.S. Thomas
The Town Hall, Queens Gardens – Council Chamber
Sat 17 March | 3.30-4.30pm | In Conversation
Matthew Hollis talks to Joyce McMillan about Edward Thomas and Robert Frost
The Byre Theatre, Abbey Street – Auditorium