LOOSE LEAVES:Fifty years ago this month, just before sexual intercourse began (according to Philip Larkin's poem Annus Mirabilis), a feisty gathering of writers convened in Edinburgh for an international conference to coincide with the festival there. It turned out to be a groundbreaking event, and its open and controversial discussions of drugs, sex and politics were a harbinger of the impending social revolution.

Among the pugnacious personalities who attracted daily audiences in their thousands, and who at times nearly came to blows, were William Burroughs, Lawrence Durrell, Hugh MacDiarmid, Norman Mailer, Mary McCarthy, Henry Miller, Muriel Spark, Stephen Spender and Alexander Trocchi.

Earlier this week, in what looked to be an attempt to recreate the disputatious 1962 event, the World Writers’ Conference met in the same city to discuss the same five topics that caused all the excitement half a century ago, namely: Should Literature be Political?; Style versus Content; National Literature; Censorship Today; and the Future of the Novel. This time, however, the writers will have to remain on speaking terms as the Edinburgh conference was just the start of 12 months of events in 15 cities around the world (no Irish ones, sadly) that, it is hoped, will provide a picture of the role of literature today.

The line-up at this year’s conference, though more diverse, seemed less high-profile than its 1962 equivalent (surprisingly, the only Irish writer involved was the Northern poet Nick Laird), although the Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh (below), giving the keynote address on nationalism in literature, did his best to set a combative tone, laying into the Man Booker Prize for its perceived anti-Scottish bias. The prize is, he claimed, “based on the conceit that upper-class Englishness is the cultural yardstick against which all literature must be measured”.

While it is true that only one Scot, James Kelman, has won the prize, Ireland may find it harder to get exercised about this issue, having had recent winners in John Banville, Anne Enright and, a little further back, Roddy Doyle.

For details of forthcoming writers’ conference events, see edinburghworldwritersconference. org.

‘Ulysses’ in 140 characters? Yes yes yes

It’s a shame that the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho wasn’t in Edinburgh to join in the Style vs Content debate. His recent comments about James Joyce’s Ulysses having as much content as a tweet would definitely have brought some eloquent opprobrium on his head.

Thanks, though, to readers who have taken Coelho at his word and tried to compress Ulysses into 140 characters, especially Michael Kenny, whose catchy concision goes: “Stephen riddled Molly fiddled and Poldywoldy diddled all the day.” Other worthy attempts include “From snot green sea to downtown: Gorgonzola biscuit tins. Nighttown? Yes yes yes,” from Tony Mulqueen, and, less positively, Art Perry’s effort, which ends: “Bitch-of-mother-book. Ends in chamber pot yeses.”

Keep sending them in, please, to @irishleaves or books@irishtimes.com.

Bilbo, Frodo and their literary companion

Ordinary Dogs: A Story of Two Lives, by Irish Times Literary Correspondent Eileen Battersby, will be RTÉ Radio 1’s Book on One for next week, starting on Monday at 11.10pm. It will be read by Jeananne Crowley. The book tells the story of Battersby’s relationship with her dogs, Bilbo and Frodo, who prove to be her most loyal companions for more than two decades of her often complicated life.