International Poetry Festival Explores Activism and Artistic Expression

Sunnah Khan’s work, Terror Error, creatively addresses this sentencing, which took place in June, and incorporates poetry and archiving elements. The judge added a terrorist enhancement during the sentencing.

This piece is one of three new poetry-led performances commissioned for Push the Boat Out in collaboration with the National Theatre of Scotland. Other commissioned works include Tits by Gray Crosbie and Guy Woods, which blends spoken word with birdsong, and Spatial Murmurs by Catherine Street and Nancy Burns, which integrates poetry and film to evoke a wordless experience.

The festival will also feature a collaboration between musician Aurora Engine and writers JL Williams, Dean Atta, and Kirsty Logan, combining music, electronica, poetry, and performance in a specially commissioned piece.

Festival highlights include an opening night cabaret with performances by Luke Wright, Nick Makoha, EmmaClaire Brightlyn, and rapper RamZee. The Scottish premiere of Joelle Taylor's Maryville is another key event, showcasing 50 years of lesbian counterculture. Poet, writer, and TV producer Henry Normal will present his latest poetry anthology.

Additionally, award-winning writer and musician Anthony Joseph will perform with his band at the festival's annual Saturday Night Gig, supported by local poet and rapper Bee Asha. Joseph will also lead a creative writing workshop and discuss his new poetry collection, Haunting The Black Air.

The festival will offer shoreline events encouraging audiences to explore the coast as an inspiration and transformation space. Combing The Shoreline will host artist Emily Dubious and poet Lisa Fannen for a creative writing workshop at Portobello beach. Tracing The Shoreline will feature poets Garry MacKenzie and Alycia Pirmohamed discussing migration and environmental issues, while the Edinburgh Sea Shanty Co will perform traditional and original sea shanties.

A special event curated by Scots Makar Peter Mackay will showcase writers in various languages, including Gaelic, Chinese, and Spanish, highlighting Scotland’s diverse literary landscape. International poets such as Naomi Shihab Nye, Lorna Goodison, Kwame Dawes, Ulrike Draesner, Don Mee Choi, and Grace Yee will also participate.

The festival aims to engage with themes of poetry as a form of protest and social justice. Sessions such as Poetry As Witness, Poetry As Protest and Contested Bodies will offer spaces for discussion on how women's bodies relate to personal and cultural expectations.

This year's programming also includes a new collaboration between poet Iain Morrison and visual artist Corin Sworn, fostered through the festival's inaugural residency with Little Sparta, founded by artists Ian Hamilton Finlay and Sue Finlay.

For the first time, family-friendly events will feature, including a session with former Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and a special Bookbug Pushes The Boat Out story and song session.

Festival director Emma Collins expressed a desire to expand the program, noting the continued growth in audience numbers, particularly among those under 45. She emphasized the festival's role in reviving interest in live poetry and highlighted the importance of providing new work opportunities for artists.

Push The Boat Out will take place in Edinburgh from November 12-15. For more details, visit pushtheboatout.org.