Poetry Podcast Project

Thirteen of the region’s noted poets have embraced the digital age with a pioneering poetry podcast project – a regional showcase of audio recordings on the internet. It’s the first such poetry archive in Scotland, and it’s hoped it will attract a new international audience for the exciting poetry scene in Dumfries & Galloway.

The podcasts feature local poets with growing and national reputations:

:: jo abbott :: judi benson :: jackie galley :: vivien jones ::

:: douglas lipton :: hamish macdonald :: angus macmillan ::
:: hugh mcmillan :: liz niven :: derek ross ::
:: tom pow :: mary smith :: rab wilson ::

The poems include work in Scots, English and Gaelic in settings stretching all the way from Bellymack to the highlands of Afghanistan, and covering an astonishing range of subjects, from cooking an octopus, to SQA exam-marking, to the tragedy of the Solway Harvester.

The Podcast Project is hosted by DGAA’s Writers’ Hub, www.dgcommunity.net/writers, set up by Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association as a resource for writers in the area, with support from the Council’s Library and IT Services.

We hope that hearing the authors' distinctive voices will add an extra dimension to their work, and showcase the quality and diversity of poetry in the region. We particularly hope that language and literature students abroad will be interested in hearing contemporary recordings in the different languages and accents of Scotland. More...

Joined Up Writing Book Launch

Saturday 4th March, 2pm
Scottish Poetry LibraryCanongate, Edinburgh

Crichton Writers and Wigtown Scribblers hold the Edinburgh launch of their joint anthology of poetry and prose. Your chance to hear new writing by members of the south-west's most dynamic groups. Local hospitality and copies of the book at £3 .

Info: 0131 557 2876 or email reception @spl.org.uk

Crichton Writer on Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is broadcasting a short story by Crichton Writers' member Vivien Jones on Wednesday March 1st. 'Tomato Sauce' will be read by Monica Gibb and aired at 3.30pm as part of a week of stories by Scottish writers.

The story was written as one of a series of memoir pieces on Vivien's childhood time in Malta, as part of her membership of Crichton Memoirs Group.

Burns on the Solway

Oran Mor, Glasgow, week of February 20th

A new play by Catherine Czerkawska, Burns on the Solway, is being staged as part of the acclaimed Oran Mor season, A Play A Pie and a Pint. Carmen Piericinni returns to the theatre to play Jane Armour after two years in River City in the touching love story set on the Solway Firth at the end of Robert Burns’ life. Directed by Michael Emans. Burns to be cast – watch this space!

Tickets priced at £10 (includes: the play, a pie and one drink).
Tickets available from the SECC on 08700 13 26 52, or from www.secc.co.uk, or on the door on the day.

Doors open 12.30 pm. Play starts 1.05 pm.

Visit Catherine Czerkawska's writing blog here.

The Bakehouse presents…
Saturday January 28th 7.00pm for 7.30pm

~ Poetry Reading with Douglas Lipton ~

Douglas Lipton will read from Flora and Fauna of an Independent Scotland as well as other, more recent pieces which delve into the blackly comic underbelly of human experience. He is sure to balance his reading this evening with Songs for the Fallen Angel (a requiem for Lockerbie) as well as drawing on his mariscat collection, The Stone Sleeping Bag, The Outside World, Fairy Tales, Hale-Bopp Poems and other work.

Douglas Lipton writes in Scots and English, and there's always the danger that he might erupt into song as well. Ticket includes traditional Scottish snack food and remedying drink in honour of Mr R Burns, plus The Bakehouse Bowl of Fame... you have been warned! 'A tour-de-force... terse, irreverent and riddled with cheeky one, two and three-liners... (used) brilliantly to convey, sometimes lewdly, but always colourfully, a peculiar species of Scottish gallows humour.'
The Scotsman

£6.00/£5.00 concs (includes a glass of wine or warming hot toddy)
Contact: 01557 814196

Found Poetry Workshop with Dorothy Alexander

Take a Walk on the Wild Side of Writing!

Monday 6th February
1-4pm (reading 3pm)

Crichton Campus, Dumfries(Drama Studio, Rutherford McCowan Building)

Macallan prizewinning writer Dorothy Alexander presents an innovative workshop designed to unleash your creativity, followed by a reading from her own work.

‘Found poetry – the rearrangement of words
from other sources to create new meanings…’

Bring along a book, magazine or other printed material (doesn’t need to be literary!) and prepare for a fun and stimulating session.


Dorothy Alexander is passionate about poetry. She holds an MLitt in Creative Writing from Glasgow University and is currently writing a PhD focusing on poetics. Her PhD project involves devising experimental poetic techniques to transform her own prose fiction into poetry.

Open to all with an interest in exploring their wilder writing side – not just poets!

Book by emailing andrew@dgaa.net, or ring 01387 253383 for more information. Tickets £3.

Tom Pow Wow!

Warm congratulations to Dumfries poet Tom Pow, one of 22 Scottish artists shortlisted for a coveted Creative Scotland award. Up to ten awards of £30,000 are earmarked for innovative projects by leading figures in the Scottish arts community. Tom's in the running with an exploration in poetry and prose of the shadowy life and work of Thomas Watling, Dumfries Convict Artist - the first professional artist in Botany Bay.

Hamish MacDonald 2006 Robert Burns Talks

Hamish MacDonald, Robert Burns Writing Fellow for Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association, explores how the poet's image has been used to promote everything from shortbread recipes to political ideologies.

Tues 17th Jan 7.30pm
Kirkcudbright Literary Society, Lesser Town Hall, Kirkcudbright
Tues 24th Jan 7pm
The Old Well Theatre, Moffat
Thurs 26th Jan 7pm
Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society, The Cabin, Main Street, Kirkconnel
Tues 31st Jan 7pm
Bladnoch Distillery, Wigtown
Thurs 2nd Feb 7pm
Studio Theatre, Rutherford McCowan Building,
Glasgow University Crichton Campus, Dumfries

Info: Andrew Forster, DGAA, 01387 253383 or andrew@dgaa.net
Admission free.

Starting to Write Workshops

Always wanted to write but don't know where or how to begin? This beginner's course is designed to introduce you to the joy of writing.

Run by Dumfries writer Lynn Otty at Dumfries Academy. Eight weeks from 19th January 2006, 7-9pm. Cost £28.80 (concessions available).

Contact 01387 243554 or 243555 (Community Learning).

Crichton Writers Go Global

Crichton Writers' new website is fast taking shape on the Glasgow University Crichton Campus site. It includes an events diary, a showcase of members' successes and previous publications. Soon to come: member's pages with individual profiles and samples of work.