News from 2006

October 2006

Tariq Latif, whose third collection of poetry, Punjabi Weddings, will be published by Arc early in 2007, will be appearing in a special edition of BBC Radio 4's 'Poetry Please' on Sunday 3rd December 2006, during which he will read poems from the new collection. His two previous collections, Skimming the Soul and The Minister's Garden are also published by Arc.

C. K. Stead's 'bold new novel' My Name was Judas will be published by Harvill Secker on 2nd November 2006.

May 2006

12th International Book Fair and Literary Festival

Bookworld Prague 2006

With the focus of this year's bookfair on 'Literatures of the North', and with Latvia the Guest of Honour, Arc had already decided to attend Bookworld 2006 to launch its new translation of the Latvian poet Juris Kronbergs' Wolf One-Eye when it received a very welcome invitation from Literature Across Frontiers to join a group of literary critics and British publishers producing literary translations on a visit to the Fair. Our time in Prague was, therefore, split between launch readings of Wolf One-Eye at the Latvian stand and at The Globe [English-language] Bookshop, seminars and translation workshops arranged by Alexandra Büchler (Director of LAF) specifically for the British publishers, and visits to Czech publishing houses and bookshops to meet our counterparts.

It was an extremely productive visit, and we hope to report developments arising from it on our website before too long.

April 2006

A Fine Line tours

April saw the visit to the UK by three young poets – Primoz Cucnik (Slovenia), Katerina Kucbelova (Slovakia) and Krisztina Toth (Hungary) – featured in Arc's anthology of Central and Eastern European poetry A Fine Line (Arc, 2004), a visit made possible through the generous support of Literature Across Frontiers.

Their first engagement – a reading on Thursday 20th April at Borders Bookstore, Charing Cross Road – had all the makings of a disaster, in that the day before, when we phoned to check final arrangements, we learnt that Borders was indeed expecting a reading, not by Arc but by Flipped Eye / X magazine. Further investigation revealed that, yes, Arc was also expected – at the same time, same venue: we were double booked. What actually transpired on the night was one of those wonderful occasions that no amount of planning could ever achieve but which depends entirely on serendipity. Primoz, Katarina and Krisztina read alongside the Nigerian poet Inua Ellams and the London poet Nick Makoha in what Borders (with great haste, but also great aplomb) billed as: "X magazine: daring new poetry and prose joins with A Fine Line: New Poetry from Eastern and Central Europe to give you a night to remember." And it was exactly that, thanks to Borders' timely action and X magazine's generosity in agreeing to share its reading time and its audience with Arc.

Cambridge Conference of Contemporary Poetry
21st-23rd April at Trinity College, Cambridge

www.cccp-online.org

Primoz Cucnik, Katarina Kucbelova and Krysztina Toth each read in separate sessions during the 3-day event, Primoz on the Saturday, and Katarina and Krysztina on the Sunday. All poets read well, their work was enthusiastically received, and important links with other poets and translators were forged by them during the conference. There was enough free time for them to appreciate the delights of Cambridge in the spring (the weather was mostly good) and on their behalf, Arc would like to thank the conference administrator, Lesley Nolan, for organising such an enjoyable stay for them.

March 2006

London Book Fair

A 2-day visit to the LBF on 6th-7th March – at its new time (March rather than April) in its new venue at the ExCel Exhibition Centre (both, thankfully, short-lived as it turns out) – left us dazed and exhausted. Highlights for Arc were our meetings with our friends and colleagues from the literature centres in Central / Eastern Europe who had stands at the Fair, and with our dear friend the Slovakian poet Mila Haugova who read from, amongst other work, Scent of the Unseen (Arc 2001), on the evening of Monday 6th March at the Slovak Embassy in Kensington Park Gardens along with her fellow poet Katarina Kucbelova, whose work is included in the anthology of Central and Eastern European poetry A Fine Line (Arc, 2004).

StAnza Festival – 'Scotland's Poetry Festival'
16th-19th March 2006

"The only regular festival dedicated to poetry in Scotland, StAnza is international in outlook. Held in the ancient university town of St Andrews, the festival presents world class poets and writers performing in exciting, atmospheric venues." from the Festival website

Whenever Arc has poets reading at the StAnza Festival, we always try to spend at least a couple of days there, as it is one of the friendliest and best-run festivals we know. This year Thomas Lux (Street of the Clocks, 2000) and Tony Curtis (What Darkness Covers, 2003 and The Well in the Rain, 2006) were appearing and, as well attending their readings – both of which were excellent – we were able to catch up, particularly with Tom, whom we hadn't seen for a couple of years. It also provided us with a good opportunity touch base with Jo Shapcott, our UK Editor who gave a wonderful reading with Fleur Adcock on the Friday night.

Ivor Cutler, 15th January 1923 – 3rd March 2006

Ivor Cutler, poet, singer, songwriter and storyteller, whose large band of admirers included the Beatles, Bertrand Russell, John Peel and Billy Connolly, has died at the age of 83. Arc has been privileged to be his poetry publisher for the last 25 years (his first pocket-size book from Arc, Private Habits, appeared in 1981), and he will be greatly missed. Photo: Katrina Lithgow

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