What might it be like to encounter a radically different culture and country entirely through its literature? To relinquish all preconceived notions held about it, and instead allow its words to tell you of the meaning of its existence and how it came into being, to make those words a talisman against the simulacrum of perceptions that flood your faculties, especially at a time of war. Brian Turner's Here, Bullet strives to do exactly that and his poetry manages magnificently to bridge that gap between reality and simulacrum with a profound humanity. Here are some of his words, and he is also featured on Radio 4's Midweek this week.

And oddly, in the way the world conspires to present such things together, I learnt the other day that Siegfried Sassoon persuaded Wilfred Owen to start writing poetry at the Craiglockhart Hospitalwhich is now part of the campus of the university at which I teach.

I have decided that my life philosophy is going to be along the lines of those aeroplane safety instructions--"Please put on your mask before you help others on with their masks." To wit--one needs to get one's house in order before one can start helping other people. So I'm going to stop feeling guilty about not saving the world, yet.

I love how this poem interlocks with the previous, another favorite poet: "You know that cool sly verb write".

but its beauty merits repetition.

One Art
Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.


--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

I'm planning to go to this in case any one would like to join me:

The future of the book

Panel event and discussion. Are you in favour of print books or e-books? Do you enjoy being a reader or do you prefer the interactive exchange of ideas? Join the debate and start thinking about your role in the future development of books. Enjoy the informal atmosphere. Light refreshments available.

Sponsored by the Online Computer Library Centre. Organised by Edinburgh Libraries and Information Services Agency (ELISA).

Friday 14 November
Scottish Book Trust, Sandeman House, Trunk's Close, 55 High Street, Edinburgh.
19:00


Booking details and further information

To book your free place(s), get further information, or join the events mailing list, please phone 0131 623 4675 or email: events@nls.uk.

Postal address:
National Library of Scotland
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh
EH1 1EW

On occasion of National Poetry Day belatedly, have this: Katheryn Simmonds reads her poem "The Woman Who Worried Herself To Death." So much happening, so little time to chronicle it in. Maybe later.

I used to act quite a bit when I was in university and have missed being on stage, so I somewhat rashly and ill- advisedly spontaneously auditioned for a Fringe play this year. It was a spur of the moment decision, and I'm not entirely sure I don't regret it, but here we are, two weeks from the actual performance, and it is only right that I pimp my show with all the gusto a Fringe play demands! So, without further ado:

Come see me play a terribly unconvincing boy and one third of a demon in:

Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters
Dates: Monday 11th - Saturday 16th August at 8:30 pm
At Venue 110, Mayfield Salisbury Church
Tickets 10.00, Conc 8.00

Saturday and Friday are very nearly sold out though, so if you would like to come please try and come during the week--the best way to get tickets would be to leave a comment here, and I'll have some set aside for you. Would love to see you there!
*****
On a related note,0olong, celiaka and I were lucky enough to score the last three free tickets to the preview of the wondrous Footsbarn Theatre's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was enchanting, and magical--do try and catch these rude mechanicals while you can!

Haiku2 for diotina
interests but one that fairly defines it and whooped for joy such
@ aboutmylife.netadvogato.orgblogger.comblogs.gnome.orgblogspot.comdeadjournal.comgreatestjournal.cominsanejournal.comlivejournal.commyspace.comspaces.msn.com
Created by Grahame

Quite appropriate, since I finally graduated! More, quite a bit more, possibly, later.

The Power of Procrastination: Surviving Graduate School and Deciding What's Next
by Jorge Cham

5pm on Wednesday, 14 May 2008, Lecture Theatre 1, Appleton Tower


Abstract:
A recent survey by U.C. Berkeley found that 95% of all graduate students feel overwhelmed, and over 67% have felt seriously depressed at some point in their careers. In this talk, Jorge Cham recounts his experiences bringing humour into the lives of stressed out academics, examines the source of their anxieties and explores the guilt, the myth, and the power of procrastination.

Jorge Cham is the author of the "Piled Higher and Deeper" (PHD) comics which appear regularly in several university and college newspapers around the world. Often called the Dilbert of academia, PHD has appeared in the Stanford, MIT, Caltech and Carnegie Mellon newspapers among others, and it is published online where it receives over 7 million page views a month from over 1000 universities and colleges worldwide. More ...

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception and book signing, to be held on Appleton Tower concourse. A small number of PHD books will be available for sale on the night for £10 each. To reserve your book, please mail diana.sisu@ed.ac.uk with your name and the title of the book.