Moving Conversations - Poetry in Motion

Lively panel discussion about poetry with some of Scotland’s leading arts and cultural figures, followed by cult 1995 film Il Postino

Venue: The Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh
Date: Friday 12 December, 2003
Time: 8pm

Tickets: £6.50 per ticket (£5.50 Concessions) call 0131 228 2688 to book.

Edinburgh based Futurist Cinema Company is running another of its popular Moving Conversations on 12 December. This time the venue is Edinburgh’s Filmhouse and the subject for a lively panel discussion is poetry, arranged in conjunction with The Scottish Poetry Library. The panellists, who will each identify their essential poetic movie will be acclaimed Scottish poet,
Donny O’Rourke; former SNP culture spokesman, Mike Russell; journalist and cultural commentator, Brian Morton and director of The Scottish Poetry Library, Robyn Marsack. The discussion will be followed by a showing of the art-house hit Il Postino.

The event fits well with the Scottish Poetry Library’s continued mission to take poetry out into the wider Scottish community. Il Postino, which was a hit film in 1995 celebrates the life of exiled Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda. It is fitting therefore that the event takes place on the cusp of Neruda’s centenary celebrations in 2004.

Robyn Marsack, Director of the Poetry Library is excited by the prospect of Moving Conversations: “When Mike brought the idea to us, we jumped at the chance to reach a wide and different audience for poets and poetry. I am very pleased to be amongst such distinguished company on the panel and look forward to hearing about their choices of film.”

To widen awareness about the work of the Scottish Poetry Library and Moving Conversations, the multimedia poem Twenty Blessings will be shown on the video screens in the Filmhouse bar throughout November. Also, on the night itself, a Scottish Poetry Library bookshop will be open in the cinema foyer selling some of Scotland’s leading contemporary verse publications.

Moving Conversations starts at 8pm on Friday 12 December. Tickets cost £6.50 (£5.50) concession and can be obtained from the Filmhouse box office (Tel: 0131 228 2688).

As the old saying goes, “Robert Burns….doesn’t he.”