Poetry News - Scotland, October 2015
Our poetry columnist welcomes in autumn and its lyrical offerings across Scotland; from Wigtown, Dundee, Moniack Mhor and the pen of Don Paterson
Autumn is icumen in; fruitful mistiness and mellows abound. There really is something magical about this time of year, if you’re into the slightly melancholy or wistful. We’re starting to reach for our sweaters and, instead of heading to the nearest grassy stretch, hearing the call of the steamed up café and slightly fuggy pub – great venues for the odd scribble, if you find the type that allows you to spin out your drink for longer than should be humanly possible. Much have I travelled in the realms of beverage, playing coffee-shop chicken with the vengeful ranks of the aproned elect, and let me tell you, my friends, it is a very serious sport indeed.
Whether you’re looking for seasonal inspiration over the next few weeks, or just a bite of poetic to keep things ticking over, it seems Scotland is definitely the place to be. If you’re quick, Wigtown Book Festival (25 Sep-4 Oct) may currently be running and is definitely worth a drop-in. If not, it's one to watch for future years, with an ever expanding offering of poetry. Liz Lochhead is, of course, on the menu, as are Hugh McMillan, Jim Carruth and Phill Jupitus in his other role as Porky the Poet.
However, my recommended highlight has to be Don Paterson (2 Oct), who will be showcasing his latest collection, 40 Sonnets. I’ve already had a taster, having been to its launch at Daunt Books, Cheapside, and would say that, whether you enjoy more formally structured poetry or not, you’re bound to find one that speaks to you in here. After years of exploring the form, this sonneteer’s voice is equally at home with the lofty and the humble, and Don combines easy wit with an almost crippling modesty in his delivery. Up to that point I’d never heard a poem built up to with 'I don’t think I’ll do the dead dog one,' nor – once he’d changed his mind and read it after all – heard one so poignantly illustrate the conflicting emotions involved in putting a beloved pet out of its misery.
Later in the month, the Dundee Literary Festival kicks off in fine style on 21 October, with five vibrant days’ worth of poetry, prose, talks and workshops. You can now download your copy of their programme online. True to Dundee’s reputation as the city of discovery, we will be seeing many new writers take the stage, as well as celebrities including Nick Frost and Gregor Fisher. Jackie Kay (whose poem Names remains one of the best portrayals of childhood racism I’ve ever read) is making an appearance (24 Oct), reading from and discussing both her latest short story collection, Reality Reality, and her poetry pamphlet The Empathetic Store. Other must-sees include Mother Tongue (25 Oct), a double act by Colette Bryce and Jen Hadfield on the subject of roots, and Heard it. Seen it. Done it. (22 Oct), a one-off, mishmash showcase of different arts platforms, featuring Edinburgh International Book Festival, Neu! Reekie! and the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.
As for me, I’m currently getting all psyched up for a trip to the Highlands in mid October, where I’ll be teaching my first ever course for teens at the Scottish Creative Writing Centre, Moniack Mhor. My co-tutor is the lovely Niall Griffiths, author of Stump (Wales Book of the Year, 2004) and, following our pre-course phone chat, I’m sensing the week is going to be an absolute blast, creatively and socially. Let’s hope the students find inspiration too. On that note, I’ll leave you with a short poem I wrote last year after a dose of Louis MacNeice; for me, reading his Autumn Journal around now is as much a part of the season as leaf-gazing and pub fires.
Reading MacNeice in early autumn
It is knowledge of a shift
in current or in key,
it is seeing each leaf vein
lustrous and skeletal
In the backlit puppet show
of rice paper skies,
and a cut-out sun
that you can gaze
full into
and not be blinded.
It is all this
and yet not all;
it is gatherings which are
also partings, a body
that cannot bear itself,
and of a canvas,
terracotta, silk and clay
in shades of earth
where, once,
a country stood its ground.
40 Sonnets is out now, published by Faber & Faber, RRP £14.99