Exploring Science through Poetry Dr Sam Illingworth is a poet and Associate Professor at Edinburgh Napier University whose work and research focuses on using poetry as a medium through which to develop dialogues between different publics. During October and November of this year, Edinburgh Napier University, in collaboration with the Scottish Poetry Library, embarked on […]
by Sean Wai Keung One of the first things I learn is that Arbroath Abbey can be seen from most parts of the town. Combined with its age and grandeur, this gives the structure a towering presence. I’m here as part of a joint residency with the Scottish Poetry Library, the Arbroath 2020 committee, and […]
When you are old and gray and full of sleep,And nodding by the fire, take down this book,And slowly read, and dream of the soft lookYour eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; William Butler Yeats, When You Are Old The Open University in Scotland is hosting a Poetry & Ageing Café at the […]
We are an island ourselves, of course, and one that is becoming increasingly insular. We forget, at our peril, just how close we are to other cultures, and just how close those cultures are to ours.
In Caracas, many of the readings were in the magnificent Teatro Bolívar, often to more than a thousand people.
A new exhibition of paintings inspired by the glamour of cinema, free to the public during our opening hours from Wednesday 27th September until Friday 3rd November. Early Hollywood movies were a useful promotional tool for furriers and hairdressers, recently emigrated from Hungary, to sell their wares to a wider audience. Advertising the idea of […]
by Nazaret Ranea As a fusion of history, culture, and creativity, the Scottish Poetry Library partnered with Army at the Fringe to create a series of events featuring the participants of Scotland’s Generation of Young Makars program alongside their mentors. The theme of the performances revolved around ‘exploring our collective history and common creative future,’ […]
“We need poetry because the edges are filled with darkness,” said Fernando, the poet & festival director at the inauguration ceremony of the Medellin International Poetry Festival in Colombia. The festival is now in its 33rd year, & is deemed to be the biggest in the world. It attracts poets from all across the globe to […]
Poetry bears witness – not just to the beautiful moments in life, but also to the inarticulable pains of being alive, of losing, of never having.
Geopoetics is strictly of this world. Its background lies neither in myth, metaphysics, or religion. It is out to begin again, from the ground up. Taking geology as ground-level, it is a new way of being human and of living a human life on this earth.
Commemorating what would have been her 115th birthday, an expert panel from diverse disciplines celebrated the poet and scholar Dr Kathleen Raine (1908-2003) with a particular focus on her deep-rooted connections with Scotland. Chaired by Kirsten MacQuarrie, whose forthcoming novel The Rowan Tree is inspired by Raine and the belief that Scotland must radically re-appraise […]
In association with Hospitalfield, the Arts Organisation and Residency Centre in Arbroath, and Historic Environment Scotland, the Scottish Poetry Library invited poets to apply for two 5-day writing residencies based at the New Scriptorium in the grounds of historic Arbroath Abbey. The New Scriptorium is devised as a place for writing and a place for […]
