International poetry night

AN Edinburgh audience will tonight become one of the first to enjoy poetry to order as part of a literary initiative taking place in 18 different cities across Europe.

Organisers say the Noc Literatury event will turn the Scottish Poetry Library, Crichton’s Close, off the Royal Mile, into a smörgåsbord of European literature, with short talks, flash fiction, a poetry cafe and a panel discussion, from 7pm.

And three readers will be on hand to read aloud poems from their homelands – Romania, Slovakia and Spain.

The event is part of a cultural olympiad initiative in the run-up to this summer’s London Games, with the readings being recorded by BBC Radio Scotland.