Some events where you will find Ryan reading or performing.

March 2019

Livonian Book Tour UK — 26-30 March: London, Cornwall, Cardiff 

To celebrate the publication of the first collection of Livonian poetry in English we’re going on a tour with the author (Valts Ernstreits) & translator (Ryan Van Winkle).

Join us for a series of bilingual events, with readings of poems in Livonian by Valts Ernstreits translated into English by Ryan Van Winkle.

A very rare chance to hear poetry in one of Europe’s most endangered languages. Livonian is spoken in Latvia by fewer than 30 people.

26 March @ 16.30 — Panel Discussion and Reading

School of Slavonic and East European Studies – London

26 March @ 19.00 — Book Launch

Bookmarks Bookshop, London

27 March @ 19.00 — Reading & Discussion

Waterstone’s – Truro

Featuring a special reading of VIRGIL’S FOUNTAIN/ FENTEN FERYL – A POEM IN CORNISH BY TIM SAUNDERS

28 March @ 19.00 — Reading & Discussion

Cant a mil (100 Whitechurch Rd, Cardiff)

Featuring a special reading of VIRGIL’S FOUNTAIN/ FENTEN FERYL – A POEM IN CORNISH BY TIM SAUNDERS & Music by Ani Glass

Latvian Literature in Translation: 11 March, London

London Latvian Centre

Following our 2018 Translation Workshops in Riga — we have a cohort of Latvian & Scottish poets appearing at the London Latvian Centre. I’ll be hosting.

Featuring new poems in translation from:  Elvīra Bloma, Raimonds Ķirķis, Ausma Perons, Tessa Berring, Patrick James Errington, Samuel Tongue, Roseanne Watt and Lauris Veips.

You Can Stop This at Any Time — 1-3 March

Karachi Literature Festival 2019

Original One-to-One Live Art performance created by Ryan Van Winkle in partnership with Highlight Arts and Justice Project Pakistan, this live art installation brings audiences face to face with the broken criminal justice system in Pakistan.

June 2018

AABS Conference at Stanford University — Saturday 2 June, 2pm — Presenting a roundtable discussion with Valts Ernštreits, Baiba Damberg, Ķempi Kārl

May 2018

Sundance Books and Music — Tuesday 30 May, 6.30pm — Reading alongside local poet Julian Guy.

International Simmer: Latvia Meets Scotland, Edinburgh Food Studio — Thursday 24 May, 7.30pm — Blending food and poetry with Latvian poets Katrīna RudzīteHenriks ZēgnersInga Pizāne, and Eduards Eipurs, Scottish poets Katherine Sowerby and William Letford, Welsh poet Llyr Gwyn Lewis, and Latvian chef Raivo Behmanis.

When Latvia Met Scotland, Scottish Poetry Library — Wednesday 23 May, 7pm — Reading alongside Latvian poets Katrīna RudzīteHenriks ZēgnersInga Pizāne, and Eduards Eipurs, Scottish poets Katherine Sowerby and William Letford, and Welsh poet Llyr Gwyn Lewis.

SWG3 Poetry Club — Sunday 6 May, 6.30-9.30pm — Reading alongside Richard Scott, Tessa Berring, Sarah Bernstein and Andy Spragg.

March 2018

Jessie Kesson Fellowship, Moniack Mhor — Wednesday 7, 14, 21 March, 6-8pm — Fun, lively & accessible workshops, for anyone interested in reading or writing poetry.

November 2017

Simmer Five — Friday 17 November, 7.30pm, Edinburgh Food Studio — The fifth in a series of readings matched with fine dining. With poems from Claire Askew, Jo Clifford, Christine De Luca and Harry Giles.

Hear Hare Here — Thursday 16 November, 6.30pm, Golden Hare Books, Edinburgh — Reading alongside Jonathan Bay and Rachel Rankin, with hosting by Alice Tarbuck.

October 2017

Druskininkai Poetic Fall — Wednesday 4 – Monday 9 October — Performing poetry and having work translated into Lithuanian for an anthology.

September 2017

Wigtown Book Festival — Saturday 30 September, 6pm, The Print Room — Announcing the winners of the Wigtown Poetry Competition.

Wigtown Book Festival — Saturday 30 September, 1.30pm, The Print Room — In conversation with Matthew Fitt and Myles Campbell, discussing the Wigtown Poetry Competition.

Jura Day Poets Aloud — Thursday 28 September, 3.30-4.30pm — Poetry Jukebox: taking requests from the audience.

Jura Day School Event: Small Isles Poetry Workshop — Thursday 28 September, 2.15-3.15pm — Schools poetry workshop.

Latvian Literature Platform — Monday 11 – Sunday 17 September — Translation workshop with five UK poets and four Latvian poets.

Station Literature 22 — Saturday 9 September — Panel discussion on Arts and Audiences, representing Highlight Arts.

August 2017

Passing the Torch: Forest Fringe — Friday 11 August, 9pm, Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh — This is our goodbye party and in the spirit of the last ten years we hope it will be big, free, eclectic, eccentric, frequently chaotic and occasionally, unexpectedly, very beautiful. 

Decagram: Good Little Gods — Sunday 6 August, 9pm, 119 Constitution Street, Edinburgh — Poetry set to an improvised live soundtrack. Ryan van Winkle, Esther Swift, Atzi & special guests.

July 2017

Four Simmer, A Night of Poetry and Flavour — Friday 28 July, 7.30pm, Edinburgh Food Studio — This unique collaboration series between food & poetry will use flavour, scent, and colour in response to some of Scotland’s most distinct voices.

Performance Poetry Event with Ryan Van Winkle — Thursday 27 July, 7-8.30pm, Jupiter Artland — Join Saltire Prize-winning poet and curator Ryan Van Winkle for an engaging evening of poetry on a walkabout reading.

Kelburn Garden Party — Saturday 1 – Sunday 2 July — Saturday Beach Plateau – 2pm, Saturday Fort Bar 7 – 8pm, Sunday Twin Peak Cabaret Tent – 7 – 8pm.

May 2017

Hay Festival, Literature Across Frontiers — Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, Wales — Tuesday 20 May, 7pm — Leading lights from Latvia’s vibrant poetry scene join contemporaries from Scotland and Wales for a rich reading in three languages.

Return Flight — Federation Square Atrium, Melbourne, Australia — Wednesday 10 May, 6-8pm — The launch of RETURN FLIGHT: a cross-continental exhibition, publication and creative exchange between artists and writers in Melbourne and Edinburgh.

Reading and Workshop in Berlin — Reading at Circus Hostel, Berlin, 7pm Thursday 4 May; Workshop at KLAK Verlag, Berlin Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 May — an intimate gathering in the cellar bar and library of Berlin’s Circus Hostel.

April 2017

Intezaar / The Wait — Thursday 6 – Tuesday 11 April, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad, Pakistan — an interactive theatre piece bringing you stories straight from Pakistan’s prisons in an honest, heartfelt account of real inmates on death row.

March 2017

Goran’s Spring Poetry Festival — Saturday 18 – Tuesday 21 March, Zagred & Split, Croatia

Poetry Connections — Thursday 16 March, 7.30pm, Rich Mix London, Bethnal Green — Leading lights from Latvia’s vibrant poetry scene join contemporaries from Scotland and Wales for a unique reading in four languages.

Translation Showcase, StAnza International Poetry Festival, St Andrews — Saturday 4 March, 1pm, Council Chambers in the Town Hall — Throughout the week of StAnza 2017 Vicki Feaver and Tessa Berring will be working together with two francophone poets, Michel Cassir and Aurélia Lassaque, completing a collaborative residency in St Andrews, to create new work and translate each others’ poetry.

February 2017

INK: A Celebration of Expression in Words and Tattoos — Monday 20 February, 6pm, 50 George Square — Part of the University of Edinburgh’s Festival of Creative Learning. We’ll have tattoos, wine, readings and a panel discussion with fabulous authors.

January 2017

Second Performance Evening at the Whitespace Gallery — Thursday 26 January, 7.30pm — 5/6 performers.

Interrobang!? End of the World Party — Saturday 21 January, 7pm, Woodland Creatures — Reading alongside Andrew Blair and Laura Waddell.

December 2016

Blind Poetics — Monday 12 December, 8pm-11pm, The Blind Poet, Edinburgh

November 2016

Northern Lights – Voices from the Arctic — Monday 28 November, 6:45pm – 9:00pmFree Word Centre, London — I’ll be hosting Northern Lights, an evening of poetry, performance and film to begin Highlight Arctic, a year-long multi-arts festival from and about the circumpolar North.

International Nilüfer Poetry Festival, Turkey — Wednesday 3 – Saturday 5 November — “What’s Inside Poets’ Backpack?”; “What Does The Poetry Do To Us ?”; “Poetry Against Nuclear Power”.

October 2016

Golden Hour presents… BONE DIGGER — Sunday 30 October, 6pm-late, Summerhall, Edinburgh — in which we don our masks & give ourselves a fright.

Elemental — Monday 17 October, 7pm, Glasgow Science Centre — Elemental is a unique exploration of science, art and the universe showcased under the spectacular dome theatre of the planetarium. Sean M Whelan, Emilie Zoey Baker, Alicia Sometimes and  Ryan Van Winkle have collaborated to present the world of the most literary, dazzling and passionate stars.

September 2016

Three Simmer — Thursday 29 and Friday 30, 7pm, Edinburgh Food Studio — This unique collaboration series between food & poetry will use flavour, scent, and colour in response to some of Scotland’s most distinct voices. A delicious evening which will touch all of your senses.

Underground City — Wednesday 28 September, 7pm, Old Town Bookshop, 8 Victoria Street Edinburgh — Reading alongside JL Williams, Atzi Muramatsu, Kaite Welsh and Janette Ayachi. Hosted by MacGillivray and AR Thompson.

The Golden Hour — Saturday 24 September, 7pm, Leith Theatre, Edinburgh — In which we make a fresh start. Featuring words, music, projections, snacks, boiler suits and dancing. With: 2Man(l)yDJs, Jo Clifford, Ericka Duffy, ESBAT Collective, Far Yella, Vicki Feaver, James Ironmonger, Lake Montgomery, Screen Bandita, Suited & Booted, JL Williams, Withered Hand.

Latvian Literature — 7-12 September, Riga — Translating work of contemporary Latvian and UK poets

August 2016

Sentenced to Life: Clive James — Sunday 28 August, 3.30pm, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, 420 Brunswick St, Foritude Valley, 4006 — My interview with Australian poet and critic Clive James will be screened at the Queensland Poetry Festival on Sunday 28 August, from 3.30-4.30pm, at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts.

Highlight Arts: From Lahore to Lewis & Harris —

Edinburgh International Book Festival — Sunday 21 August, 9pm, Unbound Spiegeltent

An Lanntair, Stornoway — Tuesday 23 August, 8pm

Mission House Studio, Finsbay, Isle of Harris — 7.30pm

In a recent collaborative project organised by Highlight Arts, poets from Pakistan and Scotland came together to create new poetry, stories and music in Glasgow and Lahore.

Neu Reekie: #UntitledTwo — 7.30pm, Thursday 18 August, Garden Theatre, Edinburgh International Book Festival — Cultural provocateurs Neu! Reekie! present work from #UntitledTwo, their double-headed poetry anthology and music album

Red, Like Our Room Used to Feel — Forest Fringe, Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 August, 12noon-3pm; 4pm-7pm — An intimate one-to-one poetry performance from Ryan Van Winkle. An audio voyage featuring ambient melodies from Ragland.

Intimacy: Reading, Writing, Hearing and Feeling Poems — Scottish Writers Centre, 7pm Tuesday 2 August — I will be talking about what poetry is, how I’ve come to understand what a good poem is, and how collaboration and creating theatre work has helped my writing.

July 2016

Centre Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou, 75004 Paris — 6pm, Wednesday 20 July — For the third collaboration between Shakespeare and Company and the Centre Pompidou we present one of the most exciting and incendiary young poets at work today, Ryan Van Winkle.

American University of Paris 2016 Summer Creative Writing Institute Reading Series — 5pm, Monday 18 July — Combes Building, C-102, 6 rue du Colonel Combes 75007, Paris — Reading poems and talking about being a poet, critic and podcaster.

Two Simmer: Poetry and Flavour — 7.30pm, Thursday 7 July — Edinburgh Food Studio, 158 Dalkeith Rd — After the overwhelming success of the March’s event, Simmer, a night of poetry and flavour, we are again joined by our host, Ryan Van Winkle, for a night where we pair four poets with dishes carefully selected & prepared to illuminate and echo their work.

June 2016

The Poems That Changed My Life — 5pm Sunday 26 June, Twitter, #ScotLitFest — tweeting important poems @rvwable alongside Claire Askew (@onenightstanzas) and Theresa Muñoz (@munozpoems).

Gold, Dark, Crabwise & Hypothetical — 7pm, Tuesday 7 June, Port Credit Branch Library, Mississauga, Ontario — With Jeramy Dodds, Leigh Kotsilidis and Katherine Leyton.

Gold, Dark, Crabwise & Hypothetical — 7.30pm, Sunday 5 June, The Garnet, 231 Hunter St W., Peterborough, Ontario — With Jeramy Dodds, Leigh Kotsilidis and Katherine Leyton.

Festival de la Poésie de Montréal — Thursday 2 June, Maison des écrivains (3492, avenue Laval, Montréal) — Reading with great poets and great pals Jennifer Williams (accompanied by James Iremonger), Rachel McCrum and Peter Mackay, alongside Québecois poets Stéphane Despatie, Ian Ferrier, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, Jonathan Lamy and Samuel Mercier.

May 2016

Nothing But The Poem — Thursday 12 May, The Studios of Key West, Florida — Students will read a handful of poems and discuss them with a focus on feeling comfortable talking about and feeling poetry. They are fun, lively, accessible discussions for anyone interested in books or writing.

April 2016

Far Yella — 7pm, Sunday 24 April, Leith Dockers Club, 17 Academy Street, Edinburgh — An evening of entertaiments presented by ‘Far Yella’ (a new collective featuring Faith Eliott, Hailey Beavis, Mario Cruzado, Reuben Taylor, Ryan Van Winkle, Sam Siggs & Supermoon).

O, Miami — Thursday 28 April, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, Florida — ICA Miami and O, Miami presents poet and performance artist John Giorno. Star of Andy Warhol’s seminal film Sleep (1963) and collaborator with everyone from William S. Burroughs to Robert Moog to Patti Smith, Giorno has been at the center of experimental American art for six decades.

Giorno’s reading is preceded by a reading by poet Ryan Van Winkle and a special presentation by Miami’s own Obsolete Media Miami, the film and slide based archive curated by artists Kevin Arrow and Barron Sherer.

March 2016

Simmer — Thursday 31 March, Edinburgh Food Studio, 7.30pm — Join us at Edinburgh Food Studio for a unique collaboration between food & poetry. On this very special night, we will use flavour, scent, and colour in response to some of Scotland’s most distinct voices. A delicious evening which will touch all of your senses. 

Coffee with Ryan Van Winkle — Tuesday 15 March, Shakespeare & Co, Paris, 10am — Less formal than our evening readings, coffee mornings are a chance for readers to chat with authors about their books and their craft. The café will be open as usual, with coffee and breakfast on sale throughout.

February 2016

Lahore Literary Festival — Sunday 21 February, Alhamra Arts Centre, 11.15am — A conversation with poet Sudeep Sen on ‘Midnight’s Grandchildren: South Asia’s English Poetry, Post-Independence’.

January 2016

Billy Liar & Paper Rifles EP Launch and Refugee Survival Trust Benefit — Sat 30 January, Southside Social, 42-44 Buccleuch Street, 6pm — 100% of the money raised from the EP release and benefit will go directly to the Refugee Survival Trust, Edinburgh.

Rally & Broad: The Hangover Special — Fri 22 January, Bongo Club, Cowgate, 7-10pm — Be Charlotte, Ryan Van Winkle, Colin McGuire, Ruth Mills & Roseanne Reed.

November 2015

Saltire Literary Awards Tour — Wed 19 November, Waterstones Inverness, 6pm — Elizabeth Reeder, Ryan and other shortlisted authors read from their work.

Saltire Literary Awards Tour — Wed 12 November, Waterstones Dumfries, 6pm — Liz Lochhead, Ryan and other shortlisted authors read from their work.

American Legion Alan Seeger Post II – Wed 4 November, 7pm — Ryan Van Winkle reads from his latest collection ‘The Good Dark’ (Penned in the Margins, 2015). Presented by Jack Little. 

October 2015

3rd International Congress of Language and Literature — Linares Institute of Technology, Mexico, — Monday 26 -Friday 30 October.

Viewmaster — Sand Festival, Kristiansand, Norway — 6-10 OctoberVIEWMASTER is a personal and poetic slideshow created specifically for your eyes and ears only. In less than 15 minutes Ryan Van Winkle (poet) and Dan Gorman (sound artist) guide you through a playful and surreal journey to a land far far away.

August 2015

Australian Tour

MELBOURNE — one night only
Wed 26th August Brave New Voices @ MWF, The Toff in Town. 6.30-8.30pm
Spoken word  / poetry salon, featuring Ryan Van Winkle, MacGillivray, William Letford plus David Stavanger, Richard Grantham and CR Avery (Canada).
BRISBANE — for Queensland Poetry Festival
Thurs 27th August The New Braves @ Satellite QPF, Studio 188 Ipswich. 7-9pm
Spoken word  / poetry salon featuring Ryan Van Winkle, MacGillivray, William Letford, plus Cameron Logan (local poet).
Sat 29th August The New Braves @ QPF, Judith Wright Main Theatre. 5-6pm
Spoken word  / poetry performance session featuring Ryan Van Winkle, MacGillivray, William Letford.
Sun 30th August Short Form Book Club @ QPF, Judith Wright Shopfront. 12-1pm
Ryan Van Winkle will be a panelist as four poets discuss a poem or short fiction work.
Sun 30th August Pleasure & Pain @ QPF, Judith Wright Main Theatre. 1.30-2.30pm
Performance and reading session. MacGillivray plus special guests.

Second Space — 8-10pm, Friday 7 August — Safari Lounge, 21 Cadzow Place, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh. Reading alongside a host of fantastic writers.

Head North, My Friend — 9pm, Wednesday 19 August —  Edinburgh International Book Festival, Charlotte Square Spiegeltent — In this special event Highlight Arctic celebrates the culture of the High North at a time when the region is experiencing enormous and rapid transition. Join us for words, music and stories from: Sami poet and musician Niillas Holmberg, Icelandic crime-writer Ragnar Jonasson and the Inuit poet and-live artist Jessie Kleemann.Plus, Shetlandic poet Christine De Luca will read new translations specially commissioned by the EIBF and DJ Aikio will provide the aural beats.

Edinburgh International Book Festival — 8.45pm, Friday 21 August — Reading alongside Jonathan Edwards at the Baillie Gifford Corner Theatre for the 2015 EIBF.

July 2015

Fort Gorgast Festival — 2pm 24 July — Fort Gorgast, near Berlin, Germany

Launch of Shoreline of Infinity — Thursday 2 July, 7.30pm — Paradise Palms, Edinburgh — a night of science fiction performances, with music from Painted Ocean, poetry from Claire Askew and Ryan Van Winkle, story reading from the magazine performed by Debbie Cannon, plus SF inspired artwork, cocktails, books, fun, frivolity and photon cannons.

June 2015

Rally & Broad: Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye — 7pm, Friday 19 June — Cowgate, Edinburgh — performing alongside Ross Sutherland, Hannah Silva, Caro Bridges and Dan Willson (aka Withered Hand), for Rally & Broad’s Season 3 finale.

46th Poetry International Rotterdam Festival — Saturday 13 June — Rotterdam Shouwburg — Viewmaster comes to Rotterdam for the 46th Poetry International Rotterdam Festival.

Tomasz Różycki at Word Power Books — 1pm, Sunday 7 June — 43-45 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh Word Power Books and Interaktywny Salon Piszących w Szkocji (Interactive Writing Salon in Scotland) are pleased to present an event with one of the most remarkable Polish poets Tomasz Różycki about his work and its translations into English.

UK Book Tour — Monday 1 June – Thursday 4 June —

– London — Waterstones Piccadilly, 7pm, Monday 1 June

w/ Penned in the Margins poet Naomi Booth

– Cardiff Waterloo Tea – Wyndham Arcade, 7pm, Tuesday 2 June

w/ Nia Davies & surprise special guests!!

Glasgow Tell It Slant Bookshop, 7pm, Wednesday 3 June

w/ Matthew Siegel: (Matthew Siegel’s Blood Work is out from CB Editions. The deceptive directness of Matthew Siegel’s debut is remarkable’ – Mark Doty)

– Edinburgh Blackwell’s Bookshop, 6.30pm, Thursday 4 June

w/ Matthew Siegel

– PLUS FREE AFTERPARTY at The Forest Café from 8pm, featuring Supermoon, Hailey Beavis & more!

May 2015

Hidden Door Festival — The Ungaretti Multi-Media War Project —  8pm Thursday 28 May — Join us for new readings from contemporary Scottish poets, videos, dance performance, live music in response to poems written during the Great War by Giuseppe Ungaretti, one of Europe’s greatest modernist poets.

Highlight Arts Presents: City to City, Poetry and Music — 

Alchemy Glasgow — 6pm, Thursday 21 May — Featuring: Afshan Sajjad, Jim Carruth, Dr. Khalid Javaid Jan, Katherine Sowerby, Kishwar Naheed, Gerry Cambridge, Ali Akbar Natiq, Vicki Husband, Pakistan musician Sara Kazmi & musicians from Scotland playing together for the first time.
The Southbank Centre, London — 2.30pm, Saturday 23 May — Poets from India and Pakistan are united onstage with contemporaries from Wales and Scotland, recently returned from residencies in Mumbai, Kolkata and Lahore.Afshan Sajjad and Dr. Khalid Javaid Jan from Pakistan appear alongside Jeet Thayil, Tishani Doshi, Ranjit Hoskote and Sampurna Chattarji from India. They are joined by Welsh poets Joe Dunthorne, Jonathan Edwards, Eurig Salisbury and Rhian Edwards, and Jim Carruth and Katherine Sowerby from Scotland.Together, the poets present new translations and poems inspired by their recent trips, and reflect on the role that poetry can play in creating bridges between cultures.

Virtual Book Tour — Saturday 16 May – Wednesday 10 June —

Delighted to announce that my second collection, The Good Dark, published by the good folks at Penned in the Margins, will be going on a virtual book tour through poetry magazines and blogs over the next several weeks. My sincere thanks to those who are giving it room and board.

Penned in the Margins — 16 May

Scottish Poetry Library — 19 May

Inpress Books — 20 May

The Poetry School — 21 May

3am Magazine — 25 May

Sabotage Reviews — 29 May

Shakespeare & Company — 1 June

Scottish Book Trust — 2 June

The Ofi Press — 4 June

Missing Slate — 7 June

B O D Y Literature — 10 June

Periscope reading of The Good Dark — Friday 15 May at 23:55, join me on Periscope (@rvwable) for a reading from The Good Dark, my second collection, published by Penned in the Margins. Hope to see you then.

April 2015

Highlight Arctic — Tuesday 14 April — Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall — Highlight Arts present an evening of films, slides, stories and discussion on the landscape, ecology and culture of the High North, at a time when the Arctic region is experiencing enormous and rapid transition. Join award-winning author Gavin Francis, geographic-architects Lateral North and the Highlight Arctic team to uncover some of the unique peoples, events, research and artworks shaping and defining this fascinating region today.

March 2015

Franz Nicolay European Tour Launch — Tuesday 17 March — Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh — We are absolutely delighted to welcome Franz Nicolay back to Edinburgh and to be celebrating the release of his brand new European Tour exclusive Double A-Side 7″ single through MTAT Records. Support acts Ryan Van Winkle, Supermoon, Hailey Beavis and Broken Stories.

StAnza Poetry Festival — Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 March — The Box, South Street, St Andrews — Viewmaster will be live on location at StAnza Poetry Festival this year! Myself and Dan Gorman will bring words and sounds to you in person on Saturday 7 (11am-2pm; 3.30-6.30pm; 7-7.40pm) and Sunday 8 March (11am-2pm).

February 2015

Writers Return — Thursday 26 February — Summerhall, EdinburghI’ll be performing alongside Alan Bissett, Anne Donovan and the inimitable William Letford at Summerhall for the Writers Return series, organised by the British Council. We’ll all be telling stories from our time spent writing our way around the world, it’s free but ticketed, it’ll be great.

January 2015

Viewmaster at the Big Burns Supper — Friday 30 & Saturday 31 January — Electric Theatre Workshop, Dumfries — ViewMaster is – a personal slideshow for your eyes and ears only. Poet Ryan Van Winkle and musician Dan Gorman lead you on a playful, sometimes surreal, journey to a distant land and bring you back in under 15 minutes.

Rally & Broad — Friday 23 January — Bongo Club, Cowgate, EdinburghI’m reading a collaborative piece with Rachel McCrum at the January edition of Rally & Broad, which is headlined by the outstanding performance poet Francesca Beard in a rare Scottish appearance.

Supermoon — Friday 23 January — Henry’s Cellar Bar, Morrison Street, Edinburgh — Supporting the launch of Supermoon, the band ‘rising from the ashes of Meursault’.

December 2014

Culture Laser Live: Winter Warmer — Wednesday 3 December — Forest Café, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh — A Winter Warmer for your Dark Dark Ears. With Jo Clifford, Nick Holdstock, GOL and the Jack o’ Diamonds.

November 2014

Reel Festivals Lahore — Tuesday 25 November — Highlight Arts organise festivals, events and workshops to uncover stories about people and places affected by conflict. They cross borders to challenge stereo-types, encourage dialogue, facilitate empathy and understanding which can be shared and felt by audiences around the world. In this conversation Highlight Arts organisers Ryan Van Winkle and Dan Gorman will discuss our work with artists from around the globe.

Reel Festivals Lahore — Friday 21 November — A showcase of short films featuring poets from Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, followed by a discussion and Q & A with Highlight Arts coordinators Ryan Van Winkle and Dan Gorman.

October 2014

zimZalla — Monday 27 October, 7.30pm — Hardy Tree Gallery, near Kings Cross, London — October Monday 27th. 7.30pm: ZimZalla in performance, readings from the TRYIE Collective (Zuzana Husarova, Olga Pekova +), Tom Jenks, Pascal O’Loughlin, Kim Campanello, Ryan Van Winkle, Christodoulos Makris & more.

Camaradefest II — Saturday 25 October, 12noon — Rich Mix Arts Centre, Bethnal Green Road, London — Beginning at 12 noon and ending late into the night, Camaradefest evidences the endlessly exciting potential of collaboration in poetry and the true depth, width and brilliance of 21st century poetics. Expect no two works the same, and following on from the great success of the first fest last year, an unforgettable way to experience contemporary poetry.

Culture Laser Live @ Dundee Literary Festival — Friday 24 October, 8.30-10pm — Bonar Hall, Dundee — Weekly podcast series, The Multi-Coloured Culture Laser, enters the festival fray for a night of performance, discussion, drinking, and hilarious October action. Host Ryan Van Winkle, poet and cultural behemoth from the United States of America via Auld Reekie, welcomes a selection of guests to take to the sofa with him for some beautiful bookish chat. A podcast experience for your ears and your hearts – done live and before your very eyes.

Viewmaster @ WROUGHT — Saturday-Sunday 11-12 October — The Hide, Scotland Street, Sheffield — WROUGHT: A One-to-One Performance Festival is a brand new performance festival exclusively focused on One-to-One performance in Sheffield. It takes place over a weekend between the 11-12 October in and around the Hide (Scotland Street, S3 7AA,https://goo.gl/maps/P0Lpc).

Launch of Double Bill — Saturday 4 October, 1pm — Scottish Poetry Library, Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh — Very pleased to have my poem, ‘Into the Desert with No Name’ included in the anthology Double Bill, the sequel to Split Screen, both published by Red Squirrel Press and edited by Andy Jackson. The launch party will be held at the Scottish Poetry Library on Saturday 4 October from 1-3pm. Hope to see you there.

Highlight Arts Launch Event — Thursday 2 October, 7.30pm — Scottish Storytelling Centre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh — FREE EVENT with international music, poetry and film, featuring: – Shooglenifty – Golan Haji (Syria) – Krystelle Bamford – Emily Ballou – Kaela Rowan – DJ Dolphin Boy – Short films from Iraq, Syria and more… – Complimentary food and drink

September 2014

Thomas Truax (+ Support) — Friday 26 September, 7pm — Banshee Labyrinth, Niddry Street, Edinburgh — Back on the trail, folks, at the Banshee Labyrinth on Friday 26 September with Thomas Truax, our friends Faith Eliott and Jack of Diamonds of Black Diamond Express and Dog on a Swing. It costs £5, doors fly open at 7pm, hope to see you there.

Launch of Be the First to Like This — Thursday 25 September, 6.30pm — Scottish Poetry Library, Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh — Be the First to Like This: New Scottish Poetry is an anthology gathering together Scotland’s new generation of poets. A selection of the poets featured in the anthology will read at the launch.  

Tricolour — Monday 1 September, 6.30pm — National Library of Scotland — A monthly night showcasing three different poetry and spoken word talents. Three different voices, three different styles, three different takes on life. In September, enjoy the work of by Ryan Van Winkle, Kevin McLean and Jane McKie.

August 2014

Rally & Broad Ampersand Edition — Monday 25 August — Edinburgh International Book Festival, Guardian Spiegeltent, Charlotte Square — We pure love oor Ampersand Editions, we do! Chucking two awesome acts together to create a set is one of our favourite things to do, to the extent that we’re actually doing it ourselves this time too! The collaborations are… Don Paterson & Rachel Newton! Ryan Van Winkle & Dan Willson ( Withered Hand)! Rachel McCrum & A New International! Jenny Lindsay & Lake Montgomery! ….. and Rally & Broad, of course…. It’s free and drop-in (arrive early to ensure entry!)

Culture Laser Live — Wed 6 August, 7pm — Forest Down,  141 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh — That’s right, we’re doing it live! Featuring: ROOM w/ Jemima Yong & Alan Fielden; * PRETTY UGLY w/ Louise Orwin; * THE JELLYMAN’s DAUGHTER; + tunes from the Culture Laser Collective Band feat Jack of Diamonds & guests from the Midnight Train!

Edinburgh International Book Festival 2014

Syria Speaks: An Evening of Resistance & Celebration — Tues 12 August, 9-11pm — With readings from Samar Yazbek’s Pinter Prize-winning war diaries and Malu Halasa’s sly (but not shy) Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie, this event highlights the humour, resilience and strength of Syrian art, even in these most challenging times. Through the poetry of Golan Haji, the adventures of novelist Robin Yassin-Kassab, and the storytelling and songs of the irrepressible Raast Collective, Syria Speaks will make you laugh, cry and maybe even dance.

Alasdair Gray — Gray: The Colour of Scotland — Wed 13 August, 1.30-2.30pm — I’ll be chairing the wonderful Alasdair Gray as he talks about his career. You can read a review of the event here

Kevin Eldon — A Star is Finally Born — Saturday 16 August, 9.30-10.30pm — I’ll be chairing Kevin Eldon as he talks about his work on the poetry of his cousin Peter Hamilton.

Viewmaster at the Edinburgh Fringe — Summerhall, 2-3.45pm and 6-7.45pm daily, Friday 1 August – Sunday 24 August.

ViewMaster is a personal & poetic slideshow for your eyes and ears only. An imaginative leap to another country and a step back to the wonder of childhood. Celebrating 30 Years of the Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh International Book Festival8.30-9.30pm, Sunday 17 August — Since 1984 the Scottish Poetry Library has celebrated poetry in all its forms. The last 30 years have seen a wonderful array of prize-winners, the birth of the Makar and poet laureate. To mark the 30th anniversay, Join founder Tessa Ransford and Honorary President Liz Lochhead along with poet Jen Hadfield and other friends, who read a selection of their own poems and favourites from the last three decades. Chaired by Robyn Marsack. Sunday 10 August, 21:05 —  George Next Door, 9 George IV Bridge —  Knife Whimsy with Ross McCleary, Andrew Blair and more…

July 2014

Launch of ViewMaster Pamphlet with Jo Clifford and Stewed Rhubarb — July 29, 6.30pm — Looking Glass Books — Really excited to launch the Viewmaster pamphlet with the lovely people at Stewed Rhubarb Press. The launch is happening this Tuesday 29 July in Looking Glass Books (3 Porter’s Walk, EH3 9GG) at 6.30pm. The show is free, the pamphlet is £3 (you can buy physical or e-book copies here), and it would be awesome to see you there.

Auld Enemies Tour, July 9-27

July 9th – Dundee – 6pm Duncan of Jordanstone (studio & foyer space ) University Of Dundee, Perth Rd, Dundee DD1 4HT (with thanks to Peggy Hughes)

Billy Letford & nick-e melville / Ryan Van Winkle & SJ Fowler / Colin Herd & Ross Sutherland plus AZ Jackson & Lindsay MacGregor / James Stewart & Dawn Wood / Richard Watt & more

July 10th – Glasgow – 8pm McChulls, 40 High Street (with thanks to Henry Bell)

Ross Sutherland & Ryan Van Winkle / Billy Letford & Colin Herd / nick-e melville & SJ Fowler plus Thomas Betteridge & Neil Davidson / Katy Hastie, Antony Autumn, Iyad Hayatleh & more

July 11th – Edinburgh – 7pm Summerhall — Demonstration Room. 1 Summerhall EH9 1PL (with thanks to Jen White)

Colin Herd & Iain Morrison / Billy Letford & Ryan Van Winkle / SJ Fowler & Ross Sutherland nick-e melville & Jane Goldman / Dave Coates & Rachel McCrum / JL Williams & Elspeth Murray / Luke Allan & Graeme Smith / Karen Veitch & Mike Saunders / Ed Smith & Thomas MacColl / Rob McKenzie & more

July 12th – Aberdeen 7pm Cellar 35, 35 Rosemount Viaduct (with thanks to Gerard Rochford & Richie Brown)

Billy Letford & SJ Fowler / Ryan Van Winkle & Colin Herd / Ross Sutherland & nicke melville Gerard Rochford & Richie Brown / Maureen Ross & Catriona Macleod / & more

July 14th – Lerwick, The Shetland Islands- 7pm Mareel Arts Centre. ZE1 0WQ (with thanks to Donald Anderson)

Ross Sutherland & nick-e melville / Colin Herd & SJ Fowler / Ryan Van Winkle Nat Hall & James Sinclair / Donald Murray /  Laurajayne Friedlander & more

July 17th – Kirkwall, The Orkney Islands – 7pm Kirkwall Library, 44 Junction Rd, Highlands and Islands, Kirkwall KW15 1AG (with thanks to Pam Beasant)

Ross Sutherland & SJ Fowler / Colin Herd & nick-e melville Rosemary Merriman, Sylvia Hays, Rosie Alexander, Lydia Harris, Pam Beasant & more

July 26th – London – 7pm The Rich Mix Arts Centre Ross Sutherland / nick-e melville / Colin Herd / Ryan Van Winkle / SJ Fowler Emily Berry & John Clegg / Tom Chivers & Roddy Lumsden Nick Murray & Eley Williams / Vahni Capildeo & Jeremy Noel-Tod Kirsty Irving & Harry Man / Daisy Lafarge & more

Viewmaster at the Southbank Centre — Thursday 17 July, 12-3.40pm; 6-9.40pm. — Join poet Ryan Van Winkle and sound artist Dan Gorman in A Room for London, the boat moored on top of Queen Elizabeth Hall and one of the most exclusive places in London. Elemental at the Melbourne Planetarium — Thursday July 10 at 7pm and 9pm and Friday July 11 at 7pm and 9pm — An exploration of the cosmos via the words and sounds of some really awesome artists. With Sean M WhelanEmilie Zoey BakerRyan Van WinkleAndrew Watson,Claire Fischer, Nat Bates, Ai YamamotoChris Nelms, Alex Scott, Daniel Gorman and an introductory talk by Dr Alan Duffy. Kelburn Garden Party – 4 – 6 July: There will be poems for all down by the waterfall. See you there – rain or shine. Saturday & Sunday at 2pm.

June 2014

Book Launch of This Room is Waiting — Monday 30 June, 6.30pm — Word Power Books, 43-45 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh. It’s a real honour to be launching This Room is Waiting with my co-editor Lauren Piot this Monday 30 June at Word Power Books in Edinburgh. We’ve got readings from Ghareeb Iskander, John Glenday and Krystelle Bamford, and films from Roxana Vilk. Hope to see you there. Jonbar Cabaret — Friday 20 June 2014, 8pm — Venue: NN Café, Number Nine Guildhall Road, Northampton NN1 1DP A night of poetry, performance, music, readings and stories by Jo Blake Cave, Ben Moor, Ryan van Winkle and others, followed by through-the-night interventions and performances in the lead up to Untune at St Crispin’s. Tickets £5 available from NN Café. Golden Hour Unplugged in Berlin — Saturday 14 JuneAnother Country Berlin, Reimannstr 7, 10961 Berlin — Edinburgh’s premier literary cabaret is coming on tour! Join Ryan Van Winkle (Crashaw Award winner and author of Tomorrow, We Will Live Here), Jane Flett (one of Salt’s Best British poets 2012 and author of Quick, to the Hothouse), and Emma Wipperman for some poetry-shaped words, with music by Alex’s Hilarious EnterprisesDrock Productions, and Alfred Ladylike. VERSschmuggel, Berlin — Tuesday 10 June — Very pleased to be heading to Berlin with some very talented Scottish poets for VERSschmuggel, as part of the Literatur Werkstatt, Berlin. With Anna Crowe, Scotland/UK; Odile Kennel, Germany; Peter Mackay, Scotland/UK; Dagmara Kraus, Poland/Germany; Ryan Van Winkle, USA; Björn Kuhligk, Germany. Moderation Aurélie Maurin editor, translator, Berlin. The poesiefestival berlin invited some of Scotland’s most outstanding poets to meet up with German-speaking colleagues for the VERSschmuggel translation workshop. Culture Laser LIVE IN BERLIN! — Sunday 8 June The Multi-Coloured Culture Laser enters Berlin for a night of performance, discussion, drinking, and hot hilarious uke action. A podcast experience for your eyes & your hearts – done fucking live. Altes Finanzamt, Schönstedtstraße 7 – EG Neukölln 12043, Berlin. A Bird is Not a Stone — Tuesday 3 June, 6pm —  The Edinburgh launch of A Bird is Not a Stone, a groundbreaking anthology of Palestinian poetry translated into the languages of Scotland. The evening will include readings of poems from the collection in both the original and translations by Liz Lochhead, Abla Oudeh, Liz Niven, Harry Giles, Rachel McCrum and Ryan Van Winkle.

May 2014

Reel Festivals at Knockengorroch — Sunday 25 May 5-8pm — Join Reel Festivals for a screening of ‘A Tale of Two Syrias’ followed by a discussion on Syria, art and resistance between the director Yasmin Fedda and author Robin Yassin-Kassab. Followed by readings of Sytian poetry from Ryan Van Winkle & Kathrine Leyton and Syrian and Palestinian music from the amazing Raast Collective! Rally & Broad Ampersand Edition, Bongo Lives! — Friday 2 May, 7pm — Very chuffed to be joining Lake Montgomery and a host of talented artists for Rally and Broad’s Ampersand Edition. There’ll be collaborations with singer-songwriters and poets, plus we’ll be back in the hallowed vaults of the Bongo Club, part of the Bongo Lives! celebrations. It’s this Friday 2 May, it’s five bucks, it’s tremendous art. Come join us!

April 2014

Reel Arts: Niniti Literature Festival — Tuesday 22 – Thursday 24 April — Really excited to be heading back to Erbil in Iraq for Erbil’s 3rd International Literature Festival. I’ll be doing some readings and workshops, alongside some fantastic Iraqi writers and some familiar faces to Scottish readers, including Kei Millar, Vicki Feaver, Julia Copus, Kapka Kassabova, Nia Davies and SJ Fowler. It’s running from 22-24 April, if you’re in Kurdistan, do drop by. Valve Journal @ The Poetry Club, Glasgow — Friday 11 April, 7.30pm — I’ll be reading with some fine folks who have had stuff published in Valve Journal, an excellent literary compendium. Come hang with us on Friday April 11 at The Poetry Club in Glasgow. Decagram @ Hidden Door Festival, The Vaults, Market Street, Edinburgh — Thursday 3 April, 7pm — Myself and JO Morgan, last seen collaborating on ‘All Signs’, will be joining Hiva Oa, Lipsync for a Lullabye and a line-up of super talented musicians, writers and visual artists for Decagram, part of DAY 7 (aka Thursday 3 April) of the Hidden Door FestivalDECAGRAM is a transcendental fusion of contemporary, classical, post-rock, tribal, noise, dub and hip hop that will eat your brains. Superational @ Hidden Door Festival, The Vaults, Market Street, Edinburgh — Thursday 3 April, 6pm — I’ll be chairing a preview for Superational, a collaborative forum for artists to meet, create, publish and distribute their work.

March 2014

Rally & Broad @ The Counting HouseFriday 21 March, 7.30pm — Totally psyched to be on the bill for the upcoming March edition of Rally & Broad: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright. They’ve got a great lineup this month, including A New International, Kirsty Law, Sian Bevan and the Loud Poets. Friday 21st March at the Counting House, Edinburgh, £5, see you there.

February 2014

At the Heart of Things, Edinburgh International Science Festival — Thursday 13 February, 7 for 7.30-10pm — I’ll be reading/holding forth at the Edinburgh International Science Festival‘s At the Heart of Things at the Informatics Forum, also known as Inspace. We’ll be discussing the importance of the heart both as vital organ/blood-distributor and as the conceptual seat of the emotions. Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB Adrift (In the Archive) with Screen Bandita — Tuesday 11 February, 7.30-8.15pm — Harnessing spoken word, found celluloid film, slides, vintage ephemera and gramophones, Van Winkle and Screen Bandita conjure forth a mesmerising and surreal piece that unfolds and unpacks suitcases of memory, place and experience.

December 2013

DECAGRAM — Saturday 7 December, 7pm-3am — The DECAGRAM collective bring you a series of extended Saturday nights with short film and visuals, live music and club in one. Featuring DECAGRAM artists joined by very special guests … GRNR :: NUMBERS ARE FUTILE :: HIVA OA :: RYAN VAN WINKLE :: ANIA URBANOWSKA :: SMALL FEET LITTLE TOES :: DAVID WHEATLEY :: EUAN MCKENZIE :: TRUDATSOUND :: KEVIN PICKERING :: DUNCAN COWLES Red, Like Our Room Used to Feel, Woodford Folk Festival, Australia — Friday 27 December – Wednesday 1 January, This New Year season I’ll be taking Red, Like Our Room Used to Feel to sunny Australia for the Woodford Folk Festival! It will be warm, nay, HOT, it will be in a tent, it will be the festive season like you’ve never seen it.

November 2013

Bring Your Own Archive with Screen Bandita — Sunday 3 November, 10am-1pm, Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, Battersea, London, SW11 5TN, FREE SHOW! — Do you have any spools of Super 8 film or old slides gathering dust in the attic? Bring them along and we’ll project them for you! And if you have any old photographs you’d like to share, come and display them in our pop-up gallery! Soundtracking the afternoon will be a pair of antiquated Russian gramophones and a myriad of interesting records from our collection. Valve Journal III Launch — Friday 1 November, 8pm-2am, The Poetry Club, 100 Eastvale Place, G3 8 Glasgow, FREE ENTRY, FREE BOOZE — Our beloved Valve is celebrating its third birthday with the launch of issue number 3! Filled with experimental prose and fiction from well-kent faces including Michael Pedersen, Katy McAulay and Ryan Van Winkle, Valve III also features work from emerging writers like Scott Morris, Chelsea Cargill and Fiona Inglis.

October 2013

CamaradeFest — Saturday 26 October, 2pm-10pm, Rich Mix Arts Centre, 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London, Greater London E1 6LA, FREE SHOW — The Camarade poetry festival is a unique and unforgettable one day explosion of dynamic collaboration in contemporary avant garde and literary poetics. 100 poets align in 50 pairs, each writing an original collaborative work, written specifically for the festival and premiered on the day ADRIFT IN THE ARCHIVE: A SPECTRUM OF SUPER 8 AND WORDS: SCRATCH — Screen Bandita & Ryan Van Winkle — 18 – 19 Oct, 8:30pm, Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TN, Running Time: 30 mins, Price: Pay What You Can. Harnessing spoken word, found celluloid film, slides, vintage ephemera and gramophones, Van Winkle and Screen Bandita conjure forth a mesmerising and surreal piece that unfolds and unpacks suitcases of memory, place and experience. Speakeasy #6 — 12 October, 7pm-10pm, Artistry, 17 Jalan Pinang, Singapore 199149Artistry’s monthly spoken word night, featuring award-winning poet Ryan van Winkle. World Voices — 9 October, 7.30pm, Earshot Café, 1 Old Parliament Lane, Singapore. Join us as Ryan Van Winkle reads from his evocative poetry, and presents a treat in the form of his ViewMaster. Ryan’s ViewMaster is a personal slide-show performance that is at times surprising and surreal, and offers viewers a chance to travel through scenes with your eyes and ears.

This session will be moderated by Alvin Pang, a noted and award winning poet.

September 2013

Melbourne Fringe FestivalFriday 20 September – Saturday 5 October7-9pm (20 min shows) — On Friday 20 September Red Like Our Room Used to Feel will be making its southern hemisphere début at the Melbourne Fringe Festival. After successful runs at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe, in the Battersea Arts Centre in December 2012, and most recently at the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre, we’re really excited to share the show with a new audience. Brisbane Writers Festival — Friday 6 September 5:30–6:30pm, Brisbane Square Library — The Lord Mayor’s Reader-in-Residence David Stavanger (Ghostboy) hosts two dynamic poetic voices in a new monthly performance event, as well as a “surprise guest” reading a poem from the library collection. Thursday 12th September, Brisbane Square Library — Ryan Van Winkle (USA) is an award winning poet, performer, critic and Poet in Residence at Edinburgh City Libraries. His poetry/theatre experiments have also been rated in the top ten shows at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in recent years. The Lord Mayor’s Reader-in-Residence David Stavanger (Ghostboy) presents a fully day with Ryan Van Winkle including readings, a workshop and performances of his acclaimed poetry installation ViewMaster. Tomorrow, We Will Live Here reading 12pm Join Ryan for lunch as he reads from his award winning debut collection. ViewMaster 10-11am, 1-2pm A personal slide-show for your eyes and ears only. Ryan Van Winkle will bring you on a sometimes surprising, sometime surreal, tour accompanied by the ambient sounds of Dan Gorman. One audience member per 10 min session. Read like a Writer workshop 3-5pm Join Ryan with David as they read a selection of contemporary poets with an eye to learn how to take risks with style and form. As Picasso said: ‘Good artists copy, great artists steal’. And so, come practice poetic theft! 

August 2013

Naughty Boys – Friday 16 August — Dan Gorman, Stevie Patterson and myself are back in action as The Naughty Boys, the famous and very serious music and poetry trio, coming to the basement of the Forest Café this Friday night, 16 August, kicking off at the very naughty time of 11pm.

Forest Fringe:

Viewmaster with Dan Gorman

Friday 16 – Monday 19 August, 11am-1pm & 3.45pm-5.30pm A personal slide-show for your eyes and ears only. You choose the journey and Ryan Van Winkle will bring you on a sometimes surprising, sometime surreal, tour accompanied by the ambient soundtrack of Dan Gorman. Performances are under 10 minutes. A rare chance to travel, listen and pause in one small space. Edinburgh International Book Festival: Hosting Luke Wright & Michael Pedersen: Poems Like Pointing Fingers Friday 16 August, 8.30 – 9.30pm (£7/£5) A new breed of poets is storming the spoken word scene and entertaining a generation for which Big Brother is a reality TV show as well as an Orwellian literary invention. Michael Pedersen, co-organiser of Edinburgh live poetry night Neu! Reekie! reads from Play with Me, while Essex-born Luke Wright, whose 5-star performances have wowed Fringe-goers, performs from his joyful new tome, Mondeo Man.  Reel Iraq: The Golden Hour Monday 19 August, 9-11pm (FREE) Revel in a special evening of contemporary Iraqi culture, to mark ten years since the invasion of Iraq, with poetry, theatre and music. Featuring acclaimed Iraqi poets Sabreen Kadhim (coming direct from Baghdad) and Ghareeb Iskander, accompanied by new translations from renowned Scotland-based poets Krystelle Bamford, John Glenday, Jen Hadfield and William Letford; compelling theatre from Dina Moussawi and Iraqi Choobi dance music. This event is supported in part by Creative Scotland and LIFT Festival. Horrible Histories with Jack Wolf Wednesday 21, 3.30-4.30pm (£7/£5) A notorious 19th century corsair practising piracy in the Gulf; and a talented 18th century science student, madman and deviant. What is the link between Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud’s The Corsair and Jack Wolf’s The Tale of Raw Head & Bloody Bones? Both are stunning historical novels that powerfully evoke the treachery – and the enlightenment – of their respective ages. A treat for fans of historical fiction. [NB: Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud has cancelled – I will be standing in for him] Doune the Rabbit Hole Thursday 22 – Sunday 25 (Festival Tickets: £88 full price, £30 day ticket, U-12s free) Come join me at the poetry stage where I’ll be collaborating with Hiva Oa on Friday night and performing solo on Saturday afternoon. Many thanks to Ed Stack and the Ten Tracks / Decagram crew.

July 2013

18 July — The next installment of the Enemies Project will be a two week exhibition of visual art & avant-garde poetry in collaboration at the Hardy Tree Gallery (119 Pancras Road, London, NW1 1UN) July 6th to 20th 2013, with the space open for viewing 12-6pm July 7, 11-14, 18-20, and featuring seven events over the fortnight.

I’ll reading from ‘Bled Suburbs’ with SJ Fowler on the 18th in london as part of POW. POW is an excellent pamplet series, Chrissy Williams’  Murder, She Wrote, a kind of dark love letter to Angela Lansbury, was one of my reading highlights of last year.

All the events are free, and it would be lovely to see you there.

June 2013

29 June – I will be performing live at the Traverse Theatre alongside a gramophone and an 8mm film in Screen Bandita‘s Shining Through the Shadows, a mesmerising and surreal piece of expanded cinema that unfolds themes of memory, place and experience. The piece is part of Black Box Live, and will be followed by Paris-based Collectif Nominoe and Finnish artist Sami van Ingen. Join us for a very special evening of analogue adventures! What: Black Box Live Where: Traverse Theatre Edinburgh When: 21:15, Saturday 29 June How Much: £6 / £5 Book Online with Edinburgh International Film Festival 11 June – Bookstore Poetry Night — Then it’s off to sunny Amsterdam to read at The Bookstore Foundation’s free show, with guitarist Schalk Joubert, Nyk de Vries, Tjitske Jansen, Dennis Gaens, Anneke Claus, Krijn Peter Hesselink and Joost Baars. 7 June – Kantoorpoëzie 5 – Vijf! — I will be reading with Dutch poet Jan Klug in Groningen! Kantoorpoezie means Office Poetry! There will be music and poetry and fine people.

May 2013

31 May – 1 JuneRed, Like Our Room Used to Feel, London Lit FestivalAn intimate one-to-one poetry performance from Ryan Van Winkle. An audio voyage featuring ambient melodies from Ragland. An installation with paintings, photographs and ephemera from a host of artists. Joy, memory and loss condensed into 15 minutes.

A red room to lay down in with a free port or tea and as many biscuits as you like.

18 May — Prague Book Fair — Friday 18/5/2013, 2.00 p.m.–3.50 p.m.

LATERNA POETICA – Right Wing35
Alexandra Büchler and Ryan van Winkle
Alexandra Büchler introduces the internet magazine ‘Transcript’ and video clips from a Literature Across Frontiers poetry project. Ryan van Winkle introduces a number of projects that present poetry over the Internet, including the Scottish/Arab poetry projects Reel Iraq and Reel Syria. • Interpreted: Czech, English.

18:00 hrs

Palace of Industry, Prague Exhibition Grounds (Holešovice), Poetry Room – Right Wing (Balcony, Right).

Ryan van Winkle, an american who lives in Edinburgh, is well known for his innovative approach to performing poetry using multimedia, new technologies and theatrical arrangements. He transforms  poetry into theatre using video clips, podcasts and other ways of communicating with the audience. Interpreted: Czech, English

14 May — Literature Across Frontiers

Presented by Alexandra Büchler in Czech and English Divus (South Wing), Bubenská 1, Praha 7 Literature Across Frontiers presents two poets from Britain known for taking innovative approaches to performing poetry using multimedia, new technology, and theatre settings. Zoë Skoulding’s performance features sound art and photographs by Alan Holmes, with recordings of her poetry in Czech translation. Ryan van Winkle, an American settled in Edinburgh, makes poetry into theatre and uses video clips, podcasts and other ways of communicating with audiences.

10 May — Notes from the Fort / Viewmaster, Forest Café, Edinburgh, 8pm — Michelle Elrick will be in The Forest Café with “Notes from the Fort”, a series of performance installations that create intimate places in unfamiliar environments through the play act of fort building.

April 2013

23 April — Outskirts Festival, Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Glasgow — Glasgow’s Outskirts Festival is back for its second year in Platform, Easterhouse, and I have the privilege to join them! Outskirts celebrates art that crosses boundaries, blurs the lines between disciplines and salutes those artists who thrive on the edges, and got huge praise from all and sundry for their inaugural show last year.

20 April — Blackhall Library, Edinburgh, 6.30pm — On Tuesday 23 April (which is only WORLD BOOK NIGHT) I’ll have the great pleasure of chairing an evening with Scottish novelist, poet, writer, musician and all round good guy Andrew Greig at Edinburgh’s own Blackhall Library.

13 April — Ausform, Bristol

From the site: The Ausform Platforms happens in November and April in Bristol where we present 4-6 new pieces of work from artists we think are exciting. Ausform presents local, national, as well as, international work. We present work which has not been shown in Bristol before. We aim to work with a mixed bag of artists we believe in.

The festival runs over four days at the Cube and The Parlour Showrooms from 11-14 April, and includes performances and exhibits from six artists. You can buy tickets here for all six events for the awesome value of £13.50.

Where: The Parlour Showrooms, 31/31a College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TB.

When: 13 April, 1-6pm

How Much: £13.50 for all festival events.

6 April — Supper Club hosted by Stacy Makishi, Brighton

From the site: Maker of mayhem, agent provocateur and performance artist par excellence, Stacy Makishi hosts an evening of the sublime and the ridiculous. Featuring performance, film, music and installations, Supper Club is a fantastic social night of intriguing occurrences and unexpected encounters taking place throughout the venue’s various subterranean spaces. On offer this evening, the provocative spoken word of Sabrina Mahfouz, spellbinding poetry from Ryan Van Winkle, the beguiling Yve Blake and many more. Grab a tasty, home-made bite to eat and see what the night will hold.

Where: The Basement, 24 Kensington Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 4AJ

When: 6 April, 8pm-2am

How Much: £8/£6 Conc/Under-25s

March 2013

30 March — Cornerhouse, Manchester, 5-9.30pm —  This Saturday (30 March) I’ll be jaunting down the west coast to sunny Manchester to join SJ Fowler and his awesome collaboration project Enemies. From 5-9.30pm in the Annexe Room of the Cornerhouse, let us take you on a journey of original collaborations in poetry, sonic art and visual art, celebrating the resurgent energy of the northwest innovative poetry scene.

25 March — Raploch Community Campus, Stirling, 7-9pm — The Golden Hour has packed houses throughout the world — from the Edinburgh International Book Festival all the way to Melbourne with stops in Berlin, Paris, Beirut and Montreal. We’re bringing our closing party for Reel Iraq to Stirling featuring renowned Iraqi and Scottish poets, short films, and music from Billy Liar, Hailey Beavis and others. You will pause, ponder, clap and sing along. Free Show.

24 March — The Poetry Club at SWG3, Glasgow, 6-9pm — Found in Translation – For & From Iraq — Iraqi poetry from Ghareeb Iskander, Sabreen Kadhim, Zahir Mousa, Awezan Nouri with new translations from John Glenday, Jen Hadfield, William Letford and Krystelle Bamford.  Reel Festivals will also present short readings for Iraq by your favourite poets from around Scotland including JL Williams, Iyad Hayatleh, Ellen McAteer, Nuala Watt, Jim Carruth, Alan Riach, Sue Reid Sexton and a new Filmpoem from Alistair Cook. Free Show.

23 March — Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh, 4-6pm — Found in Translation – For & From Iraq — Iraqi poetry from Ghareeb Iskander, Sabreen Kadhim, Zahir Mousa, Awezan Nouri with new translations from John Glenday, Jen Hadfield, William Letford and Krystelle Bamford.  Reel Festivals will also present short readings for Iraq by poets from around Scotland including Vicki Feaver, Anna Crowe, Colin Herd, Nick-e Melville, Miriam Gamble, Peter Mackay, Michael Pederson and a new Filmpoem from Alastair Cook. Free Show.

22 March — Rich Mix, London, 7.30pm — Reel Words: Found in Translation – poems from and for Iraq, in collaboration with Maintenant — Iraqi poetry from Ghareeb Iskander, Sabreen Kadhim, Zahir Mousa, Awezan Nouri with new translations from John Glenday, Jen Hadfield, William Letford and Krystelle Bamford.  Reel Festival will also present short readings for Iraq from UK based poets including George Szirtes, Joe Dunthorne, Kirsty Irving, Nick-e Melville and Patrick Coyle. Free Show.

21 March — The Bakehouse, Dumfries , 7.30pm — Found in Translation – For & From Iraq — Iraqi poetry from Ghareeb Iskander, Sabreen Khadhim, Zahir Mousa, Awezan Nouri with new translations from John Glenday, Jen Hadfield, William Letford and Krystelle Bamford.  Reel Festival will also present short readings for Iraq by your favourite poets from around Scotland including Liz Niven, Tom Pow, Chrys Salt, Hugh McMillan, Elspeth Brown, Donald Adamson, John Hudson, Alan McClure and Angus Macmillan. Free Show.

 

21-24 March — Reel Iraq Festival Iraqi writers Ghareeb Iskander, author of the 2009 collection Chariot of Illusion, Kurdish poet and women’s rights activist Awezan Nouri, Baghdad based poet and journalist Sabreen Khadhim and emerging poet Zahir Mousa and all will all be joining us on the return journey to the UK to participate in the Reel Iraq Festival from 21-24 March in Dumfries, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow! Wow, that was a long sentence! But please, do keep these dates free in your diaries.

February 2013

9 February — We Are Enemies Project, Rich Mix Arts Centre: SJ Fowler’s Enemies comes kicking and screaming into 2013 with its first event at the Rich Mix Arts Centre in old London Town.

It’s on February 9, it’s at 7pm, it has lots wonderful people, plus yours truly. It’s going to be a wonderfully magical evening of collaboration and exciting new ways of looking at this crazy poetry thing that we do.

8 February — Caesura 10, I’m reading at one of Edinburgh’s acest pubs, the Waverley, for the newest edition of the Caesura reading series. It happens on the second Friday of every month and is totally free. You’ll hear work from fine fellow Sandy Hutchison, and our friends Sean Cartwright and Lila Matsumoto. Should be a cracking night! Hope to see you there.

7 February – 14 March — Starting this February, I’ll be reprising my role as wisdom-dispenser/tutor extraordinaire with five weekly poetry classes in association with the Poetry School. The PS gives all the lovely, flattering details: Read Like a Writer Returns Day / Time: Thursdays, 6-8pm Duration: 5 weeks Start Date: 7 February Price: £63, £54 (60+), £47 (concs) Level: open to all.

January 2013

18 JanuaryRally and BroadAt the Counting House I’ll be performing at Edinburgh’s finest cabaret of spoken word, song and lyrical delight, Rally & Broad! Super excited to be joining our friends and congenial hosts Jenny Lindsay and Rachel McCrum, PLUS a host of talented writers, songers and performance arters.

December 2012

12-15, 18-22 December — Red, Like Our Room Used to Feel goes on tour to the Battersea Arts Centre in London. The installation features music from Gareth Warner’s Ragland, paintings, photographs and objets d’art from a host of Edinburgh-based artists, plus Van Winkle’s award-winning poems read by the author. It is joy, memory and loss condensed into a tea break. It is an ambient audio voyage. It is a red room to lay down in, close your eyes and be where you want to be.

7 December — An Evening with Iain Banks – I’ll have the huge privilege of chairing an event with Scottish author Iain Banks at the Strathclyde University as part of the Keith Wright Fellowship Writers Series! It’s on from 5pm in the USSA Debating Theatre, floor 6 of the Student Union building, it is TOTALLY FREE and OPEN TO ALL. 1 December — Compere at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow at Book Week Scotland’s Pop Up Festival, introducing eight winners of the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awards.

November 2012

19 November — Featured Poet @ Spoken Word Paris, Au Chat Noir Café, 76, rue Jean Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Paris; Métro Parmentier/Couronnes. In English ou en français or any language… Read, perform or sing your own (or others’) prose, poetry, music, etc in front of like-minded, literary-loving people. 

October 2012

9-14, 20-27 OctoberThe Golden Hour on Tour: Glasgow, Stirling, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds, Brighton, Bristol, Oxford, Cardif and London! The Golden Hour has packed houses throughout the world — from the Edinburgh International Book Festival all the way to Melbourne with stops in Berlin, Paris, Beirut and Montreal. We’ve selected a zesty melange of talent  — those who will make you pause, ponder, dance and stomp. All specially infused – a feast for all your senses. During the day we welcome you into our lovingly painted venue-on-wheels — join us for bespoke mini-gigs with renowned poets and songwriters, fragrance workshops, and secret surprises. By night, we go late and lively for an unforgettable cabaret style cavalcade of new writing, blistering, blissful music, and infused dance performances all in a beautiful space.

3 October — After a massively fun and wonderfully successful show at the St Andrews StAnza Festival, I’m diving headfirst into the jazz pool with some amazingly talented musicians and writers in the Ingham Johnstone Project at the Wigtown Book Festival on 5 October! So honoured to be invited back, it’s going to be a great night of lovely sounds.

September 2012

13 September — Click Clack ClubI’ll be performing with the hugely talented Devil’s Dick Trio and Steve Kettley’s Odd Times at the Click Clack Club this Thursday 13 September at the Third Door.

Come along! Only a bargainous £4 for an evening of song and fine tunes.

12 September — #NeedNothing : On Wednesday 12 September I’ll be reading at the Mono Café in Glasgow as part of Sam Allan’s #neednothing campaign, which will teach us all how to be happier. The line up has some really talented singer/songwriters, comedians, musicians, and yours truly.

8 & 16 September — Roofless & Rediscover” : I’m in Moniaive on Saturday 8 September between 1-5pm, where we’ll be making recordings to be played back at a special performance in Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries on Sunday 16 September.

1 – 2 September — Sofia Poetics : A very special trip to Bulgaria as part of Literature Across Frontiers, a pan-European platform for writers of all stripes to get together and be arty and drink fine wines. Video!

August 2012

25 August — Doune the Rabbit Hole : On the Longhouse Spoken Word Stage.

4 – 24 August“Red Like Our Room Used To Feel” : Summerhall — an intimate poetry performance from Ryan Van Winkle. An audio voyage featuring melodies from Ragland

It is a red room to lay down in. An art installation with paintings , photographs and ephemera from a host of artists. It is joy, memory and loss condensed into fifteen minutes. A cup of tea, a snifter of port, and a space to listen. Every 20 minutes daily (except Wednesdays) from 2-4pm & 5-7pm. Box Office: 0845 874 3001

23 August — Hosting The Colour Orange at Unbound : Readings and performances reflecting the historical and cultural influences that combine to create Dutch culture, from the historical empire in South Africa and Indonesia to the influence of American culture in the 20th century. Featuring novelist Karin  Amatmoekrrim, hip-hop artist Blaxtar, and poet/author Christine Otten.

14 August — Reading Paterson Arran Ten at Ten at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Tuesday 7th August — 19.15: One Night Stanzas presents WATSKY x 2: an evening of spoken word with George Watsky, Paul Watsky and special guests. Henderson’s at St John’s,  Tickets £7 from the Eventbrite page Wednesday,

22 August — 11am: Poetry in the Persian Tent  — with  Liz Lochhead, John Glenday, Stephanie Green, Ryan Van Winkle. £10/8. The Festival of Spirituality and Peace,  Venue 127, St John’s Church, Princes Street

July 2012

Stirling

Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 7pm: The Golden Hour The Junk Rooms, 17 Friars Street — Ewan Morrison,Chris Powici, Rachel McCrum, Hailey Beavis, Billy Liar

My Favourite Place Workshops with the Scottish Book Trust

Saturday 14 July: Eden Court, Inverness, 3pm – with Ryan Van Winkle Saturday 21 July: Dundee Central Library, Dundee, 1pm – with Ryan Van Winkle Saturday 28 July: Edinburgh Central Library, Edinburgh, 11am – with Ryan Van Winkle Thursday 2 August, Burns Monument Centre, Kilmarnock, 2pm – with Ryan Van Winkle

Montreal

Monday, 2 July, 8pm — The Golden Hour: with Dan Meth, Joshua Trotter, Leigh Kotsilidis, Taperecorder, Tessa Kautzman, Statue Park! All at Casa del Popolo!

June 2012

Toronto

Thursday, June 28 8pm — The Golden Hour: with Dan Meth: Artist, Leigh Kotsildis, Natalie Zina Walschots, JF Robitaille, Flamenguitos del Norte, Gavin Gardiner

May 2012

Manchester

Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 19:00 — Launch of Lung Jazz’: Young British Poets for Oxfam —  International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester — Readers will include: Andrew Oldham, Evan Jones, Claire Trévien, Lindsey Holland, Todd Swift, Michael Egan, Victoria Smith, Paul Adrian, John Challis, John Clegg, Cath Nichols, Ryan Van Winkle, Martha Sprackland, Sarah Corbett, Eileen Pun and Tom Weir.

Australia

10 – 13 May — Wordstorm & National Poetry Festival 2012: A Festival of Australasian Poetry

THURSDAY 10 MAY

11.00am: NT open education centre – poetry workshop via video link to remote indigenous schools

SATURDAY 12 MAY

12.15pm: panel discussion – ‘ut pictura poesis – the aesthetics of poetry’

SUNDAY 13 MAY

1.00pm: reading – my poems and maybe some ‘covers’

5.30pm: comedy debate – ‘sonnets are better than sex’

Monday, 7 May — The Manning Clark House, Canberra — 19.30

a lovely informal space where I’ll read as many of your poems as I like with room for questions, jokes, heckling, and wine sipping. I expect an enthusiastic evening.

Saturday 5 May — Clunes Booktown Festival — Writer’s Workshop — 11am:

in which I’ll be hosting an informal writer’s group. We’ll be looking at Scottish poetry and creating our own poems.

My appearances in Australia have been partly funded by the generous support of Creative Scotland. Myself and the Wordstorm / National Poetry Festival gratefully acknowledge this integral support.

April 2012

Sunday, 15 April — The Junk Rooms, Stirling — 18.00: with the wonderful Claire Askew and Dave Coates, Miriam Gamble, William Letford and more!.

Saturday, 14 April, 20:30 — Demented Eloquence — Cellar 35, Aberdeen, £4: ANDREW FERGUSON, DUFFY, RYAN VAN WINKLE,  GRAHAM BRODIE, ROBIN CAIRNS, and, of course, RAPUNZEL WIZARD!

Wednesday 4 April — 10-RED 19.00, The Persevere Function Room, Edinburgh. £3.00 entry: hosted by our friend and poet: Kevin Cadwallender. It features 10 poets, some of whom are: Kevin Williamson,Young Dawkins, Katherine McMahon, Chris LindoresGerry CambridgeRachel McCrum, Matt MacDonald, Mira Knoche,Nancy SomervilleSally EvansJenny Lindsay. And me. That’s 12. 10 Red, 2 Blue. Sunday, 1 April — Words Per Minute — The Arches, Glasgow, 16.00, £5: I’ll be sharing a stage with fellow expert on late-80s SNL cast members, the American, Jarred McInnes. Hosted by Kirstin InnesKirsty Logan and Helen Sedgwick.

March 2012

Friday, 30 March — Neu Reekie 15 — Scottish Book Trust, 19.00: Ryan Van Winkle, Jenny Lindsay, a featured animator, Raffle of the Absurd, two pound drinks and house band Emelle for another round of Reekie fun. Also, Mr. Withered Hand.

Thursday, 29 March — 19.00:  Journey: Poetry and Landscape with Angus Reid and Henry Marsh — Axolotl Gallery, 35 Dundas Street. We’ll be reading, walking in our minds, drinking, maybe singing, talking and – of course – enjoying the fantastic artwork in the gallery. This is the final show for Axolotl on Dundas, so do come and enjoy the space one more time. You’ll like it.

Friday, 23 March, 20.00The Ticket That Exploded – A Celebration of William Burroughs, Glasgow — The Old Hairdressers: Live cut-ups and poetry covers, and Burroughs’ films and great bands too! With Ewan Morrison,  Andrew Raymond Drennan, Redwings, and Fabled Circutry.

Wednesday, 7 March — THE INGHAM JOHNSTONE PROJECT — 19:00, Byre Theatre, St. Andrews — £9: a 20 piece jazz orchestra with a reading of the narrative poem ‘Robinson’ by Brian Johnstone. The evening features a set from Trio Verso and a full performance of Robinson featuring soloists Colin Steele (trumpet) and John Kenny (trombone).

Thursday, 1 March, FREE — 17:00 – 19:00 — Literary Dundee Salon — The Salons are like no other ‘Reading’ or ‘Lecture’ or ‘talk’ on offer anywhere else – in Scotland or beyond – breaking down the barriers that all too often inhibit the growth and expression of cultural life for ordinary people. Instead here is a forum in which everyone’s ideas matter, irrespective of professional background, taste or experience.

February 2012

Wednesday, 29 February, 18:30-20:30, Scottish Poetry Library, £7(£5)Poetry Association of Scotland reading with Andrew Forster. The Poetry Association of Scotland presents two poets who write about desire, regret and loss but with a life-affirming warmth and perception. Telling stories full of people and places, exploring  moments of significance and discovery.

Friday, 24 February, 12:15 — BBC Scotland — Brian Taylor’s Big Debate with labour MSP Kezia Dugdale,Rae Cahill (member of the Scottish Youth Parliament), and Conservative MSP Gavin Brown.

January 2012

Saturday, 14 September — The Golden Hour Toronto — Placebo Space, Toronto, Pay What You Can, BYOB. 21:00

The Golden Hour arrives in North America. Featuring the wizardry of many fine performers:

DAMIAN ROGERS: Electrifying. R

YAN VAN WINKLE: Award-winning, Edinburgh-dwelling bearded poet. MATTHEW J. TRAFFORD: Crafter of surreal short stories featuring Jesus clones & mermaids. TRAPLINESA: banjo. Some poems. NEIL QUIN: The guitarist from Zeus will blow you away with his shiny solo act. PHANTOM SHORES: Ottawa-based folk rockers with lush harmonies and blazing lyrics. Violin, sex & rock’n’roll. CHLOE CHARLES: This hypnotizing songstress will leave you spellbound – just try to resist.

AT PLACEBO SPACE. 1409 Bloor Street West, Apt A

October 2011

San Francisco Saturday, 15 October — Bang Out @ Lit Quake — Beauty Bar, 18.00: writers Marisa Crawford, Matt L. Rohrer, Lizzy Acker and Ryan Van Winkle read fresh new work on the theme “Meditations in an Emergency.”

September 2011

Auckland, New Zealand

Tuesday, 13 September — Poetry Live — The Thirsty Dog, Auckland. FREE – 20:00

New Zealand’s longest running, dedicated poetry event, Poetry Live has been a hub for the poetry community for over thirty years with a weekly guest poet, guest musician and open mic section where anyone can perform or read.

Sydney, Australia

Wednesday, 7 September — Tuning in the World @ The Sydney Fringe

Four poets and six musicians from Sydney will read alongside live, improvised music. There are no rehearsals. Featuring the legendary poet Shane Koyczan. Camelot Lounge 19 Marrickville Rd — $20 — 19:00

Tuesday, 6 September — Word in Hand, The Friend in Hand Hotel — 8pm, $5 – 10

This isSydney’s premier regular and enduring poetry / spoken word event. Featuring Ryan and two USA based poets: Shane Koyczan and Jive Poetic, moderated by Miles Merrill.

Melbourne, Australia

 Saturday, 3 September — Poetry @ The Dan, The Dan O’Connell Hotel, 14.00 – 17.00

The Dan is Melbourne’s longest running weekly poetry venue. From January 1st 1994 the Dan has featured some of the best National and International poets.

August 2011

Melbourne, Australia

Wednesday, 31 August — City of Literature Connect, The Wheeler Centre — 19.00 – 20.00

The Melbourne Poets Union and Australian Poetry presents a Melbourne / Edinburgh collaboration, a Cities of Literature soiree. Two international poets based in Edinbugh: American-born Ryan Van Winkle and Australian-American Emily Ballou read from their work.

Tuesday, 30 August — Edinburgh Unbound, Melbourne Writers Festival, The Toff in Town — 20.00 – 22.30, $25.00

Unbound Edinburgh is many things. Part reading, part gig, part party. Join the irrepressible Ryan van Winkle as he hosts a killer evening of rakish words, independent films and eclectic music all in a beautiful space. We’ll be celebrating the flourishing partnership between MWF and the Edinburgh Book Festival in our sister UNESCO City of Literature. In the capable hands of Ryan, poet, reader in residence at the Scottish Poetry Library and host of The Golden Hour at Edinburgh’s iconic Forest Café, we’ll meet experimental writer Ewan Morrison, one of Scotland’s most innovative young novelists, and Emily Ballou, the brilliant young Australian poet, novelist and screenwriter (The Slap) now resident in Scotland, and one of Melbourne’s superstars, Christos Tsiolkas, (The Slap). Featuring music from Andy Hazel and closing with Rapskallion’s unique blend of vaudevillian, cabaret, and junkyard gypsy blues.       Friday, 26 August — Words Per Minute at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Spiegeltent, Charlotte Square, 9-11pm, FREE

Join your hosts, Kirstin Innes, Kirsty Logan and Helen Sedgwick for an evening of special treats where all performers get ten minutes to impress the audience – no matter how famous they are. Expect the unexpected and some familiar faces at WPM at Unbound including, novelist, playwright and dazzling performer, Alan Bissett and American author Adam Levin and other American — me.

Wednesday , 24 August — The Golden Hour , The Forest, FREE – 1pm – 3am

Here it is — the last ever Golden Hour at the Forest Cafe at 3 Bristo Place. After this marathon event, we’re going to all rest up and think about new ways to do what we love — mixing poetry, stories, cartoons, music, drunkeness and dancing. In the meantime — you’ll have this massive event to remember us by — featuring: Tom PowJonny Berliner, William Letford, Emily BallouRobin GreyAnna CroweEricka DuffyKirstin InnesJohn GlendayThe Little Big BandAlan BissettThe Ghost of Joseph SealWaxPaper CinemaJason Morton and Dolphin Boy + much more including films byRoxana Pope and some special Reel Festivals gubbins. You will want to buy a hamburger. Sunday, 21 August — Edgelands — a conference from the borders of performance, 11am-7pm at The Forest Fringe, FREE

A ‘flash-conference’ on topics such as public perception of art, theatre, performance and the audience. I’ll be discussing ‘How can we stop making capitalism?’ with other interesting people. For more details, visit the Edgelands website. It should be interactive and exciting!  This day is not about railing against authority or the great institutions of the arts. It is a day for everybody to gather at the edges of those big institutions and organisations, on equal terms. To ask daring questions and suggest implausible answers. To share a spirit of generosity and a galvanising sense of hope; that despite or perhaps because of the political, financial and environmental circumstances in which we find ourselves, the arts can and will play a part in imagining and realising a better possible future.

Saturday, 20 August — The Edinburgh International Book Festival with Rachael Boast & Will Eaves, Charlotte Square, 8.30-9.30pm, £7/5

Considering all the things they’ve done, it is perhaps surprising that these three talented poets are only now publishing their debut collections. Will Eaves is an established author and Arts Editor of The Times Literary Supplement; Ryan Van Winkle is host of the much-loved Edinburgh literary evening The Golden Hour; and Rachael Boast has a PhD in Creative Writing from St Andrews University. Join them to hear how their experiences translate into fresh, exuberant, thought-provoking new verse.

Thursday, 18 August — The Golden Hour at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Spiegeltent, Charlotte Square, 9-11pm, FREE

Live and Kicking in the Spiegeltent! With Kelly Link, William Letford, Joe DunthormeBilly Liar, Mikel Krumins and Earl Grey and the Loose Leaves!!!    

Sunday, 7 August — The Naughty Boys at FaceplantThe Forest, 6-9pm, FREE

The Naughty Boys make improvised electro po-noize.  Poems vs computers vs drums vs salvaged keyboards and whatever else we can find. You will come.

The Naughty Boys are:  * DanSeizureon keys and computer loop. * Stevie Patersonon keys and percussion noises. * Ryan Van WinkleSpoken Words.

Also appearing: Alison Smith, Colin Herd, Fiona Soe Paing, Mark Mace Smith, Nuala Watt, Rachel McCrum, ShellSuit Massacre & Sophie Mayer

Friday, 5 August, the Tolbooth Theatre Attic Room in Stirling, 6.30pm

A reading for the Summer School students of Creative Writing at Stirling University.

July 2011

20 July, The Golden Hour, The Forest, FREE BYOB

Degna Stone – The new Newcastle poet rocks up and rocks on!     Amy Burns – A little American Class.   Luke Williams – original, inconceivable, brilliant says Ali Smith.   &   Olivia Salazar — singing the Spanish ‘copna’!!!   Portnawak & The Woo – gypsy folk hop, psychedelic tribal dance music and organic punk…with the added element of Woo!   BenOfficial – electro art performance for which you are all woefully unprepared! BYOB! enjoy! x

 

13th July (wed) 2011, 7pm, £2  — Poetry @ The Ivory

Ivory Hotel – 2 Camphill Avenue Shawlands

Glasgow friends, come along to The Ivory for a night of poetry. I’m reading and the rest of the line-up is yet to be confirmed but sure to be excellent if reports of other brilliant nights at the Ivory are to be believed. Also, I’m told — I’ll be doing a brief interview. Should be interesting. And, I would love to see you. And to read you poems.

  6 July — London, Concrete Bar @ Pizza East, 56 Shoreditch High Street

The Special Relationship

Award-winning writers, poets, comedians and film-makers have a story to tell. Guests for July’s show includes award-winning comedian JOSIE LONG and the one and only JONNY WOO.

 June 2011

24 June — 19.00, £5/4  — Neu Reekie 6 @ The Scottish Book Trust

  The Naughty Boys — * computers vs drums vs loops vs spoken words * Once a year the elusive and enigmatic Naughty Boys take the stage and with the best of intentions —  to create improvised electro po-noize.  Poems vs computers vs drums vs salvaged keyboards and whatever else we can find. You will come. The Naughty Boys are:  * DanSeizure on keys and computer loop. * Stevie Paterson on keys and percussion noises. * Ryan Van Winkle— Spoken Words.

 22 June, 8pm, The Forest, Edinburgh. Free. BYOB.

 The Golden Hour! Ladies and gentlemen — join us for the first in the final trilogy of monthly Golden Hour Events. We promise the usual melange of zesty new words, honourable music and visual rubbish all in a beautiful space. Bring yourself. Bring friends. Bring booze. This is a night we can not prepare you for.  Words from: Tracey Emerson (The Short-Story Doctor is In!), Richie McCaffrey (young poems with a familial lustre) & Gavin BowdWith Music From:  BenOfficial (electro art performance for which you are all woefully unprepared), Doug Johnstone (acoustic and solo and acoustic and alone), & Jade and the Jacks – Pure, relentless, funky fun. You will hot up.

14 June, 8.30pm, The Stand, Edinburgh — £4 / 3

Electric Tales It is not often I get to read in a comedy club. Yet, here I will be. Reading poems at the legendary Stand. A stage which has featured Daniel Kitson. Everyday I get closer. I’ll be doing a chatty poetry set. While I’ve been trying to trim the intros, it seems like this one requires a bit o’ banter. Come along if you like that kind of thing. Also performing: Fiona Herbert, Las Zorras, Liz Ely and Ryan Van Winkle.

May 2011

Reel Festivals: A Month worth of readings, translation workshops and more with the Reel Festivals writers from Syria, Lebanon and Scotland. Events include: The Golden Hour in Beirut & The Forest, Edinburgh Readings at the Scottish Poetry Library (Edinburgh) and The Scottish Writer’s Centre (Glasgow) Translation Workshops and Poetry Panel on ‘Crossing Boundaries / Bearing Witness’  in Lebanon. You can download our free E-book here featuring: From Syria, Golan Haji and Rasha Omran, from Lebanon, Yehya Jaber  and Mazen Maarouf and from Scotland, Tom Pow, Emily Ballou, William Letford and Ryan Van Winkle, along with beautiful Arabic Calligraphy by Everitte Barbee.   We are immensely thankful to Creative Scotland for making this festival, book and all these outcomes possible through the Vital Sparks funding, to the British Council for their sponsorship and ongoing support and to the Scottish Poetry Library, Literature Across Frontiers and all Reel Festivals supporters. As the poet Andrew Philip said: ‘it fairly makes a difference when you know the poetry makes a difference’. We couldn’t agree more and hope you do too.

March 2011

  Wed. March 23rd, 20.00 — The Golden Hour — The Forest, 3 Bristo Place – FREE

With: Amy Yang,  Morag Edward,  Robin J. Thompson &  Jen and the Gents, Panda Su, PLUS The Chans!

Tue. March 22nd — Nothing But the Poem — Central Library, Edinburgh — 19.00 — FREE   Fancy a poetry chat? Nothing But The Poem is a relaxed and informal way to meet and discuss poems. Moderated by ECL / SPL Reader-in-Residence Ryan Van Winkle. * We read a poem * We discuss the poem * Only the poem we’ve read. * No Jargon * No experience needed * Nothing to fear * Nothing but the poem.

Wed. March 16th, 19.30 — The Golden Hour @ StAnza — The Byre Theatre, Abbey Street, St Andrews — Free!

Readings by: Ryan Van Winkle , William Letford Music By: Hailey Beavis & John Langan Band — an extravagant, eclectic three-piece melding Celtic, Balkan, Gypsy swing, and progressive music into a remarkably high-octane and super big sound.

February 2011

Sun. 27 Feb — A Lyrical Death Match: Cargo vs Chemikal — The Caves, Edinburgh. £13 / £9 Two of Scotland’s hottest cultural nests – Cargo publishing and music label Chemikal Underground – come head to head armed with prose, poetry and song. Authors Alan Bissett, Rodge Glass and Doug Johnstone, poet Ryan Van Winkle and emerging talent Kirstin Innes get up on stage to face former-The Delgados and revered singer songwriter Emma Pollock, and the multi-talented Lord Cutglass and his band. Stand-up comedian AL Kennedy referees the evening. Expect great music, and great writing at a great venue. Sponsored by City of Edinburgh Libraries. Sat. 19 February — 16.00: The Golden Hour @ Stereo, Glasgow. Part of Cargo‘s Margin Festival — ONLY £1   Readings From: Ryan Van Winkle, Nick Holdstock, &  Ericka Duffy. Music From: Small Feet, Little Toes, Billy Liar, Toby Mottershead Wed. 16 February The Golden Hour with Let’s get Lyrical! — The Forest, 3 Bristo Place, Edinburgh — FREE   with performances by writers with work that sings and bands who provide thought provoking words with brilliant chops.   Words from: Kei MillerJim Carruth + Rodge Glass &&&  Music: Burnt Island + Endor +  Manje!   Thurs. 10 February — 19.00: St. Mungo’s Mirrorball, Glasgow @ Poetry Club , Glasgow School of Art, 167 Renfrew Street — FREE   Featuring the poetry stylings of — Nalini Paul, James McGonigal, Graham Fulton and me.   Tue 1 February — 24 February — Poetry Month @ Blackhall Library — FREE Join me for a month full of poetic activities!

January 2011

Fri. 28 January — 20.00 – 00.00: Verse Beats @ The Sugar Factory, Amsterdam —  9 euros (7.50 for students) A literary extravaganza with poets, mc’s and slammers all taking the stage. If you or your friends are in Amsterdam please come / spread the word.

Wed. 19 January — 20.00 – 00.00: The Golden Hour, The Forest, 3 Bristo Place, Edinburgh — FREE Words: Juliet Wilson – The Green Poet,  Kirsty Logan – unleashes the story,  JL Williams / James Iremonger / Atzi – Experi-Mental PoAmbient Fusion for your soft ears…. Music: Lipsync for a Lullaby – Loud and long songs composed of classical harmonies, beats of slo-core, remains of post-rock, ashes of punk, and modernist intervals.  Zebra-Eye – Boom Bang Crash!!! &&& John Knox Sex Club – The sound of a warm tea cup…. On a fresh paper cut.

December 2010

Thurs. 23 December — 19.00 – 20.00: Hometown Book Launch! — Blackstone Library, FREE Poems from Ryan Van Winkle’s prize-winning début collection ‘Tomorrow, We Will Live Here ‘. Music from John Farias. Free drinks and nibbles.

Wed. 15 December — 20.00 – Late: The Golden Hour Holiday Hell-Ride, The Forest — FREE Samuel Taradash + Jarred McGinnis – Release a special double chapbook, boom! * Jason Morton – the annual roar * Tim Turnbull — Beware the tinselled Succubus * Ben Lancaster — Live from Canada with Holiday Tidings. * Music From: Pockets & Alex — Fantastic Uke Boogies!!! * Forest Choir — A full chorale opens their lungs. * John Langan Band — Do you like the party?

Sun. 12 December – 16.00 – 18.00: Words Per Minute — The Arches, Glasgow  £ tbc Performance from Kieran Hurley, Dark, sexy new stories from Kirsty Logan, Anarchic NYC poetry from Ryan Van Winkle, A live electronica set from Miaoux Miaoux, Christmas karaoke + more to be confirmed

November 2010

Tue. 23 Nov. 19.00 – 20.00 An Evening of Poems… Newington Library, FREE Featuring Ryan Van Winkle and Andrew Philip. Philip’s ‘The Ambulance box’, has been short-listed for the Forward and Seamus Heany prizes. His moving poems explore loss and discovery while addressing the death of his first child. One of our favourite Edinburgh poets. Ryan Van Winkle is Reader in Residence at the Scottish Poetry Library and his book, ‘Tomorrow, We Will Live Here’ is focused on parting from America. His collection won the Crashaw Prize in 2009.

Tomorrow, We Will Live Here, Book Launch 

Thursday 18 November, 6.30pm  Tomorrow, We Will Live Here, Book Launch — Blackwells, Edinburgh There will be wine, readings from my début collection published by SALT and a rocking after party at The Forest with some of our musical friends and probably a few readings of work that I don’t read any more and which is not in the book. Stir the soup, old friends, stir the soup. With: Billy Liar, Jed & Hailey, and Black Diamond Express! Free!

Wednesday 17 November, 8pm — The Golden Hour v. Plastic Fork — FREE, The Forest That’s right — Forest Publishing versus Forest Records in a hard-core, art-core freak out featuring: Ewan Morrison – Getting his malls out,  Jon Stone + Kirsten Irving – going from 8bit to 32bit and back. There will be many art installations and video games and new ways to absorb the music and literature of Forest. Do Not Miss It.

Thursday, 11 November, 7pm, LONDON BOOK LAUNCH  Phoenix Artist’s Club, at Charing Cross Road, London I’ll be reading from my new book live and in person. That means you’ll be the first people in the world to be able to buy and hold my first ever book. So, London friends, fetch your diaries and prepare a place in your loo — my book is coming and I want it in your WC.

October 2010

Wednesday, 27 October, MKC, Skopje, Macedonia 7pm Poets Ryan van Winkle (Scotland/USA) and Faruk Šehi? (Bosnia)  travelling direct from events in Belgrade will join hosts Xhabir Deralla and Kalina B Isakovska and local writers Jovica Ivanovski, Aleksandra Dimitrova, and Elizabeta Bakovska for an evening of poetry and debate.

Monday, October 25, Word Express Reading — UK Parobrod, Kapetan Mišina 6a, Belgrade, Serbia · 7:00pm – 8:30p

My very first reading in Serbia. With other great poets: Faruk Šehi? (Bosna i Hercegovina, Ana Ristovi? (Srbija), Jasmina Topi?, Milan Dobri?i?, Dejan Matic.

Saturday & Sunday 23 & 24 October, Hidden Doors Arts Festival, The Roxy at 3, 5 & 7 pm

I’ll be hosting the Hidden Doors cabaret of spoken word talent! Featuring an insane amount of brilliant readers including friends like Dave Coates, JL Williams, Jane Flett, Sophie Cooke, Kevin Williamson, Andy Philip and many many more. Go here for Saturday listings and here for Sunday listings. Friday 22 October, The List 25th Anniversary Party, The Arches, Glasgow 8pm — £12 The List goes live! After 25 years we’ve decided to put on our own event … and it’s been worth the wait. We’re taking over The Arches for one Friday night only, showcasing the best of Scottish culture, including many of our favourite bands, DJs and writers. The line-up so far can be found here.

Wednesday, 20 October, 8pm — The Golden Hour — At The Forest — FREE An Open Doors Spectacular with these fine people already confirmed: Sophie Cooke – releases a chapbook of new stories,  Kevin MacNeil – gets behind the method actor’s mask, Doug Johnstone – actually doesn’t mind the taste of soap, thank you very much & The Kevin MacNeil Band – hitting you with music.

19 October – 6 December, Residency at Newington Library, Edinburgh — All Events Free I’ll be semi-based in Newington Library hosting free poetic events and workshops! The month will also feature a display with my favourite poetry collection. It should be a brilliant month so come along to any of the TOTALLY FREE events mentioned below or feel free to pop into the library and see what excellent poetry books are on offer! Details coming soon ….

September 2010

Wednesday, 22 September — The Golden Hour, The Forest Cafe, FREE Featuring: Michel Faber — Novelist & accidental Train Spotter brings stories, Lorraine Mccauley Trio — featuring Guitar / Vocals, Cello / Glockenspiel , Viola / Mandolin and Accordion, Michael Pedersen — award-winning lexical butter churner and fluffy maned man, Screen Kids — power comes out and at you, Nalini Paul, and Ottersgear.

13 September – 18 October, South Queensferry Library — All Events Free I’ll be semi-based in South Queensferry hosting free poetic events and workshops! The month will also feature a display with my favourite poetry collection. You can come and meet your Reader in Residence and join our Nothing But the Poem workshop on Monday 27 September at 19.00. It should be a brilliant month so come along to any of the TOTALLY FREE events mentioned below or feel free to pop into the library and see what excellent poetry books are on offer! All details and dates are HERE.

August 2010

Wednesday 4th August, 6:00pm  – Free Blackwell, 53-62 South Bridge Edinburgh Join us to celebrate the launch of the latest volume of New Scottish Writing. My poem is in there. Buy the book.

Sunday, 15 August, 20.00 — £7/5

Word Express – from Istanbul via Athens to Edinburgh — EMERGING WRITERS ON A TRANS-EUROPEAN ODYSSEYEdinburgh International Book Festival

The Word Express project has taken young writers on literary journeys through the Balkans and South-east Europe. In this event, six poets involved in the project give a special performance. Come and hear Gokçenur Ç and Efe Duyan from Turkey; Katerina Iliopoulou and Yannis Isidorou from Greece; Marko Poga?ar from Croatia; and Raman Mundair and Ryan Van Winkle from Scotland in this truly international event. Part of our After The Wall: The New Europe series of events. In association with Literature Across Frontiers and the Scottish Poetry Library

© britainonview/Rod Edwards

Wednesday, 18 August, 20.00 –Free

The Golden Hour @ The Forest

lidija haas – stops the presses with her new chapbookal  kennedy – novelist, comedian, rude and wonderful.

nick holdstock — they call him “strong meat”.

ryan van winkle – short poems, long stories.Music: Earl Grey and the Loose Leaves – A brawling bar-room  blues band that sounds like Captain Beefheart oan the train over tae Howlin’ Wolf’s hoose fur a bevvy and a brace with Sonny Terry and the Mississippi Sheiks. Contagious.&&&& loads more!!!!

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Sunday, 22 August – 11am – C Central, North Bridge — £10.50

Naked Brunch

I’m reading naked at the Naked Brunch. You ask: What is the Naked Brunch — well, pretty much what it says it is except with art, music, poetry, clowns, comedy and burlesque. You can read more about it here (and buy tickets if you think it sounds too embarrassing to miss. But, remember, you’ll have to be naked too!).\

The Naked Brunch

19 – 22 August – Various Times – Free, The Forest Fringe

Red Like Our Room Used to Feel         part of The Forest Fringe “Secret Festival”     Thurs 19th – 17.00 – 21.00     Friday 20th – 19.00 – 22.00     Saturday 21st – 14.00 – 18.00           In an intimate poetry performance in a Red Room. There’s a bed. A snifter of port. Some tea and  biscuts. Art work. Soundscapes by Ragland and, of course, some poems.

“Red Like Our Room Used To Feel” is many things. It is an intimate poetry performance from Ryan Van Winkle. It is an audial experience featuring new ambient noises from Ragland that will crawl up inside you. It is an art installation with paintings , photographs and object d’arte from a host of Edinburgh artists. It is joy, memory and loss condensed into fifteen minutes. So, come, lay down, have a cup of tea, enjoy a snifter of port, close your eyes and be where you want to be…

Download the FREE CD HERE

Wednesday, 25 August, 2010 21.00, Free

The Golden Hour at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Live and Kicking in the Spiegeltent! Check the HYPE!

WORDS: Ryan Van Winkle – Reader in Residence at the Scottish Poetry Library & Surprise Book Festival Guests Music From :::::::: Withered Hand – intense, eccentric, bittersweet and very wry original songs. The Sea, The Sea — lyrical lushness from Jed Milroy and Hailey Beavis featuring bouncing bluegrass licks and double bass band. &&&& Black Diamond Express ‘are like the fastest train of the Lehigh Valley Railroad… a nine-piece band soaked in poetry, myth and bourbon.’ (Mark Edmundson, The L