Wigtown Poetry Competition 2007-8

Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association

& Wigtown Festival Company present

The Wigtown Poetry Competition 2007/08

1^st prize £2500 2^nd Prize £1000 3^rd Prize £500

Ten supplementary prizes of £50.00 each

Gaelic Prize in association with Gaelic Books Council £1000

Judge Robert Crawford

Gaelic Judge Anne Frater

Closing date 5.00pm Friday 25^th January 2008

www.wigtownbookfestival.com/poetrycomp

Open Stage - bring a poem to the Station Hotel, Dumfries!

Open Stage is back at the Station Hotel, Dumfries on Friday 30 November, when local songwriters and poets will be encouraged to get up on stage and perform. Open Stage is supported by Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association Literature Development and Burnsong.

As well as an Open Mic there will be some fantastic guest spots to spur things on – November’s Open Stage will feature Moniaive singer/songwriter Darcy Carson and Dumfries poet and artist Hugh Bryden.

Darcy Carson is a promising young pianist who at the age of 15 is already writing and recording her own songs. She went down a storm at this year's Moniaive Folk Festival and performances such as these led to her appearing at the legendary Spiegel Garden during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. So come and see for yourself one of Dumfries & Galloway's brightest prospects.

Hugh Bryden’s work as an artist has long been recognised, but he is becoming an increasingly published poet, creating beautiful hand-printed limited editions of his work which are proving very popular. Hugh’s work in Scots is both humorous and poignant, and not to be missed.

All would-be performers - make sure you get there early – registration for all those who wish to perform will take place between 7pm and 7.30pm on the night! Poets can read three short poems and songwriters two songs.

Even if performing’s not your thing, don’t miss the chance to see and hear some great original material! Whatever your tastes in music or poetry come along, showcase your skills and meet like-minded people in a chilled out atmosphere. Hosting the event will be local singer/songwriter Nicola Black. Entry is £3 on the door.

For more information contact Jill Smith at Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association on 01387 253383 or e-mail: jillsmith@dgaa.net.

Meet the Author with Sarah Hall

Newton Stewart Library

7.00pm Tuesday 20th November. Contact Newton Stewart Library on 01671 403450.

Free event

One of Britain’s finest young writers will be reading from and talking about her work at Newton Stewart Library, as part of the library service/DGAA ‘Meet the Author’ series. Sarah Hall lives in Cumbria, which features largely in her work.

Her first novel ‘Haweswater’, was a passionate story built around the construction of the Haweswater Dam. It was published in 2002 and won the Commonwealth Writers First Novel Award and a Betty Trask award. She followed this in 2004 with ‘The Electric Michelangelo’, which told the story of a tattoo artist from the 1950’s until the present day and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In Newton Stewart Sarah will be focusing on her new novel ‘The Carhullan Army’. This is something of a departure as its set in the near-future. It tells the story of ‘Sister’ who escapes the Orwellian dictatorship ‘the Authority’ to search for a quasi-mythical female community, ‘The Carhullan Army’, which is rumoured to exist somewhere on the Fells. Sarah has said that her previous novels were very poetic and this one is deliberately more pared down and dramatic, but the precision of her language is a hallmark of Sarah’s writing.

Scots Matters

Dumfries & Galloway now has a special ambassador for the Scots language. DGAA and Dumfries & Galloway Libraries, Information and Archives have appointed a new Robert Burns Writing Fellow, to promote literature in Scots. Poet Rab Wilson, from Sanquhar is already a well-kent face in the region.

Rab is rapidly becoming one of Scotland’s foremost Scots language poets. He has published two books of poetry with Luath Press, a Scots version of the Rubai’yat of Omar Khayam and ‘Accent o’ the Mind’, a collection of his own poems.

Within the region he has worked to promote writing in Scots, and to promote creative writing with children, particularly in Upper Nithsdale. He recently took part in DGAA’s writers exchange with Kiltimagh, in County Mayo, taking his passion for Scots to the west of Ireland, and has spoken about the Scots language and performed his own work at events throughout Scotland.

Literature Development Officer Andrew Forster said ‘Many readers tell us they are wary of reading Scots, but once they take the plunge there’s a whole universe of wonderful literature for them to enjoy. Rab is a marvellous performer and his enthusiasm for the Scots language will make him a wonderful guide.’

Rab is delighted to be holding the Fellowship. He says ‘I’m particularly looking forward to getting to some of the wee communities in Dumfries & Galloway who can’t always access cultural experiences, because that’s the spirit of Burns.’

Among the many things planned for the six-months of the Fellowship are a series of Burns Night talks, picking up where Hamish MacDonald, the first Robert Burns Fellow, left off, by using Burns Season to look at the legacy of Burns in the 21st century. Rab is also planning to take Scottish literature in unexpected places, and plans to go out with the mobile libraries to read Scots poems to people as they change their books! Watch this space!

Firstly, though, Rab is planning a series of introductions to Scots literature, which will take place in libraries throughout Dumfries & Galloway in November and December.

Dates confirmed are:

Lochthorn Library, Dumfries Tuesday 20th November 7.00 pm

Stranraer Library Tuesday 27th November 7.15 pm

Lockerbie Library Tuesday 4th December 10.30 am

Georgetown Library, Dumfries Wednesday 5th December 10.00 am

Castle Douglas Thursday 6th December 6.30pm

Newton Stewart Library Tuesday 11th December 10.30am

For further information about the Robert Burns Fellowship Reading Scots Project contact Andrew Forster on 01387 253383 or andrew@dgaa.net