Laurna Robertson’s fourth publication, Praise Song, celebrates Shetland, the place of her birth and childhood, and reflects aspects of her early years there in poetic memoir. The pamphlet opens with “North”, in which Robertson sets out the experience of leaving home and family to live in unfamiliar and unsettling surroundings, only to return: your place Read More
A new and powerfully intriguing novel has just hit the literary market in the publication of the Nigerian novel, Taduno’s Song. “A novel about love,” it says on the back cover, “about sacrifice, about courage.” I was lucky to get a hold of it before its publication date and it certainly does have quite a lot to Read More
Under the Rose is a new collection of old short stories by Julia O’Faolain; the original publication dates range from her earliest collection in 1968 to a relatively recent collection in 2006. Plots, themes and structures vary greatly; some stories are taken from her childhood experiences, some from her adult relationships and some are entirely Read More
“Ergo bibamus, my prince, we stole an entire country like one empty heart.” Latvian poet, Kārlis Vērdiņš (born in 1979) has already been anthologised in Arc’s Six Latvian Poets (2011, also translated by Ieva Lešinska) but with four full poetry collections, a career encompassing criticism, translation, song lyrics, libretti and more, he is both versatile Read More
Divided between DCA’s two gallery spaces, CD-ROMS and Small Wars offer two distinctly different yet complementary viewpoints on the role of video games in contemporary culture. Co-curated with Dr. William Huber of Abertay University’s Centre for Excellence in Game Education, the exhibition participates in the championing of games not just as artefacts of popular culture, Read More
Moira Forsyth’s The Treacle Well is a novel which encapsulates the very essence of human nature when tragedy befalls. Penned with a remarkable understanding of emotion, this non-linear piece of prose mixes together the ingredients of realism and pathos to drive forward a fascinating and compelling plot. Through a series of lapses in time, the Read More
During her time as a student of Fine Art Printmaking at the Royal College of Art in London (graduating in 2007), Gemma Anderson developed a unique and intimate working relationship with the curators of scientific collections at the Natural History Museum, University College London and Kew Gardens. The extensive access she was granted to a Read More
Though not set out chronologically, some works hung on the wall and some lying in glass cabinets, this exhibition takes us on a gently meandering journey through Dundee University’s archives, showing us how the approach to landscape painting has changed over 200 years. The earliest work on show, William Sawrey Gilpin’s The Quay at Ipswich Read More
I have often asked myself and never found an answer Whence kindness and gentleness come, I don’t know it to this day, and now must go myself. (“People Met”) Before the carnage of Benn’s early poetry, Michael Hofmann offers an insightful, engaging, funny and enjoyable introduction into Gottfried Benn’s life and extraordinary career. He describes Read More
The son of a butcher and a jute weaver, John Duncan is one of Dundee’s most internationally renowned artists. He was born in the Hilltown area of Dundee in 1866 and this exhibition marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. A meeting with Patrick Geddes, Professor in botany at Dundee University College (1889-1891), became the Read More