National Poetry Day
Thursday 7th October 2021
The FWS marked the day with a Zoom event of readings from a collection of poets:
Rose Ann Fraser Richie
Cait O Neil McCullach
Martin Stepek
George Colkitto
Lesley Traynor
Linda Jackson
Peter Kelly
Gayle Smith
Hadley James Hoyle
Anne Pia
Chris Tait and Brian Hill.
The poetry was rich and complex and moving.
We were also delighted to experience the premiere of this year’s Patchwork Poem, woven into being by Andy Jackson, poet and former Makar.
See here Patchwork Poem 2021
The event culminated with a selection of readings by Makar Jim Mackintosh who read from his latest pieces which are included in Beyond the Swelkie
Edited by Jim Mackintosh and Paul S Philippou
Beyond the Swelkie is a collection of poetry and prose in English, Scots and Gaelic celebrating the centenary of George Mackay Brown. Its contributors are based in Orkney and across Scotland, each engages with the muse in their own way. The contributors include many award-winning poets. Beyond the Swelkie includes a foreword by Asif Khan, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library. The book’s cover incorporates the artist Sandy Moffat’s celebrated portrait of George Mackay Brown.
Available from Tippermuir Books/ Amazon
Saturday 4th September
Vernal Equinox Competition
An afternoon of readings
Vernal Equinox Competition Winners – A Celebration
29th May – A Scriver Event with Leela Soma
Watch Marcas and MAK on Youtube here
Writing historical fiction – A Conversation between Scriever Leela Soma and Cauvery Madhavan, author of The Tainted
Saturday 20th March 2021
Makar Jim Mackintosh and Friends of Pskov Monday 15th March @ 7pm Zoom in on Pushkin and Souter
curated by @IliyanaNedkova in partnership w/ @FWritersS@rsgov@ukrftwincities1@culturepandk#FriendsofWilliamSoutar
National Poetry Day 1st October 2020
FWS celebrated National Poetry Day 2020 with readings from a range of poets including our Makar Finola Scott. Marie Therese thoroughly enjoyed hosting the event and introducing some of our regular readers. The organisers were also delighted to welcome some poets who were making their Federation debut. The event also saw the debut of this year’s Patchwork Poem , Unseen on the theme of vision, the title being created by one of the contributors. Unseen was stitched into being by Andy Jackson. We hope to upload the accompanying video imminently. The Federation was proud to offer, as an extra bonus, a reading from former Makar Sheila Templeton, winner of this year’s James Mc Cash Scots Poetry Prize with The Clyack Shafe (meaning the last harvest sheaf).
https://federationofwritersscotland.wordpress.com/the-clyack-shafe/
A wonderful afternoon of poetry. Congratulations and thanks to all those who contributed. The Federation is delighted and grateful to be able to offer members the opportunity to continue to showcase their work in these challenging times.
The Federation of Writers (Scotland)