poetry
The war poets and the Edinburgh golf club
‘Finding the place of this historic meeting – (between Owen, Sassoon and Graves) – adds another piece of information to our knowledge of the war poets’ Scottish enlightenment and to the history of the conflict’.
We sing a single song: For Manchester
Two years ago the poet Tony Walsh wrote and performed We Are Manchester for the twentieth anniversary of the Manchester Arena. Poetry commissioned for a different occasion now takes on searing new significance.
Seeding success: a new Paisley pattern
“In 21st century Scotland, resources of renewal are found elsewhere. Today we’re here to learn how communities are transforming town centres – with the right amount of support from public bodies and private enterprise.” Paisley…
Widening national horizons with poetry
Maybe poetry can help us clarify our thinking about some of the important issues facing Scotland, indeed the world, today? With the help of poet Christine De Luca, Sceptical Scot sets out to explore wider…
Raise a glass to truth and Robert Burns
On Valentine’s Day – or any other day – Sceptical Scot is pleased to publish this tribute to Robert Burns and his lasting truth by new writer Pat Sutherland.
Where does Scottish writing go from here?
“Nasty Women will showcase a wide array of female voices, many of them new writers, focusing on intolerance and inequality to cover everything from Trump’s America to pregnancy. Like Freight, the arrival of 404 Ink…
Talking Turkeys: five poems for Christmas 2016
At the ragged end of a sorry year Fay Young goes in search of poems for Christmas and finds five offering humour, humanity and even a hint of hope that the world is not definitively…
Discerning the light: a sceptic explores the history of religion
Former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway, whose complex relationship with his own Christian tradition makes him perhaps the quintessential sceptical Scot, explores the history of religion in a new book.
Poetry with a European twist in Portree
“For when it comes down to it, this, for me, is what it is all about. Hope for the future – as long as mountains stand and rivers run – lies in our interconnectedness. Across…
James Hutton and deep time poetry
James Hutton, the great Enlightenment scientist, was born 290 years ago today (June 3). Here Ron Butlin, former Edinburgh Makar, celebrates the work of the Father of Modern Geology.
There viewed from here
Gordon Munro reviews two poetry books challenging a west-centric view of love, life, war and exile. Here is his invitation to Take Tea with the Taliban and, by the way, Don’t Forget the Couscous.
Och Aye n Aye
The national poets of Scotland and Jamaica, Burns and Marley, shared a passionate concern for the oppressed – and a host of other attributes as well as children born to many mothers. We pay tribute…