From ELEANOR LIVINGSTONE, Director, StAnza Poetry Festival (Scotland)
I was desperately shocked and concerned to learn that Arc had been told this week that you were to lose your Arts Council Funding, and I know StAnza colleagues share these feelings. StAnza’s next spring festival will be our fifteenth, and StAnza is generally recognised as one of the major poetry festivals in the UK and in Europe, attracting audiences from all over the UK and beyond. We regularly feature poets published by Arc, both from your translated poets list and from your other lists; in fact I can’t think when we last had a festival which didn’t have at least one Arc poet, often several, on the programme. For example in 2010 this included Victor Rodriguez Nunez from Cuba, who was quite one of the stars last March – by which I mean he and his poetry were a wonderful discovery for our audiences. Other Arc poets who have made a huge impression at StAnza have included Tony Curtis from Ireland, whom I hope to invite back again very soon. (One of the questions I’m most often asked is: “When are you going to have Tony Curtis back?”)
Arc’s list of translated poets in particular has enabled us to introduce to audiences wonderful poets who would otherwise remain unknown to English speakers, which would be much to their loss and to the loss of poetry as a whole. Indeed, I’m sure Arc contribute to what Fiona Sampson has described as StAnza’s “integrated internationalism”, something which in these troubled times I hope everyone wants to further and promote.
I’ve always been hugely appreciative of the support and efforts Arc have made, not only in promoting and assisting your own poets, but also in helping me to plan interesting and creative events at the festival, and by regularly making the journey up to St Andrews for the festival, where on occasion you have both made direct contributions, such as last year when Angela read the English translations of Victor’s poems at his reading, and Tony gave a wonderful talk to a sell-out audience on the Scottish iconic poet, Ivor Cutler (a contrast which gives some indication of Arc’s range and breadth). And of course I’ve met you at the Edinburgh Book Festival and I’m aware that you regularly make such efforts and tireless contributions to the promotion of poetry at events all over the UK.
I’ve always regarded Arc as one of the most stimulating and dynamic poetry publishing houses and it’s unthinkable that you should not be able to continue with your excellent work. I sincerely hope some solution to the current terrible threat can be found, and all my very best wishes and support for that.