RJ Arkhipov appointed Poet-in-Residence for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games

Welsh-Scottish poet and writer RJ Arkhipov has been appointed Poet-in-Residence for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Delivered in partnership with the Scottish Poetry Library, the residency will place poetry at the heart of Glasgow 2026, inviting Arkhipov to respond to the people, places and stories of the Games through a new body of work.

Throughout the residency, Arkhipov will write new poems inspired by the encounters, conversations and defining moments that emerge across Glasgow 2026. The poems written during the residency will be published by the Scottish Poetry Library, documenting the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games through poetry.

Glasgow 2026 will take place from 23 July to 2 August 2026, bringing around 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories to compete across 10 sports and six fully integrated Para sports. Arkhipov’s work will engage with the scale and spectacle of the event while exploring the lives, relationships and moments of connection that unfold around it.

RJ Arkhipov said:

The Commonwealth Games bring thousands of people together, each carrying their own history, language, ambitions and sacrifices. Poetry offers a way of listening closely to those individual experiences amid the scale and intensity of a major sporting event.

“I am interested in the way the Games bring people together across cultures and generations, and in the symbols, traditions and histories that give the Commonwealth Games their distinctive character. I also want to explore what sport can offer beyond competition, particularly its capacity to support mental and physical health and strengthen communities.

“It is a privilege to be given the opportunity to follow the Games from within and to contribute poetry to their cultural legacy.

Arkhipov was born in Wales and currently lives in Leith, Scotland. Alongside his work in Scotland, he has spent significant periods writing in Paris, France, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. His first collection, Visceral: The Poetry of Blood, was published by Zuleika and shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. Written as a series of poems protesting restrictions affecting gay and bisexual blood donors, the collection examines the relationship between the body, identity and politics.

He has served two terms on the Scottish Poetry Library’s Poets Advisory Group and has performed and has presented his work in Scotland and internationally. His writing is informed by his work in politics, diplomacy and public service, and frequently considers questions of belonging, identity, memory and the body.

His poem Orange appears in the Scottish Poetry Library’s anthology of poems on the Rights of Rivers, commissioned as part of the cultural programme for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Read Let the Baton Be a Bridge, inspired by the King’s Baton Relay, in which 74 batons, made from a single ash tree from Pollok Park, were created for each Commonwealth nation and territory before being reunited at the Opening Ceremony.

Asif Khan, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library, said:

Poetry can illuminate the personal experiences behind significant public occasions like the Commonwealth Games. As Poet-in-Residence, RJ will have rare access to the people, places and emotions of Glasgow 2026 and will create new work in response to the Games as they happen.

“The Scottish Poetry Library is pleased to publish the poems written during the residency, ensuring that these responses to Glasgow 2026 are available to readers in Scotland and beyond.

Further details about the residency, including opportunities to hear and engage with the resulting work, will be announced in due course. Arkhipov will be reading at a Commonwealth River Poems event at the Briggait in Glasgow on 1 August 2026. Tickets are free and are available at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-of-watershed-commonwealth-river-poetry-anthology-tickets-1990098710816