The questions of love, care, and loss are resonant beyond the academy and are best experienced in community.
Over the course of this project, we have hosted several events with writers, artists, community leaders, and activists to think together about what helps us imagine life in a world of loss.
These events have unfolded in partnership with community-based organisations and groups across Scotland, independent bookshops, as well as major literary festivals.
A glimpse into some of our events
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War and peace
Roxani Krystalli and the Orwell prize winning writer Sally Hayden discuss love, war, and peace, as part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2026.
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Living with unimaginable loss
Roxani Krystalli interviewed the Pulitzer Prize winning writer Yiyun Li at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025. They spoke about living with unimaginable loss and the specificity and failures of language when it comes to pain.
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Creative writing workshop: care and place
Roxani Krystalli hosted a creative writing workshop on attention, care, and place for members of the community. The event unfolded in collaboration with the St Andrews Botanic Garden, as part of Summer Art Days 2024.
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Growing roots: Creativity with a sense of place
In collaboration with the Scotland’s Future Series, Roxani hosted a multimedia event with singer-songwriter Karine Polwart and writer Amy Liptrot on creativity and sense of place. The event took place at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August 2023.
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Violence, loss, and meaning
Roxani Krystalli hosted a conversation with writers Adania Shibli and Balsam Karam on narrating loss, finding meaning, and holding on to what enables life, as part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2024.
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Beyond Borders: Peace for the planet
Roxani Krystalli has collaborated with Beyond Borders Scotland to deliver workshops for the Women in Conflict 1325 fellows, as well as to host public conversations with Monica McWilliams, Andrew Gilmour, and others on climate, politics, and feminist peace.
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On paying attention
Roxani Krystalli hosted a conversation with Olesya Khromeychuk, Director of the Ukrainian Institute London, about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, narrating family grief, and weaving life in the middle of war.
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Love and care in armed conflict
As part of the Kunsthaus Hamburg exhibition on love and care in armed conflict, Philipp Schulz was in conversation with Josephine Apraku and Belinda Grace Gardner in December 2024.
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Museum collections, care, and place
In collaboration with the Glasgow Women’s Library, and with support from the Scotland’s Future Series, Roxani Krystalli hosted a public conversation on museum collections, care, and sense of place. The event featured curators from National Museums Scotland and Glasgow Women’s Library.
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Love, care, and peace
Philipp Schulz gave a public talk at swisspeace in Basel in 2023. He spoke about taking love and care seriously in peacebuilding.
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Art, meaning, and legacies of violence
Roxani Krystalli hosted a conversation with Guggenheim Fellow Teju Cole on his novel Tremor, and on art, meaning-making, and the legacies of violence. The event took place at The Portobello Bookshop in 2023.
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The life stories of birders
Roxani Krystalli shared stories from her research with people who pay close attention to birds at a Fife Bird Club event in November 2024. Several event attendees were Roxani’s neighbours who have also participated in the research.