John Calder at The International Writers Conference Revisited- Edinburgh, 1962

Book Launch and Panel discussion
Street Level Photoworks - 15/11/2012

50 years after the event, this new book by Angela Bartie and Eleanor Bell, presents a unique fusion of literary and historical materials to commemorate the cultural legacy of the conference and all its controversy. Featuring never-before-published original transcripts, writing from attendees William Burroughs and Edwin Morgan, and new interviews with conference organisers John Calder and Jim Haynes, and artist Sandy Moffat. It also showcases never-before-seen photographs, giving an exclusive visual glimpse into the event, alongside correspondence, press clippings and other ephemera to immerse the reader in a world on the cusp of the major social and cultural upheavals of the 1960s and to capture the excitement of this major literary event.

This launch brought together the authors with some of those who attended.... Original conference organiser John Calder, Jenni Calder, then a young aspiring writer whose father, David Daiches, chaired the famous Scottish Day (at which Hugh MacDiarmid and Alexander Trocchi so famously clashed) and whose brother Alan's photos so vividly bring the Conference to life. Together, they shared their thoughts on the event and its legacy in the intervening 50 years.

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