Date Published: 31st January 2018

Alexander McCall Smith has written a poem to mark the Centenary of Muriel Spark and he will be on stage to read it this evening, 31 January 2018.

An event is to be hosted this evening by the Edinburgh International Book Festival at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall to mark the centenary of the hugely influential writer, Muriel Spark. Author and journalist Alan Taylor (author of Appointment in Arezzo: A Friendship with Muriel Spark) will narrate her life on stage along with fellow writer, novelist and literary editor Rosemary Goring. They will be joined by Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, Alexander and Ian Rankin. This celebration of her life and work will also feature a reading of extracts from her only play, Doctors of Philosophy, read by six actors, directed by David Greig.

Muriel Spark is probably best known for her novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She wrote a further 21 novels over the course of her life along with poetry, essays and travel articles. She grew up in Edinburgh before moving to Rhodesia, London, New York, Rome and finally Tuscany.

During the course of this year all 22 of her novels will be republished in handsome Centenary Editions, each with an introduction by a well know writer. Alexander will write the introduction to Symposium which will be published in August. An exhibition of her life and work is currently displayed at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. And a host of events and broadcast coverage is expected throughout the year. Find out more with Muriel Spark 100.