Despite all the talk of rained-out festivals this year, I’m very excited to be appearing next weekend at Secret Garden Party. It looks to be a great event, a panel discussion on the environment and the arts chaired by Dr Bradon Smith of the Open University. Were this a band lineup, the roster would read like this — I’ll be on fiction, reading from The Bella, gigging alongside Helen Mort on poems, Ria Dunkley on cultural criticism, and Nick Hayes on visual art. Should be a lot of fun, so we’ll hope to see as many Gardeners in the tent as possible — we’ll be on Saturday afternoon the 21st, at 2.30pm, just in time for your hangover to wear off. And ours.

Lionel Batiste, drummer for the Treme Brass Band, passed away yesterday morning.

The streets of New Orleans will never sound the same again.

Rest in peace, Uncle Lionel. But not too much, okay?

update (7/10): Keith Spera of the Times-Picayune has a detailed obituary.

Also, for anyone in the Edinburgh/UK area, the EIBF is now open for booking — I’m delighted to say I’ll be in the crowd for Carlos Gamerro, Rob Macfarlane, and Alastair McIntosh. Tickets seem to be going quickly, so — as they say, avoid disappointment at all costs.

After a wonderful week spent in the Orkney Islands, as part of the St Magnus International Festival — my thanks again to the organizers, and to all the fellow poets who shared the week — I’m delighted to say that I’ll be joining two other fellow transatlantic island-hoppers next weekend to observe the 4th of July here in Edinburgh. Fiona Wilson, JL Williams and I will be reading next Friday night, July 6th, at the newly-opened Looking Glass Books in the Quartermile. This reading is taking part in recognition of Independent Booksellers Week; with good company, refreshments, and in all likelihood a variety of national flags on offer, it should be a lovely night. 6.30 for 7pm if you’re in the area.

While Orkney is still on the brain, for anyone interested in the history of the St Magnus Festival, Pamela Beasant’s 2002 compendium of the first 25 years is a fascinating read — for Orcadiana of all sorts, from music to literature to landscape. Well worth diving into — just don’t forget to come up for air.

The Chicago Tribune has a short piece on the poet Faraj Bayrakdar’s appearance at Hay this year, noting his imprisonment in Syria, and his observations on the present crisis. Well worth a read.