The poet Karen Solie is Jean Sprackland’s special guest for an evening of conversation and readings to celebrate the launch of her non-fiction book Night Vision: in search of the true dark. Join us for a drinks reception and a chance to buy a signed copy.

We humans have a complicated relationship with the dark. We fear it, and make great efforts to blot it out. But we also long for it, especially if we live in cities, or remember the starry skies of our childhoods. In her quest for a new, more intimate relationship with darkness, acclaimed poet and writer Jean Sprackland finds herself confronting some of the deepest – and darkest – questions about who we are and our place in the world.

Karen Solie was born in Moose Jaw and grew up in southwest Saskatchewan. Her collections of poetry include The Caiplie Caves (2019), shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and Derek Walcott Prize, and Wellwater (2025), shortlisted for this year’s Forward Prize for Best Collection. A former lecturer at Manchester Writing School, she currently teaches creative writing for the University of St Andrews.

Jean Sprackland is the author of five poetry collections, including Tilt, which won the 2007 Costa Poetry Award. She has also published two works of non-fiction, Strands, which won the 2012 Portico Prize, and These Silent Mansions in 2020. Night Vision is published in November 2025; and Goyle, Chert, Mire, a book-length sequence of poems, in April 2026.