Sam Illingworth is a poet and Professor at Edinburgh Napier University whose work and research focuses on using poetry as a medium through which to develop dialogues between different publics. What happens when scientists pick up pens instead of pipettes? When researchers trade data for dactyls? This anthology offers one answer. These poems emerged from […]
Hayden Murphy announced as the third recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Poetry in Scotland award.
James Ripley is the librarian at HMP Edinburgh. Hogmanay 2025 saw the publication of Scotland’s latest poetry journal Diesel (old prison slang for tea), which includes the work of a dozen poets who either reside or work at HMP Edinburgh (aka Saughton Prison). For the first issue Saughton Library published only a limited run of […]
Carol King from the School of Poets writes… Stramash (Scots: an uproar, commotion, hubbub, or delightful disturbance) is the perfect, rousing title for this highly anticipated debut collection. It promises an unconventional and vibrant mixture of voices from the Edinburgh School of Poets, invading the world of verse with a marvellous coming together of poems […]
“Scotland has been on my list for years, drawn by its beautiful nature, charming medieval architecture, unpredictable weather, and of course, its famous cultural festivals. Being invited to recite my poetry at two venues for a unique set of attentive audiences was a dream come true”
What exactly is St Mungo’s Mirrorball? St Mungo’s Mirrorball is 20 years old – but what exactly is St Mungo’s Mirrorball: Is it animal, vegetable or mineral? Whatever it is, it has poetry as its beating heart. In truth, it was a poem that became a network of poets. Or, to be more precise it […]
Who would you like to see added to the Scottish Poetry Library’s online guide to Scottish poets? The biennial nomination process is open until Sunday 2nd November 2025.
I have been lucky in the libraries in my life and can – if I were to close my eyes now -imagine many of them in intricate detail, as a smell, type of lighting, sitting and reading experience.
Elisabeth Kelly is this year’s recipient of the Dymphna Bursary – a £2,000 award for a poet resident in Scotland who identifies as neurodivergent or has a learning disability. Elisabeth is a part-time teacher who lives in the Borders. She will use the bursary to fund a writing mentor and to attend a residency. During […]
Following the success of its competition for young composers of sacred music, the Edinburgh Sacred Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the Scottish Poetry Library, has established a comparable event for young poets. Poets under 30 were invited to submit work on one of the following themes – a biblical quotation, character or event, a notable […]
This essay by artist and researcher Pip Thornton documents and debates some of the outputs of ‘Writing The Wrongs of AI’ (WWAI), a project which explored creative ways to demonstrate the power that human words, poetics and writing might have in resisting the influence of artificial intelligence in the literary sphere and beyond. The essay […]
A special one-off recording with Scottish poet Gordon Meade in conversation with David Cameron of Into Poetry and Samuel Tongue of the Scottish Poetry Library, chatting about, among other things, the process of putting together a career retrospective, or Selected Poems. The conversation meanders as all good conversations do. Throughout the recording are readings from […]
