Welcome
The West Port is Edinburgh’s Soho, a heady mix of booze, bosoms, bespoke tailoring and BOOKS. It would almost be churlish not to celebrate this profusion of pages so we run an annual book festival that plays out over a number of wonderful venues, ranging from singular second-hand bookshops to crisp art spaces and whisky-scented pubs.
Award-winning poet J.O. Morgan reads from his book-length narrative poem Natural Mechanical and gives us a remixed “film trailer” version of its follow-up, Long Cuts.
Listen to this year’s winner of the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the wonderful Rachael Boast, as she reads from her collection Sidereal.
Andy Wightman reads from and discusses topics which arise from his excellent book, The Poor Had No Lawyers: Who Owns Scotland (And How They Got It). The event ranges from Donald Trump to Robert the Bruce and includes some excellent questions from the West Port audience.
Luke reads from The Echo Chamber, his first novel, described by Ali Smith as “Original, brilliant, inconceivable.” Who are we to disagree?
One of the most original and striking voices in modern Scottish poetry, listen to the marvellous Billy Letford as he enchants our audience with his memorable and brilliantly performed work.
