Opening night in an underground maze, trains running on time overhead. Underneath the mundane patterns of everyday life, literature and music come alive. The Margins Festival celebrates music, through the unique sound of Roddy Woomble (Idlewild), Withered Hand, Alasdair Roberts and literature through the readings of Christopher Brookmyre and Louise Welsh along with the launch of Gutter Magazine 06.

Gutter is now in its third year as Scotland’s leading literary magazine and publishes the work of new Scottish writers, and this year’s collection is no exception.  With performances by Keith Macpherson and Nalini Chetty of the literature and poetry, Gutter were able to dramatise stories such as ‘Windows’ by Alison Irvine and ‘The Judge’ by Roddy Dunlop and poetry, ‘Sometimes I Forget’ by Stav Poleg and ‘Goma, Goma, Goma’ by Alexander Hutchinson.

Amidst the appreciative chuckles in the audience during the reading of ‘The Judge’, audience members included a select few of the contributors to Gutter 06, who kindly gave a signing after the readings.  In this dungeon-type palace of culture, Gutter Magazine was brought to life by actors and audience alike and somewhere in the background, plotting their next launch in the autumn.

Gutter 06 is available to buy now and is published by Freight Books.

– Sara Gardiner