participants on the September 2003 visit to Edinburgh
In mid-September 2003 the Institute hosted the second study trip of
a group of English teachers from Denmark.  The
week-long programme, organised by Lindsay Adams, included guided tours
of Edinburgh, a literary pub crawl and a field trip to Stirling, Crieff
and the East Neuk of Fife. But the backbone of the programme for the
26 English teachers was a series of seminars, mainly on Scottish literature,
but also covering an introduction to Scottish politics and a visit to
the Scottish Parliament.
Tom Hubbard, poet, literary editor and expert on Scottish literature
in translation, gave an overview lecture on the history of Scottish literature,
from the Makars through the classics (Burns, Scott and Stevenson) to
the Scottish Renaissance of the 20th century (MacDiarmid, Muir), ending
with the greatest Gaelic poet of the 20th century, Sorley MacLean. Author
James Robertson, an authority on the historical novels of Sir Walter
Scott, talked about his own take on the historical novel in The Fanatic
(2000) and Joseph Knight (2003).
Cairns Craig of Edinburgh University's English Department explored the
connections between national identity and the contemporary Scottish novel;
theatre critic Neil Cooper offered impressions of the contemporary Scottish
theatre scene - very timely, as the Danish visit coincided with the Scottish
Executive's announcement of the foundation of a Scottish National Theatre.
Poet Joy Hendry, editor of Chapman, Scotland's finest literary magazine,
rounded the literary part of the seminar series off with an insightful
review of contemporary Scottish poetry, emphasising in how much Scottish
poets and writers had contributed to "writing the Scottish Parliament
into existence."
The Danish organisers of the visit
Paddy Bort and David McCrone filled in the history and the evolution
of devolution in Scotland. A visit to First Minister's Question Time
in Parliament gave an impression of politics at work in Scotland, and
a visit to the Parliament Visitor's Centre provided a glimpse of the
future: the conceptual ideas behind Enric Miralles' impressive parliament
building which is taking shape at the bottom of Holyrood Road.
A reception at the Danish Cultural Institute, with lots of Danish and Scottish
singing – and the odd aria for good measure – concluded a most
enjoyable, informative and entertaining study week.
In good voice at the farewell reception
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