In this extended version of Nothing But The Poem Kevin Williamson interviews Donny O'Rourke, editor of Dream State - The New Scottish Poets which was published in 1994 and remains the gold standard of poetry anthologies, and, arguably, the most visionary poetry anthology ever published in Scotland.

Dream State's contributors were all aged under 40 at the time and were assembled by fellow poet and broadcaster Donny O'Rourke. Only 6 of these poets - John Burnside, Carol Ann Duffy, Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay, W N Herbert and Robert Crawford had appeared in The New Poetry - Bloodaxe's high profile generational anthology - the year before.

Donny O'Rourke had his finely tuned ear to the ground, and, as well as the 6 poets listed above, he brought together another 19 Scottish poets under the age of 40, all overlooked by the Bloodaxe anthology. These included Don Paterson, David Kinloch, Meg Bateman, Richard Price, Graham Fulton, Robert Alan Jamieson, Maud Sulter, Alan Riach, and a 28 yer old - and as yet bookless poet - Roddy Lumsden.

Donny O'Rourke was no ordinary editor. He was a visionary with an agenda who not only hoped to achieve a "gathering of forces' but wanted an anthology with zero fillers and, crucially, for the anthology to be a vital energetic snapshot of all aspects of Scottish life at a time the country had entered a tumultuous phase in its history. Dream State's ambition was huge: poetry as "news that stays news" as Ezra Pound once wrote. Popular culture, street smart wit, political tensions, scientific discoveries and radical re-imaginings infuse every page.

O'Rourke was no narrow nationalist, as is stated in the introduction, but drew upon Edwin Morgan as the anthology's outward looking internationalist and hyper curious guiding spirit. Dream State was egalitarian in its sense of purpose from the outset. From Alasdair Gray came the inclusive definition of Scots as anyone who lived in Scotland, or who was from Scotland and left. Dream State was relatively balanced gender-wise too (for the 1990s). 15 male poets and 10 female poets. The New Poetry, despite its vitality and excellence, on the other hand had just 17 women poets out of its 55 contributors. We also hear the words of many working class poets in Dream State, perhaps abandoned by much of the politics of the time, making their voices heard.

In this podcast Donny O'Rourke sits down in the Scottish Poetry Library with Kevin Williamson (who was publishing and editing Rebel Inc magazine at the same time) to revisit the creative riot that was the early 1990s. They discuss Dream State and the time and place which gave birth to it.

Dream State The New Scottish Books was published by Polygon.

The poetry community was shocked and saddened when the much-loved young poet Gboyega Odubanjo died last year. Since then a full length collection of his poetry titled Adam has been published posthumously by Faber; and the Gboyega Odubanjo Foundation for low-income Black writers has been established to honour his legacy.

His poetry hit many raw nerves among readers. Fellow poet Luke Kennard praised his work as 'Deep, funny, thought provoking - a powerful evocation of culture and family with the most assured phrasing and imagery and confident formal innovation.'

Our usual podcast host Samuel Tongue - via an online meet up of the Friends of the SPL group - discussed in depth two of Gboyega's poems: Brother and The Garden

Into Poetry is an exciting new outlet for poetry in both print and online based in Scotland. In the run up to its launch its editor, David Cameron, dropped into the Scottish Poetry Library to chat with Samuel Tongue about the ideas behind the project, its origins and remit, its international reach, including how to submit work and what to expect.

Into Poetry is part of the artistic hub Into Creative which was established in 2013 by Stephen Cameron and can be found at https://intocreative.co.uk  The website also features articles on Music, Art, Movies and Books.

The imprint, Into Books, was established in 2019 with a view to publishing one or two titles per year; with the remit of being "imaginative, challenging and accomplished titles".

“To make art out of something painful, uncertain or damaging is an act of real empowerment” wrote Kathryn Bevis, who died in May 2024. Her first full-length poetry collection, The Butterfly House, was published two months earlier and tells the story of a life before and after a late-stage cancer diagnosis. The poems examine both life and death, encompassing experiences, terrible and sublime.

Her publishers Seren wrote in her obituary that she was "Perhaps one of the finest poets of her generation... (who) captured hearts and minds with her innovative use of form, language and metaphor to describe everyday life, experiences of women and terminal illness. She had a skill for finding light in the dark, celebration in sadness, and joy in the smallest moments."

Don Paterson described her as: " A poet of real wisdom, compassion, and fearlessness."

Sam Tongue took an immersive dive into two Kathryn Bevis poems My Cancer as a Ring-Tailed Lemur and Matryoshka. Find out what Sam - and the Friends Of The SPL group - took from these poems in our Nothing But The Poem podcast.

Our usual host, Sam Tongue, puts two poems by the wonderful Yorkshire poet Caroline Bird, under the groupchat microscope. Caroline Bird has published eight collections of poetry to date; usually to great acclaim, awards and rave reviews. Her latest collection, Ambush at Still Lake (Carcanet) has her trademark surreal wit, and is a kaleidoscope of startling imagery, lyrical unexpectedness, and is typically hard to classify, but so easy to fall in love with.

UK Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage said of her: "Bird is irrepressible; she simply explodes with poetry. The work erupts, spring-loaded, funny, sad, deadly - you don't know if a bullet will come out of the barrel or a flag with the word BANG on it."

Sam Tongue took his customary immersive dive into two poems from Ambush at Still Lake: RSVP and Cuckoo. Find out what Sam - and the Friends Of The SPL group - got from these poems in our Nothing But The Poem podcast.

Ann an Hai-Àidh #7, tha Petra Johana Poncarová agus Donnchadh Sneddon a’ coimhead air dìleab Ruaraidh MhicThòmais mar bhàrd, neach-deasachaidh, agus iomairtiche, agus a’ bruidhinn mun leabhar-rannsachaidh a nochd am bliadhna bho Chlò Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival.

In Hai-Àidh #7, Petra Johana Poncarová and Duncan Sneddon look at Derick Thomson’s legacy as a poet, editor, and activist, and discuss the academic monograph Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival which came out earlier this year from Edinburgh University Press.

Ann an Hai-Àidh #6, thagh Niall O’Gallagher ‘Bisearta’ le Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa agus Alasdair C. MacIlleBhàin ‘Gur fad ’am thàmh mi gu tostach sàmhach’ le Dòmhnall Eachainn à Muile. Tha Niall agus Alasdair a’ leughadh nan dàin agus a’ bruidhinn orra, a’ lorg cheanglaichean eadar bàrdachd-cogaidh anns an fhicheadamh linn agus bàrdachd nam Fuadaichean anns an naoidheamh linn deug, agus a’ beachdachadh air an dàimh eadar snas an fhoirm agus cuspairean aognaidh.

For Hai-Àidh #6, Niall O’Gallagher chose George Campbell Hay’s ‘Bisearta’ and Alasdair C. Whyte went for ‘Gur fad ’am thàmh mi gu tostach sàmhach’ by Donald MacGillivray. They read the poem and discuss them, finding connections between twentieth-century war poetry and nineteenth-century poetry of the Clearances, and consider the tensions between formal beauty and disturbing subject matters.

The much-loved and much-missed Scottish poet and translator, Alexander 'Sandy' Hutchison, is the latest subject of the Nothing But The Poem podcast, presented by our regular host, Samuel Tongue.

David Kinloch said of his work: "Alexander Hutchison's poetry is elegant, flighty and absurdist by turns."

WN Herbert wrote: "Sandy Hutchison's poetry exhibits a gleeful acquisitive fascination with the language."

"A mentor, a bristling master, and a total original." - August Kleinzahler

The two poems by Alexander Hutchison discussed by the Friends of the SPL group in this podcast are Gavia Stellata and Everything. 

A short audio recording to accompany the Moon Tell Me Truth exhibition at the Scottish Poetry Library.

Ann an Hai-Àidh #5, thagh Peigi Nic a’ Phiocair ‘Oidhche Na' Mo Chadal Dhomh’ le Nellie Ruadh, dàn a chaidh lorg o chionn ghoirid ann an tasglann, agus Joy Dunlop ‘An Roghainn’, aon de Dàin do Eimhir le Somhairle MacGill-Eain, mar òran le fonn ùr a rinn Dòmhnall Seathach. Tha Peigi agus Joy a’ leughadh, a’ seinn, agus a’ còmhradh air briathran blasta agus faireachdainnean làidir.

For Hai-Àidh #5, Peigi MacVicar picks Nellie Ruadh’s song ‘Oidhche Na' Mo Chadal Dhomh’, a recent archival discovery, and Joy Dunlop brings in ‘An Roghainn’, one of Sorley MacLean’s Dàin do Eimhir, set to music by Donald Shaw. Peigi and Joy read, sing, and chat about tasty words and strong feelings.