From Karen Cunningham, Director of Aye Write!
First day over and a fantastic success - I don’t think I have ever seen the Mitchell so busy - it is what a library should be like!
All of yesterday’s events went extremely well including the final of the Scottish Poetry Slam Championship 2008 in association with St Mungo’s Mirrorball. A first in Scotland - it delivered exactly what it said on the tin - edgy, passionate and blue! Audience participation raised the roof of the Main Hall cheering on their favourites. Winners carried off GIANT Aye Write! Bank of Scotland mock cheques and promptly spent them in the local pubs.
The Aye Write! School Poetry Slam took place earlier in the day and it was the first time I have experienced a poetry event where 300 teenagers are stamping their feet, waving banners and chanting for ‘more’. One young person, when asked if they had enjoyed it replied ‘it was cool, cool. I wish we could come here every week’. An elderly gent, who happened to be caught up in the crowds exiting the theatre, having asked what the event was, couldn’t believe that a poetry event could stimulate such excitement in young people. Lourdes Secondary School was the overall winner and jubilantly carried off their trophy.
Johnny Walker was an extremely cool guy, as expected he had the audience eating out of his hand and charmed everyone who met him. He was very impressed with the Mitchell and hadn’t expected such a grand building.
My first event to chair was Liberties, Crime and Punishment with Dame Helena Kennedy, Clive Stafford Smith and A.C. Grayling discussing civil liberties. A really interesting event and I was so proud of the Glasgow audience who asked such searching and well-informed questions. Dinner with the authors later was great fun, everyone on a high feeling we had had a really successful first day; the authors feeling they had had a great reception and all really impressed by the Mitchell and how amazed that we had a public library as fabulous as this.
Helena was joined over dinner by her good friend, Elaine C Smith, so you can imagine how entertaining the “debate” was. We spent a lot of time teaching Clive and Anthony “Glaswegian” phrases and Clive has gone back to America with new respect for Glasgow women now he understands what a “Glasgow kiss” is.
Looking forward particularly to the tribute to Archie Hind tonight and, of course, Louis De Bernieres Band.