A few years ago, at Fotheringhay Church, I attended the first performance of ‘Sunlight on a Pale Green Ocean’, a work written by Christopher Brown who had set some of my Uist poems for four part choir. After the performance someone in the audience asked if I would write a piece on Mary, Queen of […]

Starting off as ‘The Three Poets on Tour’ ­- Chrys Salt, Liz Niven and Donald Adamson undertook what Donald Adamson described as a ‘whistle-stop tour of Finland. Later, joined by poets Mike Horwood and Aila Juvonen they became ‘Four Brits and a Finn’, and were designated locally as a ‘A Cavalcade of Prizewinning Poets’. Donald […]

Sian Mackay founded Moubray House Publishing in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile (1980-90) and wrote several non-fiction books (as ‘Sheila Mackay’). She contributed regularly to The Herald ’Weekend’ and lived in Spain for thirteen years where she wrote fiction and was shortlisted for an Ian St. James award. These days she lives in Edinburgh and Morayshire and acts as […]

Minutes of meeting of PEN International Women Writers Committee Reykjavik, September 9, 2013 The meeting, part of PEN’s International Congress, was chaired by Ekbal Baraka, Chair, assisted by former chairs Judy Buckrich and Lucina Kathmann; the Minutes were prepared by Lucina Kathmann. The pamphlet about the history of the Women Writers Committee was passed out. […]

Still Transmitting: Why Nam June Paik Matters Dr Mario Relich, poet, academic, Secretary of the Scottish Poetry Association, and member of the Executive Committee of Scottish PEN, reflects on Korean American artist Nam June Paik’s exhibition at the Talbot Rice Gallery. Considered by many to be the founder of video art, Paik died in 2006. I […]

Learning as you go a tentative attempt at translating a Faroese poem Harry D Watson is a translator in the Scandinavian languages. In this article he shares his experience of the ‘pleasures and pains’ of attempting to translate a poem in a language in which he describes himself as ‘still learning’: Faroese. The article provides an insight into the […]

On Friday 20 September, 2013, the pamphlet Freedom of Expression in the New Scotland, written by Jean Rafferty and Alan Bissett was launched – a joint venture by Scottish PEN and the Saltire Society. In this article, Jean Rafferty describes the process of collaboration and highlights issues raised during the debate at the Saltire Society, […]

A personal reminiscence by Brian Johnstone, former Director of Scotland’s International Poetry Festival   Seamus Heaney at StAnza In his funeral tribute to Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon talked about how everyone in the poetry community has been devastated by our sudden loss – how true – and this feeling extends well beyond the world of […]