A literary stocking filler!

Local writer A. R. Davis (Tony) has just published 'Geronwithit in the Stewartry' - a book recounting his experiences with the Stewartry Football League over the last six years.

Written with a huge enthusiasm for youth football and refereeing, Tony's book will be a great read for local football fans, and proceeds from it will be ploughed back into local clubs to ensure their continued success with young people.

Tony has previously published 'In the Saddle for the Saddlers', a true short story with a cycling theme.

If you would like to buy one of Tony's books, please contact him at anthony.davis3@homecall.co.uk

Alan Riach and Sandy Moffat in the Midsteeple this Friday

As part of their Arts in the Steeple series, Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association welcomes Professor of Scottish Literature Alan Riach, and artist, teacher and chair of the Royal Scottish Academy Exhibitions Committee, Alexander Moffat RSA, to the Midsteeple in Dumfries on Friday 11 December at 7pm. The free event takes the form of a dialogue between Alan Riach and Alexander Moffat, and promises to be a uniquely fascinating evening discussing the sources and interconnections of Scottish art and culture explored in their new book Arts and Resistance.

The event is free but ring 01387 253383 to book your seat. Complimentary glass of wine on arrival!

Dunragit Poet Sam Gilliland wins MacDiarmid Tassie

Writer in the Storm is delighted to congratulate Sam Gilliland on his success in winning the much-coveted MacDiarmid Tassie for his poem Withoutin Weir, which won the Scots Language Society's highly prestigious Sangshaw Literary event.

Dr George Philp, the originator of the award, hailed Sam as a highly practiced exponent of the MacDiarmid school and an outstanding example of the Scottish literary movement.

Sam Gilliland lives in Dunragit, Stranraer, and has a collection of Scots poetry 'A Rickle O Banes', published by Penny Wheep Press due to appear in December. Look out for it!

Irresistible Poetry Doubles next Monday

Monday 23 November Poetry Doubles (the last one this year)
with Tom Pow and Liz Niven

A taster to help you step outside in the murk of November and make your way to the Duncan Room, Easterbrook Hall at 7pm.

Here's Liz Niven - from Picasso's Timeshare (Burning Whins)

Picasso said,
of his own poetry,
Painted in words, with lines taut as harpstrings.

Mair lik a bugle, it seems, ma shout
no findin the harpstring's voice.

Mair, a jiggin fiddle cries
Aye an hoochaye ower

islands, bens, lochs, or



the soun o silence,
oan an empty raised beach.


And this is Tom Pow - from Ex-Laundry Girl, 1943 (Dear Alice)

If ever I'd the chance to choose my place
I worked the drying green. I eased off

my boots, let my feet grow sweetly cold
on the grass. We laid out the sheets

till they sat on the air like ruffled snow.
I smelled the sharp spoor of joy


a child leaves across a vacant field -
and wept a little for my loss.


There. We're in for a treat! Hope to see you next Monday. Tickets £7/£5 from DGAA 01387 253383, from the Midsteeple, or on the door.

Very special end of season Poetry Doubles!

Poetry Doubles, Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association’s popular poetry season, will conclude on Monday 23 November at the Duncan Room, Easterbrook Hall, Crichton Campus, when it welcomes two of our most highly regarded Scottish poets for an unmissable literary event, Tom Pow and Liz Niven.

Tom Pow has had a fantastic year, winning the Poetry category in the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards 2009, in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council, for Dear Alice, and recieving a Creative Scotland Award for his Dying Villages project. His new collection of selected poems, In The Becoming, was launched in June.

Liz Niven is also an award-winning poet with an impressive track record. She'll be reading from Stravaigin and Burning Whins, and, like Tom, she is a gifted teacher who has long been respected for her contribution to the region's healthy writing culture.

This really will be a not-to-be-missed event - and do please take note, it's being held at The Duncan Room, Easterbrook Hall, Crichton Campus, on Monday 23 November at 7pm. Tickets from DGAA on 01387 253383 or from The Midsteeple.

Look out for the next blog which will contain tantalisingly wonderful lines from Liz and Tom's poetry, aimed at helping you to decide to turn out on a dark night!

Vivien Jones reads in Newcastle

Local writer Vivien Jones took part last week in a reading at the UK launch of world poetry anthology Not A Muse.
The launch took place at Gallery North in Newcastle–upon-Tyne, and involved three contributors to the anthology: Vivien Jones, Adele Geraghty from USA and Joan Hewitt from Northumbria.

"Creator, lover, freedom fighter, explorer, home maker, myth maker... As this stimulating selection of poems proves, there is no such thing as an average woman - a notion upon which we might all care to muse."
Stephen McCarty, Literary Editor, South China Morning Post

Well done Vivien!

Rab reads tonight at Trongate 103

Rab Wilson, our very own Robert Burns Writer in Residence, is reading tonight at the brand new Trongate 103 in Glasgow. He's there for the Launch Night for Reading The Waves magazine, who have (quite rightly) billed him as 'Political, poignant, and humorous'. Trongate 103 is in for a good night!

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.

Vivien Jones - new short stories reading at The Midsteeple

As part of our new Arts in the Steeple events series, local writer Vivien Jones will be reading from her new book of short stories, Perfect 10. 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!

Come along to hear Vivien on Friday 18 September at 1.30pm. Tickets are £2 from the Midsteeple, or 01387 253383.

Tree this weekend

Don't forget 'Tree' this weekend - Saturday 29 August at Threave Gardens, Castle Douglas. Tickets £8, includes refreshments.

'Tree' is a musical response to wood, the tree and the forest. It's a programme of new writing and music created by writers Vivien Jones and Jackie Galley, with musicians Richard Jones, Michael Hendry and Rebecca Hendry.

These are the folk who brought you 'Making Waves', and just on previous form then, 'Tree' is not to be missed!

Rab Wilson's 'Lambs' becomes September SAC Poem of the Month

Congratulations Rab! (I'm always saying that these days). Rab's McCash prize-winning poem, a powerful reflection on the Dunblane massacre, 'The Lambs', has been chosen to be Scottish Arts Council's Poem of the Month for September. The Poem of the Month is a prestigious acknowledgement, the chosen poems nominated by staff at the Scottish Poetry Library. So come September, don't forget to click on http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/1/artsinscotland/literature/features.aspx and read 'The Lambs'. After that it'll be in their archives by October, for ever and ever, another claim by Rab on posterity!

'Tree' - New Poetry and Music Inspired by Woodlands

After the success of their 2007 project 'Making Waves', poets Vivien Jones and Jackie Galley are back with a new performance 'Tree'.
Most people will know the tune of ‘Norwegian Wood’, some people will know its lyrics, a few will know what a Norway Maple tree looks like but it’s unlikely that many will have combined the lyrical structure of the song with instruments made from the tree to create a new words-and-music piece for performance. This is just one of the pieces in a new work, 'Tree', linking words and music inspired by woodlands, wood and trees that will be performed in the beautiful surroundings of NTS Threave Gardens, Castle Douglas.
This form of collaborative programme (first performed in the much admired Making Waves) which weaves music through and around the spoken word, develops a new direction in the performing of poetry by the writers, Jackie Galley and Vivien Jones and musicians Richard Jones, Michael Hendry and Becky Hendry. Poetry and music are natural companions – both rely on rhythm and lyrical power to become memorable - together they can make more than the sum of their parts. This will be a must-see performance which you can catch at 7.30pm on Saturday 29 August at Threave Gardens, Castle Douglas. Tickets are £8.00 including interval canapés and drink. Phone 0844 4932245 or e-mail: threave@nts.org.uk or e-mail vivien@freeola.com.

Don't panic if you can't get to Threave on the 29th, you can also catch performances of 'Tree' on -

Sunday 30 August 7.30 pm Sedbergh Flower Festival. St Andrew’s Church. Sedbergh Tickets : £5.00 including refreshments Sedbergh Tourist Information, Main Street Tel : 015396 20125

Saturday 3 October 4.00 pm Wigtown Book Festival. St Ninian’s Hall. Isle of Whithorn. Tickets : £6.00 including interval refreshments. Festival Box Office : Tel :01988 403222 or 402036 or online www.wigtownbookfestival.com

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Rab's 'Life Sentence' in poetry at DG One

Our new poetry season brings you none other than Rab Wilson, winner of the McCash prize for Scots poetry this year. Part of Poetry Prizewinners and their Craft, Rab will be at DG One in Dumfries on Friday 17 July. Rab's a rightly popular and entertaining performer of his own work – this will be a treat, and a chance to catch the living legacy in modern Scotland of the poetry of Robert Burns.

‘Poetry Prizewinners and their Craft’ aims to bring high quality poets to the region, and encourages audiences to enter into discussion with them, creating a rare opportunity to ask questions about sources of inspiration, drafting, form and meaning. It’s a way in for readers new to poetry, as well as regular readers and writers.

Rab Wilson’s event, which takes place at DG One at 7.30pm, will also be a launch for his new collection, ‘Life Sentence’. Tickets are available from DG One on 01387 243550.

Rab is writing some of the finest and most innovative contemporary Scottish poetry, above all because it is inspired by life, as Rab Wilson highlights in the title poem, ‘Fir life is whit we are sentenced to’.

In this new collection Rab investigates Scottish ancient legends, conflicts throughout history, and contemporary political issues; is inspired by a cultural exchange visit to Ireland; and, presents a powerful sequence containing nine sonnets entitled "Quake", based on the themes and ideas suggested to him by earthquakes. Like Burns before him, Rab writes in traditional south-west Scots, and also in standard English.

So you know where to find us

DGAA is shuffling through archive boxes and well, boxes this week, in preparation for moving to the Midsteeple in central Dumfries.

We're very excited about the opportunity to create a physical arts and culture hub for Dumfries, and look forward to welcoming you into the Midsteeple to find out what's on.

The first floor of the Midsteeple will become an exhibition space, sometimes a small performance space (could be well suited to readings!), and opens on Sat 11 July with a special Homecoming exhibition: Around the World with Robert Burns.

The Midsteeple has been made fully accessible, and will also be housing the Dumfries and Galloway Coalition of Disabled People, staffed by John Dowson and Claire Charkow.

Jen Hadfield opens Poetry Prizewinners mini season

Special poetry events in July! DGAA will be hosting a mini season 'Poetry Prizewinners and their Craft' this July, the first event being none other than Jen Hadfield, winner of this year's T S Eliot prize. Jen will be reading from 'Nigh-No-Place', her winning collection, at the Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre on Wednesday 1 July at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from the RBCFT, £5.50/£4.10 concession, tel 01387 264808.
Next up on Friday 17 July at 7.30pm will be Rab Wilson, winner of the McCash prize. Rab, a very popular reader of his own work, will be launching his new collection 'Life Sentence' in Bar DG at DG One in Dumfries.
And on Monday 27 July we welcome Douglas Dunn, one of Scotland's foremost living poets, who will be reading his work in RBCFT. A further treat for writers is that Douglas has agreed to run a Masterclass on Tuesday 28 July - do book early for what will be a lively and stimulating masterclass on the craft of poetry. If you're looking for advice on developing your own skills, here’s a chance to get some helpful feedback from one of the foremost practioners of the craft.

Please submit any poems you wish to have considered by Friday 17 July to davie@dgaa,net. Douglas will then make a selection from the submitted poems to provide feedback in the masterclass.

Book Launch at Thomas Tosh for JoAnne McKay

Penpont poet JoAnne McKay is about to launch her first poetry pamphlet, 'The Fat Plant', whose quality, if you ever doubted it (which you shouldn't have) is vouched for in an introduction by Hugh McMillan. Hugh's verdict: 'The Fat Plant is a skilful collection. The poems are taut, laced with black humour and pack a real punch'.

I have to add, I took a copy home for the weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The title poem is a real barnstormer. It took me back to days living in a town clouded with the reek of a glue factory, and earlier still, to the insidious pressure of priests and nuns on childhood. These are sharp, distinctive poems. Don't miss out!

JoAnne will be reading from 'The Fat Plant' at 3pm, Thomas Tosh in Thornhill on Sunday 12 July, and there will be drinks and canapes! You are more than welcome.

You can also get hold of a copy by e-mailing JoAnne at Titusmckay@aol.com and then sending, as she puts it, a crisp fiver! Or a cheque for £5. Don't miss further entertainment at JoAnne's blog - http://titusthedog.blogspot.com/

Jen Hadfield TS Eliot Prizewinner reads in Dumfries

Something very special on Wednesday 1 July at 7.30pm!
Jen Hadfield, 'surprise' winner (but not to us!) of the T S Eliot Prize this spring, is making a special stop-off on her tour to read in Dumfries as part of DGAA's short season of Poetry Prizewinners in July. Poetry Prizewinners will also include winner of the McCash Prize this year, Rab Wilson.

Tickets available from DGAA on 01387 253383.
‘Nigh-No-Place’, her winning collection, was described by the former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion as “a revelation; jaunty, energetic, iconoclastic - even devilmay- care”. Jen's poems evoke the natural landscape through her witty and playful use of sound.

Read this short poem, and then book your ticket!

A835

In sun the moor turns harlequin and whisky sours.
The road runs down to single-track.
In rain, headlamps bloom chrysanthemum
but she sleeps on, sways
with lax complexity of bladderwrack.

Congratulations Hughs Bryden and McMillan!

The 2009 winner of the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award was indeed Postcards from the Hedge by Hugh McMillan, published in Dumfries by Roncadora Press. The winners received the Callum Macdonald Quaich at a ceremony held on Friday 29th May at the National Library of Scotland.

Well done, and very, very well deserved. I love this book.

And it's good to know you did your bit for Scotland's economy in terms of umbrella sales... (though this summer will be different).

Shugs on the Shortlist

'Postcards From The Hedge', poems by Hugh McMillan and illustrations by Hugh Bryden, published by Roncadora Press in Dumfries, has made it to the shortlist of the Callum McDonald Poetry Pamphlet Competition.

Well done the Hughs, and best of luck for Friday!

Poetry in Spring Fling

Our byre has been open this weekend for Spring Fling's first collaboration between an artist (my friend Catriona Taylor) and a poet (me).

The idea for the installation was sparked by poems I wrote after I found a love letter tucked into the stones of the byre. Catriona and I researched the lives of the bothymen, who travelled from farm to farm as itinerant, seasonal workers. These were people who left very little trace - there is little documentary evidence of who they were - often their lives were not even recorded by the census. Catriona has made an amazing installation inside our haybarn, a flickering, candlelit space, where great translucent canvases swing in space, and the lives of the bothymen are captured in a series of simple wooden boxes, lined in shreds and layers of wallpaper, etched with their graffiti. Words from my poems and from the love letter are worked into prints and even painted faintly on the battered limewashed walls of the barn.

It's been great fun (even trying to put up a gazebo in tipping rain while clearing up the preview party and bottle feeding the abandoned lamb just as the first visitors arrived - early). And it's made us clear up the garden, which probably wouldn't have happened, so thanks Spring Fling!

We've been inundated with lovely people visiting, talking and sharing ideas - thank you all!

Open Stage This Wednesday - yes this one, the 20th!

Open Stage, Dumfries' favourite open mic opportunity for poets and singer songwriters, is happening this Wednesday, 20 May, rather than the last Wednesday of the month. (This is because so much is happening at the end of May, Davie's run out of evenings!)

Don't miss a chance to hear Ron McKechnie perform his poetry, and Harry Thomson make music - doors open at 7pm as usual to book your slot, and performances start at 7.30pm. £3 on the door at the Birkhill Hotel, Dumfries.

'The Spider's Spin On It' - new book from Hugh McMillan

Prize-winning poet Hugh McMillan read from his new poetry collection ‘The Spider’s Spin On It’ at Thomas Tosh in Thornhill last Saturday. The book, his second collaboration with Dumfries artist Hugh Bryden, is published by Bryden’s own Roncadora Press and is, typically, hand stitched and beautifully illustrated.

All the poems are inspired by McMillan’s enthusiasm for Scottish History – he is a history teacher at Dumfries Academy- and are his own unique slant on some of the famous events, people and places in Scotland’s past. He tells of Robert the Bruce’s famous encounter with the spider, for instance, but from the spider’s point of view. Copies of 'The Spider's Spin On It' are available for sale in Thomas Tosh www.thomastosh.com.

Oor Rab at Creative Burns - one week left!

If you haven't yet been to the Creative Burns exhibition in Kilmarnock, you've got just one more week left to see it.

And our own Rab Wilson, who has just completed his time as Robert Burns Writing Fellow for Dumfries & Galloway, has on display there a commisioned series of 12 poems for Creative Burns.

Described by one critic as 'a more toothsome appraisal of [Burns'] cultural, social and creative importance' Creative Burns features key manuscripts, letters in Burns' handwriting to colleagues and friends and a copy of the Kilmarnock Edition. The visual arts side of the exhibition includes Calum Colvin's new portrait of Robert Burns.

Creative Burns is in The Dick Institute, Elmbank Avenue, Kilmarnock, tel 01563 554902 or visit www.visiteastayrshire.com.

Wigtown Poetry Competition Prizegiving 2 May

The prestigious Wigtown Poetry Competition will present this year’s winners with their prizes at a public award ceremony in the County Buildings, Wigtown at 12.30pm on Saturday 2 May. For your chance to meet the winning poets and the judges, and hear the prizewinning poems read in person by their authors, contact Wigtown Festival Office on 01988 402036 for tickets (£4), which include a complimentary glass of wine.

Judge Professor Douglas Dunn will present the winner, Victor Tapner, of Billericay, with the main cash prize of £2,500 for his poem ‘Dancing for Monsieur Degas’. The winner of the Gaelic prize, Tormad Caimbeul from Lewis, wins £1,000 for his poem ‘Rathad Dhuncreige’, to be presented by the Gaelic writer and judge Kevin MacNeil. Also on hand to receive their prizes and read their winning poems will be Barbara Smith from Dundalk, Jim Carruth from Bridge of Weir and Mora Maclean from Glasgow. The Love Poem category, sponsored by the World Burns Federation for Homecoming Scotland 2009, was won by Rob Foxcroft with his poem, ‘The Dark Time of the Year’.

Come along to Wigtown on Saturday to enjoy the best in new poetry!

Jackie Galley and Fiona Russell at Open Stage Wed 29 April

This month's Open Stage sees a flowering of talent with guest spots by talented nature poets Fiona Russell and Jackie Galley, in company with successful singer songwriter Emma Gillespie, on Wednesday 29 April, 7pm at the Birkhill Hotel, Dumfries. Organised by Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association, this popular monthly event provides an opportunity for local poets and songwriters to perform their material before an always enthusiastic and appreciative audience.