Source: www.grammarcheck.net
UNESCO’s First City of Literature: Edinburgh, Scotland
by Barbara McNichol
A welcome sign at Waverley Station for authors and readers
On a recent trip to Scotland, I was delighted to learn Edinburgh has been named the first UNESCO City of Literature, a designation it has now touted for 10 years. In fact, coming into the city’s Waverley Station one day, we were greeted with this sign that says: “Waverley is the only railway station in the world named after a novel. Thank you Sir Walter Scott!”
Edinburgh is the birthplace and home to world-famous writers, poets, and playwrights including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Sir Walter Scott (Waverley), and JK Rowling (Harry Potter). It even has its own Poet Laureate, the Edinburgh Makar.
During two weeks each August, the Edinburgh International Book Festival features the world’s largest literary festival of its kind. It welcomes approximately 800 authors from nearly 40 countries and brings in over 225,000 visitors annually.
Floral Clock for Edinburgh’s City of Literacy
The more than 50 bookshops in this city of half-a-million people are key venues for a vibrant culture of readings, literary cabarets, and workshops. In 1725 the world’s first circulating library opened in Edinburgh and today free public libraries can be found all over. The National Library of Scotland, the leading center for the study of the Scots, the Scottish Poetry Library, and the Scottish Storytelling Centre are all found in Edinburgh.
City leaders are working closely with other Cities of Literature on a range of projects to share knowledge and expertise. Learn more here
Which cities would you nominate for the designation City of Literature?
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