Scottish Poetry Library Podcast

In this LGBTQ+ History Month special edition of Nothing But the Poem, the Scottish Poetry Library's Toni Velikova is joined by Kirsten MacQuarrie, author and Membership Officer from CILIPS Scotland, to chat about three poems by three much loved Scottish LGBTQ+ poets.

STRAWBERRIES by EDWIN MORGAN

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN by MAUD SULTER 

BIOGRAPHY by JACKIE KAY

The poems were discussed at an open-to-all meetup of Friends of the Poetry Library hosted by Toni and Kirsten. An enthralling chat ensued by all accounts!

Have a look at our website to find out about becoming a Friend, and join us for the next Nothing but the Poem meet-up. Or simply enjoy this podcast and the excellent poems therein.

'S e pod-chraolaidh ùr Leabharlann Bàrdachd na h-Alba a th' ann an Hai-àidh! Air gach clàr bi dà phìos bhàrdachd air a thaghadh le dà bhàrd (neo cuideigin aig a bheil ùidh ann am bàrdachd). Sa chiad fhear thagh Pàdraig MacAoidh 'Anns an Dealachadh' le Deborah Moffat agus Màrtainn Mac an t-Saoir 'Chuala sinn losgadh' le Daibhidh Eyre Leughaidh Pàdraig agus Màrtainn na dàin mus bi iad a' còmhradh le chèile mun deidhinn. 

Hai-aidh! is the Scottish Poetry Library’s new Gaelic language poetry podcast. In each episode two Gaelic language poems are selected by two poets (or by guests who love poetry). In this episode Peter Mackay chose 'Anns an Dealachadh' by Deborah Moffat, and Martin MacIntyre chose 'Chuala sinn losgadh' by Daibhidh Eyre Leughaidh.  Peter and Martin read the poems and have a chat about them.

In this podcast, Scottish Poetry Library's Sam Tongue introduces us to three poems by the late Scottish poet, Roddy Lumsden, whose influence continues to reverberate around contemporary poetry.

Roddy's poems were read and discussed at January's monthly online meet-up of Friends of the Poetry Library hosted by Sam. In the podcast Sam reads the 3 poems and gives us his thoughts on them and the discussion they generated.

Have a look at our website to find out about becoming a Friend, and join us for the next Nothing but the Poem meet-up. Or simply enjoy this podcast and the excellent poems therein. 

Scottish Poetry Library’s Sam Tongue runs a monthly online meet-up, where Friends of the Poetry Library get together to read and discuss a fresh poet and their poems. 

In this podcast, Sam introduces us to the general style and format, and enjoys the work of Will Harris.

Have a look at our website to find out about becoming a Friend, and join us for the next Nothing but the Poem meet-up. Or simply enjoy this podcast and the excellent poems therein. 

Scottish Poetry Library’s Sam Tongue runs a monthly online meet-up, where Friends of the Poetry Library get together to read and discuss a fresh poet and their poems. 

In this podcast, Sam introduces us to the general style and format, and enjoys the work of Hannah Hodgson.

Have a look at our website to find out about becoming a Friend, and join us for the next Nothing but the Poem meet-up. Or simply enjoy this podcast and the excellent poems therein. 

This podcast with author Christian McEwen was recorded in the summer of 2013. Christian talks about her book World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down, and about a life built around making the spaces to write and create. Christian works as a freelance writer and workshop leader. For many years, she taught poetry to teachers through the Creative Arts in Learning Program at Lesley University. A collection of her poems, In the Wake of Home, was published by Meadowlark Press in 2004.

Music composed by James Iremonger

Published 26 June, 2014.

Edinburgh’s former Makar, or poet laureate, Christine De Luca wasn’t born in the capital. In this podcast, she tells us about her childhood in Shetland, and how she’s taken her native dialect around the world. She recalls the unexpected impact her poem about the Scottish Referendum ‘The Morning After’ had, and she talks about translating the Finnish epic The Kalevala.

Nicholas Lezard called William Letford ‘the new Scottish genius’, a judgement the SPL is not inclined to disagree with. With a new collection, Dirt (Carcanet), in the shops, we thought it was a good time to catch up with him. We discussed how India changed his life and poetry, whether he’s funnier in Scots, and the influence of work.

This podcast is a recording of the 2015 StAnza International Poetry Festival Round Table event in which SPL Programme Manager and poet Jennifer (JL) Williams was in conversation with the poet Alice Notley. It was recorded shortly before she won the 2015 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.

Alice Notley has published over thirty books of poetry, including (most recently) Songs and Stories of the Ghouls, Negativity’s Kiss, and the chapbook Secret ID. With her sons Anselm and Edmund Berrigan, she edited both The Collected Poems of Ted Berrigan and The Selected Poems of Ted Berrigan. Notley has received many awards including the Academy of American Poets’ Lenore Marshall Prize, the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Award, the Griffin Prize, two NEA Grants, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Poetry. She lives and writes in Paris, France.

Many thanks to StAnza International Poetry Festival and to James Iremonger for the music in this podcast.

Image: Alice Notley 11.03.11 by kellywritershouse, under a Creative Commons licence

The SPL is pleased to be able to share a treasure from our audio archives: from 2008, a talk by poet and novelist John Burnside on fellow Scottish poet W.S. Graham. During the talk, recorded at the National Library of Scotland before an audience, Burnside talks about poetry and visual art, the poet as nomad and ‘feeding the dead’.