There’s an unexplained comfort in reading Luck is the Hook despite many of the poems dealing with pain and, often, discomfort. Each one contains a space devoid of explanation, a sacred place of intimacy for both the poet and the reader. Awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2014, Luck is the Hook is Read More
The new installation of Laurence Weiner at The McManus marks the first time that the ARTIST ROOMS modern and contemporary art collection have displayed in Dundee. This touring programme is delivered by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, although Weiner and his office were directly involved in the planning of this exhibition. Certainly, the Read More
No voices just a roar and the birdsong of gunfire in winter sunlight slouched down the well of leather seats yielding diminishing her height a dead giveaway: this the mother of all riots speak only Farsi There are autobiographical narratives, then there are those grounded in exceptional circumstances and Read More
The poet Jim Stewart (1952-2016) earned that rarest of writer’s accolades: of being well-loved by those who not only knew his work but knew him. He had a well-deserved reputation as a gifted and inspiring teacher who, in typical Dundonian fashion, seemed to hide his calling under a genuine sense of duty, so that his Read More
For long after dark and before first light a clamorous pair of oystercatchers courts in an echoing circumference of air and sky. Anxiously they whoop and wheel by day, by night. The repetitions mean that she’s in season and will concede his ancient cry that seed should not be lost. Makeshift, a nest will be Read More
When Clare Best was asked by her dying father to help him write his memoir, she took the brave decision of using that process to examine her own, deeply painful past. By interweaving transcripts of interviews with her father, descriptions of cine films made by him and her own memories of events, The Missing List Read More
What drew you to Gagarin Way? Well, Andrew [Andrew Panton, the artistic director at the Rep] approached me with the play and asked if I wanted to direct, which is unusual for me – I usually come up with and direct my own ideas for plays. But I was drawn to Gagarin Way in part because Read More
Dundee Rep Theatre’s latest production is Gagarin Way (2001), Gregory Burke’s debut play. Set in Fife and telling the story of two downtrodden factory workers who kidnap a member of senior management as a form of protest, and the security guard who becomes entangled in their scheme, the play expertly walks the knife’s edge between Read More
Simple stories are sometimes the most appealing ones. Love, trying to fit in or to find oneself are examples of themes present not only in Akhil Sharma’s short story collection, but also in the everyday lives of most people. However, these topics are also painfully commonplace in art and culture, and thus often feel cliched Read More
The suburbs of an unknown town seem to be as ordinary as it gets. The only thing making these places unique is that in every house there is a room reserved for the president. Nobody can use it and it has to be maintained to the highest standard at all times, for the visits are Read More