Amy Key – Arrangements in Blue
WithAmy Key
In conversation withRoxani Krystalli
On:28th May 2024, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Attendance options:
We're thrilled to welcome Amy Key to the bookshop to discuss her book, Arrangements in Blue. Many members of the team read Arrangements in Blue last year and named it as their favourite read of 2023! We can't wait for Key to be in conversation with writer and academic Roxani Krystalli, when we'll get to hear even more about it.
This event will take place in the bookshop with an in-person audience. There will be a signing after the event.
Vouchers can be redeemed on the night of the event against a single copy of Arrangements in Blue – we will have a list of attendees with vouchers to be redeemed. Please note that only one voucher can be redeemed per book.
Please note that the paperback edition of Arrangements in Blue was published on 14th March. If you have signed up for a Book & In-Person option and would like to receive your copy ahead of the event on Tuesday 28th May, please get in touch via our contact form and we'll be happy to help.
About Arrangements in Blue:
When poet Amy Key was growing up, she looked forward to a life shaped by romance, fuelled by desire, longing and the conventional markers of success that come when you share a life with another person. But that didn't happen for her. Now in her forties, she sets out to explore the realities of a life lived in the absence of romantic love.
Using Joni Mitchell's seminal album Blue - which shaped Key's expectations of love - as an anchor, Arrangements in Blue elegantly honours a life lived completely by, and for, oneself. Building a home, travelling alone, choosing whether to be a mother, recognising her own milestones, learning the limits of self-care and the expansive potential of self-friendship, Key uncovers the many forms of connection and care that often go unnoticed.
With profound candour and intimacy, Arrangements in Blue explores the painful feelings we are usually too ashamed to discuss: loneliness, envy, grief and failure. The result is a book which inspires us to live and love more honestly.
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Amy Key Author
Amy Key is a poet and writer based in London. She is the author of two collections of poetry, Luxe (Salt, 2013) and Isn't Forever (Bloodaxe, 2018), which was a Poetry Book Society Wild Card Choice and a book of the year in the Guardian, New Statesman, Times and Irish Times. Her poems have been widely published and anthologised, and her essays have appeared in At the Pond (Daunt Books, 2019), Granta, The Poetry Review and elsewhere.
Roxani Krystalli Chair
Roxani Krystalli is an academic at the University of St Andrews. The animating question of her work is an inquiry into how people imagine worlds in the wake of loss and which relations and practices sustain life. She is currently co-leading a research programme on the political role of love, care, and joy in remaking worlds after mass grief.
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.