As the dates of his Highlands and Islands lecture tour are announced, one of Scotland's leading academics has accused many of Scotland's cultural institutions of "not having a clue what culture means", and of "piling up secondary matter and fostering foutery schemes."
Kenneth White, who held the Chair of Twentieth Century Poetics at the Sorbonne Paris from 1983 to 1996, and is the founder-president of the International Institute of Geopoetics, as well as holding honorary doctorates from Glasgow and Edinburgh and the Open University, said:
"In these lectures, I’ll be talking about place, culture and world. The country is badly in need, not of yet another Renaissance, but of a thoroughgoing reconnaissance. A lot of the institutions haven’t a clue what culture means, they spend their time piling up secondary matter and fostering foutery schemes.
"I’ll be doing a re-reading of Scottish literature, Scottish history and Scottish culture. And I’ll be doing it from different places, always in touch with the particular place. Culture starts from where you are. And if your base, your centre, is right, you can move out from it in concentric circles. You don’t get embedded in regional couthiness. With a wider field of reference, you expand.”
Robert Livingston, Director, HI~Arts said: “As we work towards 2007, the year when Scotland celebrates Highland culture, we need to hear what a figure like Kenneth White has to say about the true nature of Highland culture, and about the need to recognise regional distinctiveness. We’re delighted that Professor White has accepted our invitation to become the first HI~Arts International Fellow.”
White is the author of a very considerable body of work comprising poetry, prose narrative and essays. His first book, The Cold Wind of Dawn, came out from Jonathan Cape, London, in 1966. Among his recent books are: Open World-Collected Poems, 2003, The Wanderer and his Charts, essays, and Across the Territories, narrative, 2004, published by Polygon, Edinburgh.
Kenneth White's Highlands and Islands tour forms part of this year's HI~Arts International Fellowship Programme and, under the general theme of 'The Geopoetics Project', Professor White will be giving lectures as follows and with the following headings:
Saturday, October 29th 2005, MacPhail Theatre, Ullapool, 5pm, free:
'North Atlantic Investigations'
Sunday, October 30th 2005, Beaufort Hotel, Inverness, 7pm, free:
'Return to the Territory — a Highland Reconnaissance'
Monday, October 31st 2005, Orkney College, Kirkwall, 7pm, free:
'A Sense of High North'
HI~Arts is working with UHI (University of the Highlands and Islands) to extend the opportunities offered by this fellowship.
The HI~Arts International Fellowship is established with, and acknowledges financial assistance from, the Scottish Arts Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
