By Leaves We Live

By Leaves We Live : A celebration of artists’ books and small presses

Scottish Poetry Library
Saturday 26 September 2009 11am-6pm Free, no booking required

Join us for our lively and inspiring annual one-day book fair at the Scottish Poetry Library.

Lots of stalls, displays and talks running throughout the day. Plus a leafy exhibition.

Drop in to browse or buy, meet publishers, artists and poets from Scotland and beyond, and listen to talks on making books, the artists’ book creative process, and other aspects of poetry and art publishing.
For readers, writers, artists, designers, publishers, and anyone interested in books, printing and paper – all welcome. Free admission.

Exhibitors and stallholders will include:
20x20magazine; Artist Book Group; Artists Books Online; The Caseroom Press; Essence Press; David Faithfull; The Fruitmarket Gallery Bookshop; Rag-and-Bone Shop Books; The Ingleby Gallery; Hamish MacDonald; Magma Poetry Magazine; Mariscat Press; Metal Rabbit Editions; The Owl & Lion Gallery; Read This Press; Red Squirrel Press; Roncadora Press; Salt + Shaw; Scottish Pamphlet Poetry; Stichill Marigold Press; Mary Thomson; Unbordered Artist' Books (Susie Goodwin & Anna Davis); Wild Hawthorn Press: the Archive of Ian Hamilton Finlay; Writers' Bloc.

Talks running throughout the day:

12 noon The Elements of a Book

Bookbinder Isabelle Ting from the Owl & Lion Gallery talks about the process of making a book and answers your questions about bookbinding. A special opportunity to see samples and tools close up and hear an expert talk about her art.

1.30pm JURA eastward/westward

David Faithfull talks about an artist book created on the Isle of Jura in collaboration with the poet John Burnside, and produced for the Scottish Book Trust and the Isle of Jura Distillery.

2.30pm 9 Things To Do On Holiday

SALT + SHAW talk about how location influences the production of their artists’ books. An exploration of words, artefacts, images and stories specific to place.

3.30pm Indie Publishing: a DIY Guide to Making Books

Novelist and indie publisher Hamish MacDonald will guide you through making a simple chapbook, present other types of DIY binding you can do with common materials, and explain how you can print the inside pages of a book.

4.30pm Pamphlet Collaborators

Hugh Bryden of Roncadora, winner of the Callum Macdonald Memorial pamphlet publishing award, talks about the process of trying to find a balance between the poetic and visual elements in a pamphlet. Poet Hugh McMillan will join him to read from their recent collaborations.

All talks approximately 30 minutes unless otherwise noted, free, no need to book.

Exhibition : 25 leaves for 25 years

The Scottish Poetry Library strapline since 2004, taken from the words of philanthropist, teacher and town planner Sir Patrick Geddes, is: "by leaves we live". In response to these words, a group of artists and writers have joined with us to celebrate our anniversary by donating 25 beautiful images of leaves. These will be displayed in the library during the fair. Featuring Brigid Collins, Anne Bevan, Norman McBeath, Claire Melinsky, Nicola Murray, Gerry Cambridge, Helen Douglas, Ann Ross, Laurie Clark, Julie Lacombe, Sylvia Von Hartman, Iain McIntosh, Jane Alexander, Morven Gregor, Liz Lochhead, Alexander McCall Smith, Mary Hutchison, Stephen Raw, Jean Johnstone, Rachel Hazel, Holly Hayward and Gail Turpin.

More details at http://www.spl.org.uk/events/by_leaves.html

How to find the venue http://www.spl.org.uk/about/find.html