anne • sikking
Society of Authors • Royal Society of Literature • Federation Writers Scotland
Poet Laureate 2021/2022 - TESS - Los Angeles • founding Chair Glasgow's City of Poets
Listed among City of York's100 influential women 1918-2018
• song of granada •
...Europe’s foremost Islamic monument is under siege. Captive are a visiting British choir and some local residents. Outside is the Army, the national police, a US observer and the world waiting to see if it is about to blow sky high. So why the demand for a midwife? What are the local children up to? Which gypsies are involved? Where do the terrorists come from and how does New York and 9/11 relate to it?
In a tightly woven, fast paced tale men, women, a host of children and the good people of Andalucía confront each other and themselves. Against the backdrop of the eternal lyric of Federico García Lorca they all arrive at a surprising resolution.
Song of Granada attracted considerable controversy in Spain. Locally, it was alleged to be a threat to the security of the Alhambra monument. As a result, it caused a brief national conversation on freedom of expression. This was all the more surprising since the book contains no violence, no gratuitous sex, and
not a single swear word.
In the video footage below, Anne Sikking addresses some of these concerns.
song of granada
isbn 978-0-9563980-2-4
published 2014 by Collage International
also available in Spanish
canción de granada
isbn 978-0-9563980-3-1
Song of Granada captures you, the dizzying narrative barely allows you to draw breath...the Arabic past, the connection to the gypsy community, the murder of Lorca...The multiplicity of characters in the book enriches the text...Like life itself, there are no goodies or baddies, nor angels nor demons, heroes or villains, Congratulations! I will give it as gifts and recommend it to everyone
Aurelio Cappa - CANAL SUR
A work of art that mixes history and reality. The action unfolds over three days and takes the reader through them with a fearsome intensity. Anne Sikking's poetic style delivers us a Granada...that is at the same time both fragile and luminous.
Juan de Dios Jerónimo - RADIO COPE
