30 episodes
2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival Edinburgh International Book Festival
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- Arts
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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Whether it’s exploring the disappearing art of letter writing and the power of the spoken word, or listening to those who hear inner voices or participating in a series of dialogues on the future of Scotland, the Edinburgh International Book Festival examined all aspects of communication in 2014. Under the headline ‘Let’s Talk’ the Book Festival welcomed internationally-renowned writers and thinkers from around the world to its home in Charlotte Square Gardens to discuss such diverse topics as the two world wars, the Commonwealth, Economic Migration, Society, Identity, Culture and the Media. Listen to some of the events here in our series of free podcasts – recorded live at the Book Festival.
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Helen Macdonald (2014 Event)
In her powerful, emotive memoir, H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald recounts her obsessive pursuit to become a falconer. Following the shock of her father’s death and inspired by T H White’s The Goshawk, she embarked on a journey to train her own goshawk and H is for Hawk is a celebratory, elegiac account of her story as well as a beautiful reminder of our deep-rooted connections to the natural world. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Macdonald spoke to Charlotte Higgins from the Guardian about her experience.
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Making Meaning of the Voices (2014 Event)
People with severe mental health issues are often stigmatized by society. From drugs to psychiatry, solutions are complex and expensive. Eleanor Longden, a voice hearer and a qualified psychologist joins James Ley, a playwright who explores his bi-polar disorder in his writing, and Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King's College London, to discuss how hearing voices can be a creative and ingenious psychological survival strategy. Chaired by Dr Angela Woods, a lecturer in Medical Humanities. This event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, was part of the Festival’s Conversations with Ourselves series of events presented in association with the University of Durham and with the support of the Wellcome Trust.
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The Principle of Capitalism (2014 Event)
As part of a series of events examining the key ideas that have shaped the human race, sociologist Saskia Sassen, research director in international economics at Chatham House Paola Subacchi and professor of political economy Robert Skidelsky joined James Anderson, manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, to explore the profound and far-reaching effects of capitalism on humanity. Recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
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Has Psychiatry Silenced God? (2014 Event)
Throughout history, divine intervention has influenced great artists, thinkers and leaders, and the voice of God is a distinct and separate presence in the minds of many people today. Author and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway leads this discussion with writer Sara Maitland and psychiatrist and theologian Chris Cook to explore how religious beliefs and creative inspiration define our consciousness. This event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, was part of the Festival’s Conversations with Ourselves series of events presented in association with the University of Durham and with the support of the Wellcome Trust.
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Billy Collins (2014 Event)
Billy Collins has twice been poet laureate in the US and says he hopes his poems ‘begin in Kansas and end in Oz’. Aimless Love, his first collection of new and selected poems for 12 years, is elegant, poignant and thrillingly accessible. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Collins performs his deeply inspiring poems with great élan.
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Martin Amis (2104 Event)
The last time Martin Amis wrote about the Holocaust was in 1991 in his novel Time’s Arrow. Now he returns to the subject with the much-anticipated The Zone of Interest. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses this acclaimed new work in which he succeeds in finding moments of unexpected comedy as love blossoms in a Nazi concentration camp.