Ethical

Festival of Spirituality and Peace

19 Aug 2009

The quality of human relationships and their ability to engender peace in our hearts is the loose theme of this year’s laudable festival. Its film strand kicks off with a digitally restored print of Derek Jarman’s inspired adaptation of Benjamin…

Baddaboom!

13 Aug 2009

There are a number of exciting performances illuminating the themes of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace this year, but none quite so heart-stirring as Scotland’s own Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers. Look out for exhilarating rhythms, martial choreography…

5 Questions: Donald Reid

Director of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace

7 Aug 2009

Five events you’re most looking forward to at this year’s Festival The Root of All Evil? with Vincent Cable MP and Nic Marks, Chopin Recital by Aleksander Kudajczyk, Yathra (Journey) by Ragamala Dance, Rendition Monologues by iceandfire theatre…

Nii Ayikwei Parkes' 'Tail of the Blue Bird'

British-born Ghanian poet on his novelistic debut

13 Jul 2009

The jump from performance poet to novelist is not necessarily easy or obvious, but Nii Ayikwei Parkes pulls it off with aplomb. The British-born, Ghana-raised writer is now based in Manchester, where he’s made a name for himself as a live performer of…

Festival Books - Mark Watson

Eco-friendly, my dear Watson

21 Aug 2008

According to Mark Watson, saving the planet would, at the very least, ‘look pretty smart on all our CVs’. With an already sterling comedy résumé, Watson takes on environmentalism in his latest book, Crap at the Environment, which through the author’s…

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace

7 Aug 2008

Not a lot of people remember these days that the reason we have an Edinburgh Festival at all is because it was conceived in 1947 to ‘provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit’ amid the devastation left by WW2. The Festival of Spirituality…

Spirit of the age

Edinburgh Festival of Spirituality and Peace

22 Jul 2008

Another festival growing in popularity, from humble beginnings is the Festival of Spirituality & Peace. Launched just three years ago, through the Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association, the Edinburgh International Centre for World Spiritualities and…

Ann Patchett

23 Aug 2007

In the space of 24 hours, Ann Patchett’s Run covers an entire social spectrum: interracial relationships, Catholicism and its validity, familial conflict, economic and class equality, and political ethics. This is a hefty fallout from a single event for…

Julian Baggini

16 Aug 2007

Julian Baggini is certainly not afraid to engage with popular culture. He recently wrote this on BBC online: ‘Matt Groening is the true heir of Plato, Aristotle and Kant’. Although this article landed Baggini a mention in Private Eye, he talks of the…