Choice: The Critics

LITERATURE

No one knows Louis MacNeice quite like Liz Lochhead, whose affectionate, satirical reworking of his "Bagpipe Music" had litcrit lads and lassies in stitches back in 1990. Her talk on him is part of the Ilkley Literature Festival.

7.30pm tonight, Central Library, Princes Way, Bradford (01943 601210) pounds 3/pounds 2

A book-plugging session worth plugging into. Richard Ford unfurls Independence Day, his delicately sketched portrait of mid-life American Everyman. 6pm Mon, Cottesloe Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 (0171-928 2252) pounds 3.50/pounds 2.50

Against all the odds, storytelling is suddenly enjoying popular, almost prime-ministerial appeal. Vergine Gulbenkian's impressive crop of enduring tales from Armenia starts a South Bank story season. 7.30pm Wed, Voice Box, QEH, London SE1 (0171-928 8800) pounds 3.50