Push The Boat Out 2024

Push the Boat Out – Edinburgh’s international poetry festival returns with lots of interesting events across three days, 22nd – 24th November 2024.

Some events a free (including the industry day on Friday 22nd November), pay what you can, a festival pass (£50), and individual event tickets.

I’m participating in two events: Resting as Artists and Disrupting the Narrative


Photo tile. l-r, clockwise: of person smiling with long curly hair, person in suit with arms crossed, person smiling with pink open shirt.

Resting as Artists

Friday 22nd Nov

11:15 am – 12:30 pm

Dance Base, Studio 3

Free – book tickets

It’s a precarious and stressful time to be an artist, which means it’s easy to feel like you’re always busy – making art, working on projects, writing funding applications, sorting through taxes, working other jobs, and doing events. It can be hard to see where there’s space to do something we all need to do – rest, relax, and understand that doing nothing can be the most important thing both for our health and our art.

In this event, artists Jeda Pearl, Alan Spence, and Elspeth Wilson will share their own methods for recognising when they need that much needed rest, how they carve out time for it, and how it’s benefited their practice.

Chaired through the ConVERSE Emerging Chairs Programme with Edinburgh University.


Photo tile, l-r: person wearing glasses with hair tied back, person smiling with bush in background, person smiling, person looking to side, person smiling.

Disrupting the Narrative

Friday 22nd Nov

8:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Netherbow Theatre

£15 /£12 /or £5 with festival pass – book tickets

  • BSL interpreted
  • Live-streamed with captions free of charge via the PTBO website

Disrupting the Narrative is a theatrical performance of poetry from Edinburgh’s out-going Makar, Hannah Lavery, Jeda Pearl, Shasta Ali, Niall Moorjani, and Alycia Pirmohamed. Freshly set to music by composer, Niroshini Thambar, the poets’ work decolonises Edinburgh’s historic collections and key heritage sites. Together, they illuminate how colonial history has shaped the city, its institutions, and its people.

The performance is accompanied by images from photographer, Kat Gollock, exploring Edinburgh’s physical heritage in tandem with its colonial past. This is an important and powerful piece opening the festival, and asks our audiences: how well do you really know our city?

Part of the Edinburgh 900 anniversary programme.

We – Hannah, Shasta, Niall and me – are excited to have further developed Disrupting the Narrative into a multi-disciplinary theatrical performance, collaborating with Alycia Pirmohamed, Niroshini Thambar and Kat Gollock.


Graphic with wave forms and text, reads Push the Boat Out, words in motion

There’s a great line-up of poets, workshops, online & in-person + some events broadcast for free on EHFM radio.

Salena Godden, Raymond Antrobus, Caroline Bird, Ella Frears, Kathleen Jamie, Imtiaz Dharker, Len Pennie, Michael Pedersen, Dean Atta, Josie Giles, Roshni Gallagher, Naomi Shihab Nye; Black history walks with Lisa Williams; plus celebrating Benjamin Zephaniah in collaboration with Qian Zephaniah & Kadija Sesay.

View Push the Boat Out programme

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