Jo Gilbert
Jo Gilbert is a poet, spoken word artist and writer from Aberdeen. North-East Scots, or Doric, features heavily in their work, alongside varied themes – shining a light into dark corners, looking at life through a working-class lens, nature in urban areas, music and art, grief and loss and everything in between.
Their poetry, short stories and flash fiction has been widely published in journals and anthologies, including Northwords Now, Poetry Scotland, Dreich anthologies, Causeway/Cabhsair and Beyond the Swelkie.
Jo has worked on various projects and commissions with Stanza Poetry Festival, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Look Again Festival, The National Theatre of Scotland and in 2021 was awarded a micro commission from Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums to create three poems responding to the artworks that have been acquired as print, audio, and film versions for the permanent collection.
Seahorse Publications launched Jo’s debut poetry collection WTF is normal anyway? in August 2022, which was nominated for a Scots Language Award. Tales fae the Doric Side is an anthology of new work in North-East Scots curated by Jo and a panel of North-East writers, featuring work from all over the world, including many well-known Scottish names. It was published via Doric Books in February 2023.