Poetic People (24): Donald McAulay, Hebridean poet

It is always interesting on holiday to learn about the local poetry scene. We came back from the misty Hebridean isle of Skye a couple of weeks ago.

The photograph above shows a sculpture by Liondsaidh Mairi Chaimbeul of the 'Seobhrach as a' Chlaich' or 'Primrose from the Stone', which is itself the Gaelic title of Donald McAulay's poetry collection of 1967. McAulay has been described as a 'Gaelic modernist par excellence'. McAulay spent his childhood on the island of Lewis, which we saw several times in the distance as waves of light mist came and passed over. The marble on the sculpture comes from Skye and the poem in question is about the possibilities of the rebirth of beauty in - or out of - unfavourable circumstances.

The sculpture graces the path up to Armadale Castle in Sleat.

Anthology Alert (1): 'Empty Shoes'

'Empty Shoes' (Popcorn Press 2009) has just been published. It has been edited by Patrick T. Randolph who teaches Academic and Creative Writing at Wisconsin-La Crosse. It contains my poem, Stranger, based upon observations made some years ago when I lived in Rome.

The anthology comprises 158 poems on the theme of hunger and homelessness by 80 poets, including many who have direct experience of homelessness in one capacity or another. All profits from the sale of this book will be allocated to projects concerned with helping those who are hungry or in need of shelter.

• 'Empty Shoes' on Amazon

Magazine Moment (4): Poetry Cornwall / Bardhonyeth Kernow and Echo Verse

The right end of the Whispering Seat in the grounds of Wilton House, Wiltshire
(Click to enlarge if you would like to read the green notice!)

The latest edition, issue 26, of Poetry Cornwall / Bardhonyeth Kernow (ed. Les Merton) includes my short article on Echo Verse and my poem, 'Echo from the West'. Do let me know if you encounter examples of this fascinating form of poetry.

You can read about my Echo Verse explorations on my Echo blog here.

• Subscription details of Poetry Cornwall / Bardhonyeth Kernow can be found by following this link.

Competition Corner (2): The Haddon Library of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Cambridge

The results of the Haddon Library Poetry Competition were announced at a prizegiving ceremony on 25 September 2009, as part of the Alumni Weekend.

800, 1209, 2009 HADDON LIBRARY POETRY COMPETITION

Winning Poems

1st prize: His eightieth (Roger Elkin)

2nd prize: The story of 800 (Mary Courtney)

3rd prize: Sleepover at the Museum (Caroline Gill)

[Click on poem title to read poem or click on poet's name to read about poet, in each case].

The competition was part of the Cambridge 800 celebrations, and poems had to incorporate one of the anniversary numbers - 800, 1209 or 2009. You can read the University of Cambridge Press Release here.

Beautiful Birds (14): Tufted Puffin - UK Sighting

Those of you who visit my blog will already know that I have a soft spot for puffins!

The Guardian reported a first UK sighting on 16 September 2009 in Kent of a TUFTED PUFFIN (described on the Newstin site as a 'punk puffin'), a species usually associated with the Pacific. You can read about the puffin here. There is also a photograph of this delightful bird.

There are more records and photographs of the sighting on the Birdguides site (see here also).

Exciting!

Literary Landmarks (2): Samuel Johnson Anniversary

Jetty at Dunvegan on Skye
(seal trips run from here)

Dunvegan Castle, Skye

18 September marks the anniversary (well, one of them - follow the link to have this explained!) of the birth of the famous lexicographer, Samuel Johnson.

We have just returned from the magical isle of Skye, following in the footsteps of Johnson and Boswell. We took a copy of Boswell's account with us: it made fascinating reading.

'We arrived at Dunvegan late in the afternoon. The great size of the castle, which is partly old and partly new, and is built upon a rock close to the sea, while the land around it presents nothing but wild, moorish, hilly, and craggy appearances, gave a rude magnificence to the scene.' Boswell, Monday 13 September 1773.

• Johnson's Literary Club
  

Creature Feature (10): Computer Cats

I mentioned some days ago that we failed to find a copy of the Radio Times, so bought a copy of the Telegraph in order to have a copy of the week's television listings. The paper had a column on cats and computers. It reminded us of the time when our cat jumped on the keyboard and completely re-set the alphabet...

I was amused therefore to find the article mentioning cat software, Pawsense, which you can read about here. We have a volume called 'Why cats paint' - but is this all going just a bit far?

Perhaps our feline friends are winding us round their tails!