Professor Alan Spence will read poetry during the event, he is an award-winning poet and playwright, novelist and short story writer. He is Professor Emeritus in Creative Writing at the University of Aberdeen. With his wife he runs the Sri Chinmoy Meditation Centre in Edinburgh. In 2017 he was appointed Edinburgh Makar, the Poet Laureate for the City, and in 2018 he was awarded the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun by the Government of Japan. His most recent books are the novel Night Boat, play script No Nothing, and poetry collection Morning Glory.

The tea ceremony will be performed by Mio Shapley, a qualified master of Urasenke Tea Ceremony, who studied with master Yoshiko Noda. "Cha-no-yu: The Way of Tea" is a traditional Japanese living art form and originated in 16th century Japan. The 4 principals of the Tea Ceremony are Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility. It synthesizes the arts of flower arrangement, calligraphy, poetry, pottery, kimono and philosophy into a way of life.

Registration
This event is part of the University of Stirling's Japan Series 2019. The event is free to attend and open to all, but places are limited. Attendees need to register in advance through Eventbrite.