The Art of Words: Push the Boat Out Festival Returns to Edinburgh

Michael Pedersen. Photo HM.

Title:
Push the Boat Out

From: 22 Nov 2024

To: 24 Nov 2024

Edinburgh
Edinburgh & the Lothians

Share this page

Now in its third year, Push the Boat Out is an award-winning festival bringing together wide-ranging artforms such as poetry and music in Edinburgh. This year’s mix is an ambitious line-up that blending poetry, performance and art in a vibrant celebration of words and creativity across 50 events and more than 120 artists at with four venues in the capital – The Scottish Storytelling Centre, Dance Base, Dovecot Studios and the Pleasance. The festival also has a growing year-round supporting programme and a strong community ethos.

Len Pennie
Len Pennie

An aspect of the festival is its aim to give poetry new platforms by creating an environment where all variations of this vital art form are encouraged to grow, evolve and collide with other artforms, with a regular popular open-mic night, Rock the Boat, on the first Thursday of every month at Summerhall.

Image Chris Scott
Image Chris Scott / Push the Boat Out

Highlights of this year’s line-up include Alexander McCall Smith, Salena Godden, Raymond Antrobus, Caroline Bird, Ella Frears, Kathleen Jamie, Imtiaz Dharker, Len Pennie (pictured) and (Edinburgh Makar) Michael Pedersen (pictured at top). Folk singer Iona Fyfe headlines a night of poetry-fused song and there will be a celebration of the life, art, and activism of Benjamin Zephaniah. People looking to develop their own practice in words and art will enjoy the free Development Day for artists.

Share this page

Sign up for Artmag’s free weekly newsletter!

Join us every Friday morning for the latest art news, art openings, exhibitions, live performances, interviews and stories + top UK and international art destinations.