We regularly hold exhibitions at the Scottish Poetry Library, featuring works from our Special Collections and new works inspired by our collections.
LGBTQ+ History Month
For the month of February we will be joining in the celebrations for LGBTQ+ History Month with an exhibition supported by OurStory Scotland.
Visit the Scottish Poetry Library to learn more about the lives and art of LGBTQ+ poets in Scotland. Our exhibition celebrates diversity and welcomes the strides the LGBTQ+ community has made over the years.
We are delighted to have the support of OurStory Scotland and display art and stories from their project Love Out of Bounds. You can also listen to a snippet from an oral history interview with Edwin Morgan, a dedicated supporter of both OurStory Scotland and the Scottish Poetry Library.
Discover verse to be proud of at the Scottish Poetry Library.
About OurStory Scotland:
OurStory Scotland is a registered Scottish Charity (SCIO) staffed wholly by unpaid volunteers. We collect, archive and present the life stories and experiences of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community in Scotland. Our oral history recordings are archived at the National Library of Scotland, and we have over 170 handwritten episodes already archived at National Museums Scotland. Our recordings reveal the tremendous changes that have occurred in the situation of LGBTQ people during their lifetime. In addition to collecting stories, images, artefacts and research materials from LGBTQ lives, we present our heritage through the arts, in exhibitions, storytelling and drama.
About Love Out of Bounds:
Love Out of Bounds is an innovative project that crosses the boundaries between communities and brings us together to share stories of loves untold. The project was supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland, and was developed by OurStory Scotland and Rachel Smillie with the Village Storytelling Centre. Love Out of Bounds brings together a diverse range of participants, including people from minority ethnic groups, irrespective of gender and sexuality. Participants may be LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer), straight, intersex, pansexual, curious, or undefined. Love Out of Bounds encourages people to tell their stories of love ignored or rejected by their family, community or culture. There are so many of us who have experiences of being told that the love we have is somehow wrong or misdirected. We are finding common ground between straight and LGBTQ people, and people from majority and minority ethnic communities.
of wild kin
of wild kin
By Jules Bradbury
Thursday, 12 March to Friday, 15 May
‘of wild kin’ is a small exhibition of prints and drawings by artist Jules Bradbury. The works shown are visual responses to themes/ideas echoed in particular poems from several Scottish-based poets, notably Lynn Davidson, Jen Hadfield, Lydia Harris, Jane Goldman and John Glenday.
The title of the exhibition alludes to the ideas of feminist scholar Donna Haraway; the possibilities that can be opened up when we make ‘wild kin’.
The exhibition will run from 12 March to 15 May.
There will be a launch event at 6.30pm on 12 March, which will include a talk and Q&A with artist Jules Bradbury and reading from poets including Lynn Davidson, Lydia Harris and Jane Goldman.
