Thursday evening…

Dispatch from the Byre Theatre again. In the bar. Kate Clanchy is chatting to me. Apparently the Mac becomes me. Kate says she can’t believe how beautiful the weather is. Rare indeed to see St Andrews somewhere between the haar and the harsh wind, basking. She’s about to read with Robert Crawford tonight. She has just revealed she plans to read all of Newborn. We wait with breath that is bated.

Today’s delights included the StAnza discussion on Homecoming, one of this year’s key themes. David Mach told stories of returning to Fife after years away, and Thomas A Clark cautioned against the sloganisation of the term Homecoming. Is it different from simply ‘coming home’, to familiar gates and armchairs and slippers? He thought so.

Ooh, Robert Crawford’s just arrived for his sound check. Behind me, Jim Carruth, Lorna Carruth, Colin Fraser, Colin Will, Sarah Broadhurst and Alan Gay are having wine and chat, Eleanor is deep in conversation to my right, and the foyer is beginning to crest with people. Later this evening, there’ll be the StAnza jazz and jam. What’s that? Poets jamming to jazz. Shall report back after that.

But first: pies were distributed by Brian. Our Robyn accepted happily. NB: this picture is not posed.This here is unbridied joy.

Robyn and Brian do three cheers for Stuart of Buckhaven's pies...

StAnza continues…

The air is alive with the sound of twittering – not the StAnza team, but the wood pigeons outside the window. Poetry aside, St Andrews is rather gorgeous of a morning… There’ll be much more from StAnza later when events begin, including a chat with SPL’s Robyn and Julie who are both here taking the poetry.