Poetry Postcards

By BBC Radio Scotland

What's Poetry Postcards about?

Poetry from around the Commonwealth. A poem from every competing nation and territory sent to Glasgow for the 2012 Commonwealth Games, capturing the essence of the Commonwealth.

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Poetry Postcards episodes:

07.22.2014
Kiribati
Teweiariki Teaero weaves the Commonwealth together in Kaleidoscope of Hope.
07.22.2014
Grenada
Frank Scott sends a poem from the Spice Islands, Grenada.
07.20.2014
Solomon Islands
Jully Makini makes fun of young women becoming Westernised in her poem Civilised Girl.
07.20.2014
Dominica
Ras Mo, who works with young people on violence prevention, reads Pink and Blue.
07.19.2014
St Lucia
Vladimir Lucien talks about the ‘cutlery of empire’ in his poem Ebb I.
07.18.2014
Australia
Les Murray talks about his life at Bunyah and reads a new poem The Care.
07.17.2014
Brunei Darussalam
Salwa Mornie explains traditional Bruneian poetry and reads I am.
07.16.2014
Guyana
Sasenarine Persaud explains why so many Guyanese have Indian heritage and reads Georgetown.
07.15.2014
Tonga
Loa Niumeitolu explains what the English language means to her in When we tell.
07.15.2014
Tanzania
Euphrase Kezilahabi reads his poem Floods.
07.14.2014
Wales
Gillian Clarke explains the historical importance of the Welsh language in Britain and reads Border.
07.13.2014
Antigua and Barbuda
Linisa George describes the bold character of Antiguans and reads In the Closet
07.13.2014
Seychelles
Helda Marie reads Lamentations from Paradise.
07.12.2014
St Kitts and Nevis
Kevin Isaac regrets the destruction of nature that comes with development in his poem Landslides.
07.11.2014
Lesotho
Lindelwa Xingwana describes the Mountain Kingdom and reads Let it be known.
07.10.2014
Trinidad and Tobago
Vahni Capildeo talks about the Commonwealth values and reads her poem Utter.
07.09.2014
Tuvalu
Selina Tusitala Marsh reads Tuvalu Blues, a poem about rising sea levels in the Pacific.
07.08.2014
Malawi
Jack Mapanje mocks African rulers in his poem When This Carnival Finally Closes.
07.08.2014
Guernsey
Candy Neubert recalls a specialmoment when she returned home in her poem, privacy.
07.07.2014
England
Jacob Polley from Cumbria reads The North-South Divide.
07.06.2014
Northern Ireland
Michael Longley from Belfast reads All of These People.
07.06.2014
Turks & Caicos
Charvis Ferguson talks about tourism in the Turks and reads Vacation Island.
07.05.2014
Gibraltar
Jackie Anderson recalls feeling trapped on the rock when the Spanish border was closed in her poem To the Harbour.
07.05.2014
Ghana
Adjei Agyei Baah reads his poem For the Mountains.
07.01.2014
St Helena
Basil George talks about his grandson inspring his poem A Closed Hand.
06.30.2014
Malaysia
In Language, Baha Zain explores the difficulty of expressing our true meaning in words.
06.29.2014
Nauru
Lyn Detabene reads Proudly She Sways Her True Colour.
06.29.2014
Belize
Ivory Kelly reads Schoolbooks about post-colonial education.
06.28.2014
Mauritius
Umar Timol explores the paradoxical nature of island life in his poem Island.
06.28.2014
Papua New Guinea
Michael Dom reads The political economy of a pig farmer’s life.
06.24.2014
Bangladesh
In Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi’s Sari Reams, she describes its beauty and significance.
06.23.2014
Scotland
Kathleen Jamie reads Here lies our land, a poem commemorating the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn.
06.22.2014
Maldives
Farah Didi reads I will forgive, a poem describing police brutality.
06.22.2014
Swaziland
Sarah Thembile Mkhonza explains how praise poetry forms part of everyday life and reads Swaziland, I Witnessed You.
06.21.2014
Mozambique
Sonia Sultuane, a Muslim poet, discusses identity in her poem African.
06.21.2014
Namibia
Emmanuel Hitilasha describes his native village and reads African Way.
06.17.2014
Bahamas
Christian Campbell talks about the links between the Bahamas and Haiti, explored in his poem Goodman’s Bay II.
06.16.2014
Fiji
Sudesh Mishra talks about his indo-Fijian heritage and reads The Gust-proof Door, in memory of his father.
06.15.2014
Cayman Islands
Leonard Dilbert says it’s important not to deny the painful history of many Caymanians in his poem Manna.
06.15.2014
India
Salma was kept in the house for nine years when she refused to marry. She explains how poetry helped her survive.
06.14.2014
Anguilla
Linda Banks discusses the challenges of tourism and development in Anguilla and reads her poem Heritage.
06.10.2014
Isle Of Man
Janet Lees reads Resort, inspired by the image of a Punch and Judy stall on the beach.
06.09.2014
Rwanda
Michaella Rugwizangoga reads Colors, a hopeful poem twenty years on from the Rwandan genocide.
06.08.2014
Zambia
Cheela Chilala talks about the poetry tradition in Zambia and reads Rear View Mirror.
06.07.2014
Singapore
Alfian Sa'at discusses restrictions on the press and reads Why A Man Cannot Have Wings.
06.07.2014
Uganda
Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva, poet from Uganda, reads her poem Lake Nalubaale
06.03.2014
Kenya
Alexander Nderitu on the East African slave trade and beach boys.
06.02.2014
Jersey
Jacqueline Mezec reads An Islander Remembers the Sea.
06.01.2014
Pakistan
Sindhi poet Pushpa Valabh reads A Small Desire.
06.01.2014
Canada
Cree Nation poet Louise B Halfe talks about the challenges faced by aboriginal Canadians.

What's Poetry Postcards about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Poetry Postcards episodes:

Kiribati

Grenada

Solomon Islands

Dominica

St Lucia

Australia

Brunei Darussalam

Guyana

Tonga

Tanzania

Wales

Antigua and Barbuda

Seychelles

St Kitts and Nevis

Lesotho

Trinidad and Tobago

Tuvalu

Malawi

Guernsey

England

Northern Ireland

Turks & Caicos

Gibraltar

Ghana

St Helena

Malaysia

Nauru

Belize

Mauritius

Papua New Guinea

Bangladesh

Scotland

Maldives

Swaziland

Mozambique

Namibia

Bahamas

Fiji

Cayman Islands

India

Anguilla

Isle Of Man

Rwanda

Zambia

Singapore

Uganda

Kenya

Jersey

Pakistan

Canada