Wednesday, June 21, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
19
Climb that hill no matter how steep...
Celebrating a passion for books
By Macgregor Hay
Guest Columnist
This August in Edinburgh,
Scotland, I will join people
from around the world who
love good literature, tal-
ented authors, and captivat-
ing reading at the Edinburgh
International Book Festival.
I’ll mingle with authors and
attendees who share a love
of books, while experiencing
stimulating presentations by
well-known and emerging
writers.
Since 1983, Edinburgh
has hosted the International
Book Festival, this year run-
ning from August 12-28,
2017 with 1,000 authors
from 45 countries
In 2016 I met authors Ian
Rankin, Kenny MacAskill,
Stuart MacBride, Peter
May, Ruth Dudley Edwards
and Alexander McCall
Smith. These were per-
sonal and stimulating expe-
riences. First Minister
Nicola Sturgeon’s inter-
view with Makar (national
poet for Scotland) Jackie
Kay was heartwarming and
inspirational.
At a local pub, The
Oxford, Ian Rankin shared
his take on Scottish weather
for my 10 days in Edinburgh
(and was 100 percent accu-
rate!). Murray Pittock and
Ruth Dudley Edwards pre-
sented historical obser-
vations on the Irish 1916
uprising and the Battle of
Culloden, both of them
insightful and different from
the popular viewpoint.
In Charlotte Square
Gardens, located in down-
town Edinburgh, eight audi-
ence theaters, two book
shops, three food cafés, two
pubs, free wifi and outstand-
ing speakers, with a Festival
staff dedicated to providing
first-rate service await. This
year two new venues have
been added on George Street
near the entrance to the
Charlotte Square Gardens.
“Over 800 writers joined
us in Charlotte Square
Gardens, thus once again
creating the world’s biggest
book festival, and the feed-
back suggests that it is eas-
ily one of the best-loved by
writers and audiences alike,”
says the Festival website.
The onsite author ses-
sions are one hour includ-
ing audience participation,
culminating with book sign-
ings and an opportunity to
informally chat with your
favorite author. Each author
discusses their books, inspi-
ration, style and commit-
ment to the craft of writing.
Festivalgoers are friendly,
enthusiastic and love to
engage in conversations
about books.
A popular feature of
the Festival is the exten-
sive Children’s, Teen and
Young Adult programs with
authors and illustrators. Jim
Kay, Rebecca Cobb, David
Melling and Laura Ellen
Anderson participated in
2016.
T h i s y e a r ’s t h e m e ,
”Brave New Words” cou-
pled with 11 individual pro-
gram themes and the slate
of authors is now available
online. Tickets can be pur-
chased online starting June
20, 2017. The website,
edbookfest.co.uk, is easy to
navigate to review selections
and buy tickets.
The entire 18 days pro-
vide extraordinary customer
service thanks to the Festival
staff and volunteers. I rec-
ommend it to all.
A sampling of posts on
the Festival website is evi-
dence of the popularity of
the annual event:
“We are all convinced the
Book Festival is the most
important cultural and edu-
cational event in Europe.”
WHY
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Cyclists grind it out on the McKenzie Highway.
Oregon untested rape kits
numbers quadruple
SALEM (AP) — Oregon
officials say the number of
untested rapes kits have qua-
drupled over the past two
years despite efforts to pro-
cess them faster.
The Statesman Journal
reports half of the 2,800
untested rape kits sent to Utah
last year have been processed,
but that work was not enough
to put the state back on track.
Oregon State Police reported
a backlog of 884 newly
submitted assault forensic
evidence kits as of April.
Marion County Deputy
District Attorney Katie Suver
says the increase might be
due to a new state law, which
requires all untested kits, even
those prepared years ago, be
tested.
Oregon lawmakers set
aside $1.5 million to hire nine
crime lab analysts. Public
Information Officer Bill
Fugate says the new analysts
will complete their training by
the end of December.
We’re Committed
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Summer is a
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