Poetry Doubles welcomes David Constantine and Laura Helyer

Next Monday 26 October brings the chance to enjoy some great poetry down at the Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre in Dumfries. Freelance writer, poet and translator David Constantine has published several volumes of poetry, most recently Nine Fathom Deep. He has a great ear for the sounds of words, and his poetry is inventive and rich in imagery.

Laura Helyer was commended in the Cardiff International Poetry Competition in 2006, and won the Kirkpatrick Dobie Prize in 2007. She is currently working towards a first collection. Her poetry is observant and crafted, often exploring the relationship between art and the environment.

Tickets for this Poetry Doubles evening, which starts at 7pm, are available from The Midsteeple, High Street, Dumfries, or on the door.

If you're curious about poetry in translation, come along on Tuesday 27 October to a workshop led by David Constantine. You don't have to be fluent in a second (or third!) language - English will do! This is about how poetry can be created and re-created in your own voice, working from another translation. For those who enjoy words this will be a fascinating and absorbing workshop.
The workshop starts at 10am in Theatre Studio Room 131 at the Rutherford McCowan Building on the Crichton Campus, Dumfries. Tickets are £5, available from the Midsteeple, or ring Davie on 01387 253383.

Mary Smith reads from No More Mulberries Wednesday 21 October

Come along to Midsteeple, Dumfries at 7pm on Wednesday 21 October, when local writer Mary Smith will read and talk about her new novel, 'No More Mulberries'. Set in Afghanistan, 'No More Mulberries' is a story of commitment and divided loyalties, set against a country struggling through transition. Mary, who has first hand experience of living in Afghanistan, will read from her novel, and chat with the audience.
Tickets are £2, from Midsteeple or on the door, and include a complimentary glass of wine.

Poetry Doubles welcomes Imtiaz Dharker and Hugh McMillan

Make a big star in your diary beside Monday 12 October, when the Poetry Doubles stage will be shared by Imtiaz Dharker and Hugh McMillan.

Imtiaz Dharker describes herself as a Scottish Muslim Calvinist, brought up in a Lahori household in Glasgow, working in Bombay. She is a poet, artist and documentary film-maker and all her books, Purdah, Postcards from god, I speak for the devil and The terrorist at my table, include her own drawings. She now lives between India, London and Wales.
Her work is inspired by themes of displacement and freedom, and her poetry is richly vivid, with striking imagery.

Hugh McMillan lives in Penpont and teaches at Dumfries Academy. He has published both collections and prize-winning pamphlets. Hugh is an excellent performer of his own work, which is spare and often darkly humorous.

Tickets are available from DGAA on 01387 253383 or from the Midsteeple, or on the door at RBCFT on Monday evening. The performance starts at 7pm.

Andrew Forster makes it onto the syllabus

Andrew Forster, ex-Literature Development Officer for DGAA, whose book 'Fear of Thunder' made the Forward Shortlist for First Collection this year, has exam boards bidding to use his work in the school curriculum.

Andy's poems 'Brothers' and 'Horse Whisperer' are to be included in an anthology for schools. (We hope they all have to buy one Andy). And his already widely admired poem, 'Mother, Diving' has appeared on a sample exam paper. I'll treat you to a short extract:

'The high diving board at the open-air pool
taunted my mother like a tongue. While young boys
leapt from the first board, clenched like stones,
she held herself in by the pool-rail.'

Andy will see his second collection, 'Territory', published in May 2010. Let's hope he can be persuaded to come back to D&G and read it to us!

National Poetry Day at the Midsteeple Thursday 8 October

National Poetry Day is happening all over Britain on Thursday 8 October. We invite you to come along to the Midsteeple in Dumfries to join in with a splendid celebration of poetry in Dumfries and Galloway.
Everything's free.
Drop into the Poetry Porch at Midsteeple where you'll find a rota of welcoming poets in residence. They'll read their favourite poems, or one of yours, or one of their own. You can choose a free Poetry Postcard from the Scottish Poetry Library. There'll be free Poetry Balloons for kids of all ages. You can nominate your favourite poem for West Sound's Favourite Poem Prize Draw. You can bring a poem of your own to read, or add it to our Wall of Words. You can get creative right there and then and add some lines to our Giant Dumfries Poem, which will be written by as many poets as add words to it!

Look forward to seeing you next Thursday!

Crichton Plays in a Nutshell this weekend

The very latest in new drama from Dumfries and Galloway is being presented in an evening’s entertainment at the Rutherford-McCowan Building, Studio Theatre, Crichton Campus on Saturday 26 September at 7pm.

Crichton Plays in a Nutshell has been enabled by Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association, and has been created by one of Scotland’s most dynamic young directors, Kate Nelson, who has been working with experienced local writers to help hone their playwriting skills. Playwrights involved are Vivien Jones, Catherine Forbes, Linda Powell, Isobel Mary Gibson, Leonie Ewing and Carolyn Yates for Crichton Writers, and Janette Walkinshaw, Kriss Nichol, Patricia Comb and Grace Fenwick from Wigtown Scribblers.

The resulting quirky, ambitious and entertaining short plays will be performed by Kate Nelson’s ensemble of professional actors in tandem with the winner of this year’s McLelland drama prize in a special one-off event to coincide with the start of the Wigtown Book Festival. The following day the Wigtown Scribblers’ contributions will be performed by Kate’s ensemble at The McLellan Prize Showcase at the Swallow Theatre in Sorbie at 5pm.

Tickets for the performance in Dumfries are £6, available from Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association at the Midsteeple, Dumfries or for the performance at The McLellan Prize Showcase at Swallow Theatre from the ticket office in the County Buildings, Wigtown 01988 403222, also £6.

Poetry Doubles this Monday!

Poetry Doubles this Monday 21st will bring you visiting poet Alan Riach and popular local bard Rab Wilson.

A friendly welcome and great poetry guaranteed! Tickets from the Midsteeple, call 01387 253383 or on the door at Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre.

Arts in the Steeple - short stories from Vivien Jones on Friday

Come along to hear local writer Vivien Jones read from her new book of short stories, Perfect 10 on Friday 18 September as part of our new Arts in the Steeple events series. Vivien's short stories have been widely published and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Radio Scotland.

The theme of Perfect 10 is the fat girls, the large females, the big girls, the big women everywhere across Britain, overlooked, mocked and despised. Their strategies for survival can be inspired, funny or desperate but survive they do. In these stories their inventiveness is celebrated, their sadness acknowledged and a challenge thrown out to each of us to examine our tendency to judge the book by its cover. Vivien's stories are quirky, unexpected and enjoyable!

You can drop into the Midsteeple to hear Vivien on Friday 18 September at 1.30pm. Tickets are £2 from the Midsteeple, or 01387 253383.

Arts in the Steeple features JoAnne McKay this Saturday

Come along to The Midsteeple at noon this Saturday to enjoy JoAnne McKay's poetry. Arts in the Steeple aims to get culture right into the town centre, so it's very much open to all.

JoAnne will be reading poems from her well-received recent pamphlet, The Fat Plant, on the first floor of the Midsteeple. The Fat Plant (not a diet book!) reflects JoAnne's childhood and family - she says she was born into a family of Wholesale Butchers and Slaughterers. These are punchy poems laced with dark humour - to be recommended. Tickets £2 on the door.

Wigtown Book Festival Programme Launch at Midsteeple

Come along to help us launch our region's lovely book festival at The Midsteeple next Thursday 10 September! Adrian Turpin, Director of Wigtown Book Festival, will be at The Midsteeple to launch this year's programme. 6pm to 7pm - free.