Scottish Poetry Library
Four poems in defiance of an uneasy spring
In times of war, poetry is a kind of defiance, a resistance. Humanity reclaimed?
For future generations from our here and now
Survival, war, poetry. What is it like to fight for your motherland with words and on the streets? Here is a message to transcend time and place.
Kathleen Jamie: the poetry of natural resistance
“But another important thing is that poetry is for everyone. Don’t for one minute think poetry was ever a highfalutin thing. It never was – particularly In Scotland. Think about the ballads, think about Burns…
A kind of healing: poetry for endings and beginnings
How and when do you mark the passing of a pandemic which is not yet done? Politicians stumble, their messages swaying between promises of better days ahead and threats of worse to come. Can poets…
Doses of compassion from the doctor-poet
“If it is our mission…to alleviate suffering as well as to preserve life …” The crystal-clear words of doctor-poet Gael Turnbull feel like a timely gift in our time of need.
Love and light: poetry and prose in the time of coronavirus
It’s abut humanity. Vision is the theme of #NationalPoetryDay 20-20 and our co-editor Fay finds solace and joy and sadness in poetry and prose written in the time of coronavirus
Willie Hunter 1940-2020
‘He suffered from depression, remarking once that ‘I’ve written books and poems to self-medicate my depression’. Poetry as medicine for dementia and depression is why the passing of Willie Hunter footballer, poet and ambassador is…
Remembering Edwin Morgan at 100
Edwin Morgan became Scotland’s first makar in 2004: a tribute to him on his centenary from his biographer. ‘He was an acrobat of words and identities. Perhaps his own identity as a gay man, risking…
A gleam of starlight from the window: poetry for a pandemic
Poems and songs for Earth Hour on Friday March 27 (ICYMI)…”In our time of isolation, whether enforced or voluntary, there’s something comforting in that notion of stars clustering together for so very much longer than…
Changing dirt into something beautiful
On yet another day when headlines of old and new media hammer home the madness and mayhem of 2018 politics, here’s a chance to let different words swirl and swell with Rachel McCrum’s Glassblower Dances,…
Another spring: poem for an elusive season
Is winter never going to end? Seeking hope in poetry, Fay Young finds a kind of answer in Christina Rossetti’s poem Another Spring, whose sad-sweet longing seems to capture the mood of the moment.
National Poetry Day: mixed messages
“And their message – in printed cards and performance poetry – is that both poetry and libraries matter.” On how Glasgow Libraries and the Big Issue – and countless others – celebrate(d) National Poetry Day.