SEPT — NOV 2014
autumn programme
Copies of this brochure are available in Large Print at SPL Reception or email: reception@spl.org.uk.
EARLY BIRD TICKET DEAL Book before 1 September 2014 and receive a 30% discount on any individual event ticket (not valid for SYMPOETRY).
GREEN SPL This programme is printed in Scotland. Please pass on or recycle when finished. The SPL is a certified Green Arts Venue. We are committed to monitoring and reporting on the environmental impact of our organisation. We’re improving our recycling facilities, reducing our energy use and shrinking our carbon footprint. We’re making use of digital and online platforms to save paper and petrol.
If you want advice about recycling books and paper, making your transport more environmentally-friendly, and generally becoming more green, let us know and we’ll do our best to help. Patrick Geddes' words "by leaves we live" have inspired us and we hope to inspire everyone who comes to the library to make our future a green one.
Our new programme brochure reflects this holistic thinking about the wide range of work we do at the library.
CONTACTS Email: reception@spl.org.uk Tel: 0131 557 2876 www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk
It’s the SPL’s 30th anniversary – our pearl anniversary – and we’re celebrating where we’ve reached and where we’re heading. Delays to building work, now scheduled to start in 2015, mean it’s been an unusual year so far but one in which we’ve been able to literally ‘take stock’ – which has meant counting all 50,000+ items in the collection. We’ve also been identifying ways that access to our resources and services can be improved, working from the inside out. Our motto – bringing people and poetry together – sums up our feelings: poetry is for everyone.
@ByLeavesWeLive facebook.com/scottishpoetrylibrary
We encourage you to explore resources on our website and to join in our dynamic programme of events this autumn. We are particularly excited about our SPL International Poet-in-Residence. This annual residency will begin with a poet from Poland who will be resident at the library for two weeks of poetic cultural exchange. Also we’ll be hosting our first SYMPOETRY: SPL Poetry Symposium. We will bring together world-class poets and literary thinkers to address a question that is central to the state of poetry today. What is more, yours is an essential voice in that conversation. This year’s question is, ‘Poetry: Who’s speaking? Who’s listening?’ Programme Manager – Jennifer Williams –
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EVENTS SOMEONE WAS SINGING: A COMMEMORATION OF WORLD WAR 1 IN POETRY AND SONG Thu, 11 September, 19.00 Central Library / Reference Library, 7-9 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EG FREE
In association with Edinburgh Libraries, we present poet Alexander Hutchison and singer Wendy Carle Taylor for an evening of poetry and song, contemporary and historical, in remembrance of all those affected by World War 1.
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Alexander Hutchison is a poet and translator with an international reputation, writing in English and Scots. He is widely published in the UK, Europe and North America, and his latest collection is Bones & Breath (Salt, 2013). With five star sell-out shows, awardwinning Scottish singer Wendy Carle Taylor is best known for her stunning interpretations of contemporary and traditional song.
REFERENDUM POETRY READ-ROUND AND BREAKFAST Fri, 19 September, 11.00 SPL, £3/£2 Celebrate or commiserate! Join us for coffee, croissants, discussion and good poetry. Those who attend are welcome to read up to two poems or for a total of 5 minutes – your own or favourites. Scottish poems and poems on the theme of politics and independence are encouraged.
BOOK LAUNCH: BE THE FIRST TO LIKE THIS, NEW SCOTTISH POETRY Thu, 25 September, 18.30 SPL FREE
Be the First to Like This: New Scottish Poetry is an anthology gathering together Scotland’s new generation of poets. Here, the classically formal mixes with the wildly experimental. Subjects are as diverse as texting, fancying film stars, dole offices, quantum physics, and Richard Branson; the common denominator is modernity, a sense these are poems that could only have been written in the early twenty-first century. A selection of the poets featured in the anthology will read at the launch.
MICHAEL LONGLEY: REMEMBERING WAR Thu, 2 October, 18.30 National Library of Scotland £7/£5 In partnership with the National Library of Scotland.
National Poetry Day’s theme this year is ‘Remember’. Join us in marking the day with Michael Longley, described by John Burnside as ‘one of the finest lyric poets of the century’, as he reads and talks about his own and others’ poetry of war with SPL Director Robyn Marsack.
CAESURA @ SPL
ZAFFAR KUNIAL AND JOHN GLENDAY
Thu, 9 October, 18.30 SPL, £5/£4
Thu, 23 October, 18.30 SPL, £5/£4
Experimental poetry wonder-night Caesura comes to the SPL. Heralded as ‘one of the most vital avant garde readings in Great Britain’ by poet SJ Fowler, CAESURA is the live home for sound poetry, found poetry, text-based performance art and all manner of linguistic innovation.
‘LATE RIPENESS’: POEMS ABOUT MEMORY AND AGEING Thu, 16 October, 18.30 SPL, £5/£4 This event is for people of all ages. A Living Voices Event and part of the Luminate Festival.
Poets and Living Voices facilitators Ken Cockburn and Lorna Irvine present a programme of the work of poets in their older age and poetry that addresses the ageing process, including poems by MacCaig, Miłosz, Morgan, Szymborska, Tennyson and Yeats. We will talk about experiences and perceptions of ageing – about memory and memorialising, settling down or pushing on.
TIMOTHY DONNELLY Fri, 17 October, 18.30 University of Edinburgh, Lecture theatre G.06, 50 George Square FREE In partnership with the University of Edinburgh.
We are thrilled to welcome American poet and Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award winner Timothy Donnelly. Donnelly is the author of Twenty-Seven Props for a Production of Eine Lebenszeit (Grove Press, 2003), and The Cloud Corporation (Wave Books, 2010), as well as director of undergraduate creative writing at Columbia University. He is also the poetry editor for Boston Review.
In partnership with The Wordsworth Trust.
We are delighted to showcase the work of the current Wordsworth Trust Poet-in-Residence Zaffar Kunial alongside award-winning Scottish poet John Glenday. Zaffar Kunial is one of the Faber New Poets for 2014 and his pamphlet will be published in October. A poet who combines the everyday and the transcendent, John Glenday's collections Undark and Grain were Poetry Book Society Recommendations.
‘DOCTORS IN BOOKS, BOOKS FOR DOCTORS’: TOOLS OF THE TRADE & A DOCTOR’S LINE Fri, 24 October, 18.30 Bonar Hall (Dundee Literary Festival), University of Dundee, £3/2 Booking & information at: literarydundee@gmail.com.
Professor Sir Kenneth Calman (A Doctor's Line) is joined by poet Diana Hendry, GP Lesley Morrison (Tools of the Trade) and Dr John Gillies (Chair, Royal College of GPs in Scotland) for a look at medicine and literature, and the longstanding relationship between the two.
The bubbles of the latest wave Fresh pearls to their enamel gave Each and All by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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MAGAZINE SHOWCASE: FAR OFF PLACES Thu, 30 October, 18.30 SPL, £5/£4
Far Off Places, the magazine of written whimsy, was launched in November 2013. Since then five issues have been released, apps have been developed and podcasts recorded. Editors Annie Rutherford, Ceris Aston and Bethany Wolfe – dressed in Halloween costumes for the occasion – will talk about their experience of creating a literary magazine. Contributors will also be there to haunt the audience with their words. Fancy dress is encouraged.
THAT DARK NIGHT: POETRY AND DEATH
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Thu, 6 November, 18.30 St John’s Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4BJ FREE Part of the Just Festival.
Death will come to us all and poetry holds a special place in helping people to talk about death, to remember loved ones and to mourn. In a candlelit discussion and poetry reading on the theme of this great mystery, Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca, writer and broadcaster Richard Holloway and others will consider what poetry has to offer when death’s door opens. Chaired by Robyn Marsack, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library.
ARTIST BOOK SPOTLIGHT: JEAN JOHNSTONE AT ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH Sun, 30 November, 11.30 & 14.30 RBGE, Patrick Geddes Room, John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, near EH3 5AZ £5/£4 (Two sessions available.) In partnership with Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and a Book Week Scotland event.
Jean Johnstone invites you to slowly unwrap her artists’ books to experience the fine words of leading contemporary poets. All of her small books contain one poem only, each complemented by delicate images from the natural world, on Lokta, Tsasho and Resho papers. Jean Johnstone is a Scottish artist who uses etchings, pen and ink drawings, leaf and bark papers, beeswax, silk and linen, to create handmade, hand-scripted artist’s books. She has made works with many poets including John Burnside, Kathleen Jamie, Michael Longley and Jane Hirshfield.
SPL INTERNATIONAL POET-IN-RESIDENCE 1 – 16 NOVEMBER When we look outside ourselves, we learn so much about the world. This year we begin an annual tradition of bringing poets from around the world to stay with us at the library for a two-week residency during which they share their work, language, ideas and culture with a Scottish audience and have a chance to learn about the poetry of Scotland. Our first poet-in-residence will be Polish poet Maciej Woźniak.
THE EDINBURGH POETRY TOUR
TRANSLATION WORKSHOP
Sat, 1 November, 14.00 SPL and various
Sat, 8 November, 10.00 – 13.00, SPL, £10/£8
FREE
Join us as we show Maciej around Edinburgh, paying a visit to various places of poetic interest.
POET-TO-POET Wed, 5 November, 18.30 SPL, £5/£4 Maciej will be talking to Scottish Poet Peter Mackay about the culture of poetry in Poland and how being a Polish poet compares to being a Scottish poet.
The texts of several poems by Maciej will be sent out to those enrolling for this workshop, along with literal versions. The workshop, led by SPL Director Robyn Marsack, will offer a rare opportunity to work on versions with the poet and other participants. A selection of translations from the workshop will be on show at SYMPOETRY. And other events as part of the SYMPOETRY: SPL Poetry Symposium.
Sponsored by: Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh, Polish Cultural Institute, The Book Institute, Interaktywny Salon Piszacych w Szkocji – Interactive Writing Salon in Scotland and Kraków Miasto Literatury UNESCO.
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TALKING ABOUT POETRY & DEVELOPING YOUR WRITING
One ticket buys you a whole poetry-packed weekend as well as delicious food and drink.
At the SPL we believe in supporting readers and writers of poetry. Join us for our reading groups and workshops, suitable for readers and writers at any level of experience.
NOTHING BUT THE POEM READING GROUPS
BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO READING AND TALKING ABOUT POETRY
Tue, 23 September 18.00 & Sat, 27 September 11.00: Michael Longley
Sat, 1 November, 10.30 – 12.30 SPL, £5/£4
Tue, 21 October 18.00 & Sat, 25 October 11.00: Wisława Szymborska Tue, 18 November 18.00 & Sat, 22 November 11.00: Thomas Lux
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SPL, £5/£4 We will read and discuss a selection of poems: note that the poet will be there in print only.
SPL POETRY WORKSHOPS Tuesdays: 30 September, 28 October, 25 November, 18.00 SPL, £5/£4 Jennifer Williams, poet and SPL programme manager, facilitates this writing workshop in which we read, discuss and write poems. Please bring paper and a pen or pencil.
This is all you need to (re)start your enthusiasm for poetry, and feel great sharing it with others: it’s a crash course poetry-spotter’s guide. You’ll leave raring to join one of our regular Nothing but The Poem sessions. Coffee, croissants, and no question deemed too daft.
THE POETRY SOCIETY SURGERIES WITH JOHN GLENDAY Saturdays August 30, September 20, October 18, November 22 SPL, £40 for Poetry Society members, £50 for non-members Discuss your poetry on a one-to-one basis with poet and tutor John Glenday. Poetry Surgery offers a relaxed but indepth analysis of your poems. To book contact Paul McGrane, 020 7420 9881, membership@poetrysociety.org.uk.
( Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Also have a look at our International Poet-inResidence events and SYMPOETRY for more learning and development opportunities.
The Wasteland by TS
Eliot
SCOTTISH POETRY LIBRARY POETRY SYMPOSIUM
14, 15 AND 16 NOVEMBER SPL & VARIOUS VENUES IN EDINBURGH
SYMPOETRY brings together world-class poets and literary thinkers to address a question of vital importance to the state of poetry today, and yours is an essential voice in that conversation. This year’s question is, Poetry: Who’s speaking? Who’s listening? Special Guests include: Don Paterson; Thomas Lux; Fiona Sampson; Sasha Dugdale; Tim Dee; Maciej Woźniak and more! Full Programme coming soon.
£100/£80 (includes Friday evening drinks reception, lunch buffet on Saturday and continental breakfast both mornings), or £130/£110 (includes additional Friday evening meal with the speakers)
More details and tickets available at: www.scottishpoetrylibrary.eventbrite. co.uk. Limited spaces available so book early to avoid disappointment.
In partnership with the University of Edinburgh, the Scottish Review of Books and Hemma
POETRY IN YOUR COMMUNITY The Scottish Poetry Library works with people and communities across Scotland to share the joy of poetry. National Poetry Day is on Thursday 2 October this year, and the 2014 theme is ‘remember’. We are producing 8 poem postcards that will go to participating schools in Scotland, and you’ll find the cards in your local public library. You can also find the poems and much more on our website. Living Voices has been taking poetry, story and song into care homes and sheltered housing across Scotland. Poets and storytellers are working with
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volunteers running regular monthly sessions with groups in Perth and Kinross, Aberdeen and South Ayrshire. Living Voices is a partnership with the Scottish Storytelling Forum and is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Baring Foundation, Creative Scotland and The Gannochy Trust. We welcome visitors to explore the library from 10.00 – 16.00 on 27 September for Edinburgh Doors Open Day 2014.
ACCESS TO POETRY The Scottish Poetry Library has a groundfloor entrance and a lift that provides access to all three floors of the building. There is one adapted toilet on the basement floor. Companion Service Artlink offers a companion service for people who have difficulty visiting libraries and attending events on their own. For more information please phone 0131 229 3555, type talk 18001 0131 229 3555 or go to artlinkedinburgh.co.uk. If you need a companion to help you attend any SPL workshops or events, please let us know when booking. Your companion’s ticket will be free.
At the Library Hearing loop: If you require our portable loop, please let the person at reception know. Sign language: There is a sign language video poetry collection available for borrowing from the library. Wheelchair Space We can reserve space for you and nearby seats for your guests if required. Guide and hearing dogs are welcome. If you would like to use any of these services, contact the SPL reception on 0131 557 2876, reception@spl.org.uk or in person. Please then make yourself known to Reception on arrival.
Next to my own skin, POETRY FOR h e r pearls. YOUNG PEOPLE “
Warming Her Pearls by Carol Ann Duffy
young people can be bold readers of rich and demanding poetry – and writers of it too Philip Gross
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Fostering a love of writing, reading and performing from an early age is essential for the survival of poetry. We have a collection of poetry books for children in the library, as well as learning and teaching resources online; our education programme supports teaching in schools across Scotland and beyond. Various writing workshops for students are available including:
WHOSE COUNTRY IS IT ANYWAY?
GHOSTS OF WAR
S5 – S6 1 – 12 September The Saltire Society
P5-S6 27, 28, 29, 30 October 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 17, 18 November National War Museum
A two-hour creative workshop using Edwin Morgan’s poetry as a starting point for pupils aged 16+ to use poetry to explore their feelings about Scottish identity ahead of the referendum.
BEHIND THE LINES P6-S2 11, 16, 18 September, 1, 6, 9 October National Library of Scotland A half-day workshop in collaboration with the National Library of Scotland, exploring their Behind the Lines exhibition with a view to discovering the experiences of men and women on active service during WW1.
A full-day workshop in collaboration with National Museums Scotland. Focusing on WW1 or WW2, pupils will have the chance to engage with exhibits, handle original wartime objects and participate in an Act of Remembrance. We also offer Poetry CPD for teachers and workshops for pupils tailored specifically to suit requirements. Contact our Learning Manager, Georgi Gill, for more information and to book: georgi.gill@spl.org.uk. For teachers: www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/ learn/teachers Education Blog: makingmakars.wordpress.com
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HELP US TO BRING PEOPLE AND POETRY TOGETHER
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Poetry is sound whether on the page or out loud. We need a space where rapping and rhyming and the silent singing can happily co-exist. Liz Lochhead
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The Scottish Poetry Library is a charity that collects, conserves and shares the nation’s poetry. The whole of the Library’s print, digital and audio collection is available free of charge, thanks to our community of supporters. As well as helping us to provide this core Library service, memberships and donations support our outreach work in schools, care homes and the wider community.
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£20 adds a new book to our collection. £75 brings a poet into a Scottish classroom. £250 funds a Living Voices session in a Scottish care home.
Help us to continue this work by becoming a Friend of the Scottish Poetry Library from £20 per year and you will receive the following membership benefits: •• Poetry Reader magazine subscription •• Discounts on SPL events •• 10% discount in the SPL shop •• Free postal borrowing throughout the UK •• Voting rights at our AGM
Visit our website for more information and to join online: www.scottishpoetrylibrary. org.uk/about/become-our-friend or telephone 0131 557 2876 to request a membership form by post. To donate outwith our membership programme, please visit www. scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/about/ support-our-work or send a cheque to Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh EH8 8DT.
F og near the shade of pearls. Zeus and Apollo by Da vid Rivard
WE LIKE STAYING IN TOUCH WITH YOU! Twitter: 18,000 followers have signed up. Follow @ByLeavesWeLive for a lively mix of poetry news, fun links, and lines of poetry. Scottish Poetry Library Facebook: the go-to page for all things SPL. Newsletter: a weekly round up of our news, blogs, and podcasts. To subscribe, visit the SPL website homepage and click on the button labelled ‘Subscribe’. Richard Price @infoprice @ByLeavesWeLive Just love the excerpt and especially the picture you've chosen for this. Just makes me smile! Am biased. Still makes me smile! Mark Cousins @markcousinsfilm @ByLeavesWeLive Scottish Poetry Library you are brilliant. Lavinia Greenlaw @LaviniaGreenlaw Kathleen Jamie and Jen Hadfield reading together. I would travel the island to hear either one. @ByLeavesWeLive scottishpoetrylibrary.org. uk/events...
George Szirtes @george_szirtes @ByLeavesWeLive Many thanks for remembering this. I am most flattered and very touched. In that order. Thank you. Fiona Hyslop @FionaHyslop Lovely event @ByLeavesWeLive for poets and readers for Great Written World project searching/broadcasting 204 poems for each Olympic country. Arvon @arvonfoundation @ByLeavesWeLive Poetry podcast from Scottish Poetry Library is excellent. Thoughtful in-depth interviews with poets scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/connect/podcast
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WHAT ELSE CAN THE SPL DO FOR YOU? LIBRARY SERVICES We gather Scottish poetry in all its languages and collect poetry from around the world. You can enjoy books, pamphlets, magazines, artists’ books, archives, exhibitions and audio-visual material. Our catalogue is online, and if you’re not able to visit you can use our postal loan service. We offer a free inquiry service, covering both popular poem requests and more in-depth academic and
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bibliographic searches. We also have a vibrant volunteer programme that supports the work of the library. If you’d like to get involved, email reception@spl.org.uk. Please note: The library will be closing on 29 November 2014 to prepare for building works in 2015. Certain services, and all our online offerings, will still be available.
ONLINE RESOURCES At scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk you will find more than a website; this is the Scottish Poetry Library’s virtual home, designed to offer poetry resources to those unable to access the physical library and expanding the possibilities of our existing collection. Explore poems by author, theme or language. Use the subject tags to find poems for life’s great occasions, or about current issues, or for study. Especially useful for poets and blossoming publishers – use our For Poets and Publishers pages to get advice, research possible destinations for your work and learn about publishing in Scotland today. Our online guide to Scottish Poets offers biographies and other useful information about poets with a
publishing or performance track record in Scotland, both contemporary and from previous centuries. Podcasts: a series of interviews with world-class poets and emerging talent from around the world. A new podcast appears on the website every 10 days, plus there is an archive of interviews featuring poets such as Liz Lochhead, Kay Ryan, John Burnside, Kate Tempest, Michael Symmons Roberts and Kathleen Jamie. You’ll also find poetry blogs, audio of poets reading individual poems, a calendar of poetry readings, poetry posters and much more. Go to www.scottishpoetrylibrary.co.uk and explore our web content to your heart’s content.
EVENTS DIARY SEPTEMBER 2014 Thu 11th
19.00
Someone Was Singing
Fri 19th
11.00
Referendum Poetry Read-Round and Breakfast
Tue 23rd
18.00
NbTP – Michael Longley
Thu 25th
18.30
Be the First to Like This, New Scottish Writing
Sat 27th
11.00
NbTP – Michael Longley & Doors Open Day
Tue 30th
18.00
SPL Poetry Workshop
OCTOBER 2014 Thu 2nd
18.30
Michael Longley on Remembering War
Thu 9th
18.30
Caesura @ SPL
Thu 16th
18.30
‘Late Ripeness’
Fri 17th
18.30
Timothy Donnelly
Tue 21st
18.00
NbTP – Wisława Szymborska
Thu 23rd
18.30
Zaffar Kunial and John Glenday
Fri 24th
18.30
Tools of the Trade & A Doctor’s Line
Sat 25th
11.00
NbTP – Wisława Szymborska
Tue 28th
18.00
SPL Poetry Workshop
Thu 30th
18.30
Magazine Showcase: Far Off Places
NOVEMBER 2014 Sat 1st
10.30
Beginner’s Guide to Poetry
Sat 1st
14.00
Residency - Edinburgh Poetry Tour
Wed 5th
18.30
Poet-to-Poet
Thu 6th
18.30
That Dark Night: Poetry and Death
Sat 8th
10.00
Translation Workshop
Fri 14th
SYMPOETRY
Sat 15th
SYMPOETRY
Sun 16th
SYMPOETRY
Tue 18th
18.00
NbTP – Thomas Lux
Sat 22nd
11.00
NbTP – Thomas Lux
Tue 25th
18.00
SPL Poetry Workshop
Sun 30th
11.30 & 14.30
Artist Book Spotlight: Jean Johnstone
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People’s Canongate Kirk Story
CANONGATE
Museum Of Edinburgh
CRICHTON’S CLOSE
OLD TOLBOOTH WYND
Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate Edinburgh, EH8 8DT.
ROYAL MILE
ST MARYS STREET
to Castle
NEW STREET
JEFFYREY STREET
LOCATION
Scottish Poetry Library Hemma
to Holyrood
Scottish Parliament
HOLYROOD ROAD
For more details on events, directions to the library, podcasts and poetry, please see scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk or call us on 0131 557 2876. Friends of the SPL receive the concession rate for events and workshops.
Please go to scottishpoetrylibrary. eventbrite.co.uk for event booking. For updates on events inside and outside of the SPL, as well as links to our latest podcasts and blogs, subscribe to the SPL’s fortnightly e-newsletter by emailing colin.waters@spl.org.uk.
THANK YOU Thank you to our Patrons – The Binks Trust, Edwin Morgan Trust, Dr David Summers Charitable Trust and Ian Wall – and Friends, partners and sponsors for their generous support.
PRINTED IN SCOTLAND
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk design: www.everyonelovescake.co.uk