writer, poet, professor of creative writing
Alan Spence is a contemporary Scottish poet, playwright, novelist, and writer who has received numerous prestigious awards for his literary work, including the title of Edinburgh Makar, the McVitie Award for Scottish Writer of the Year, the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award, the TMA Drama Award, and the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government. He serves as professor emeritus of creative writing at the University of Aberdeen, where he founded the international book and arts festival WORD in 1999.
In his work, he employs the poetic form of the Japanese haiku to describe the fundamental paradoxes of life and to highlight the experience of moments of eternity within the constant cycle of life’s transformations. As the city’s official poet laureate, he has established an inspiring collaboration with the Prague, City of Literature project and is a regular guest at thePoetry Day, where he has presented his own work alongside poets such as Sylva Fisherová, Jiří Dědeček, and Tomáš Míka. At the Edinburgh International Book Festival, he read alongside Czech novelist Ivan Klíma.
„“A bright yellow tulip—
a calyx filled to the brim
with its own light.”
—Alan Spence
Readings by Alan Spence
Alan Spence’s body of work, which includes numerous short story collections, plays, and novels, is nevertheless dominated by Japanese haiku. It is a unique poetic form with distinct Zen elements. This fascination with Japanese culture and this unconventional poetic style dates back to his teenage years:
„When I was about 19 or 20, I was at a photography exhibition in Edinburgh, where I saw a large black-and-white photograph of Mount Fuji, with two Zen monks standing in front of it. I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene. It was as if I’d been struck. As if a certain realization had occurred, an awakening of something inside me, as if I’d remembered something. Whatever it was, it was a very powerful aesthetic experience that confirmed my deep connection to Japan as a place with a truly exceptional spiritual energy.”
In 2018, this special connection was further affirmed by Japan itself when Alan was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, an honor previously bestowed upon figures such as Madeleine Albright and Nobel Prize laureate Kazuo Ishiguro. Alan was awarded the Order for his contributions to the development of haiku poetry in the United Kingdom and for fostering mutual understanding between Japan and the United Kingdom.
Alan Spence has also given distinctive readings of his haiku poems on several occasions in Prague:
- Don’t Be Afraid of the City (November 19, 2019) – Café electric, Kolowrat Palace, Poetry Day festivalA curated evening of author readings and discussions with other urban poets: Sylva Fischerová (Prague), Martin Glaz Serup (Copenhagen), and Maarten Inghels (Antwerp). The event was moderated by Josef Straka.
- Scottish-Czech Evening(November 21, 2018) – Řetězová Literary CaféA joint evening of author readings with Jiří Dědeček.
- On Free Waves(November 17, 2017) – Avoid Floating GalleryAs part of this now-regular program held during the Poetry Day festival, which takes place every November 17, Alan Spence performed alongside Dutch author Thomas Moehlmann, Polish poet Franciszek Nastulczyk, Slovenian author Barbara Korun, and two Czech authors, poet Zuzana Lazarová and poet Petr Borkovec.
- Scottish Poetry(November 16, 2017) – Faculty of Philosophy, Charles UniversityLecture for students and the public.
- No Man Is an Island(November 15, 2016) – Poetry Day Festival, Anglo-American UniversityLecture and discussion on the topic “Poetry as a Mantra,” with musical accompaniment by sitarist Kanal Auer from Vienna.