Commonwealth Poets United is an exchange between 6 Scottish poets and 6 Commonwealth nations poets:
The Scottish Poetry Library's contribution to the cultural programme celebrating the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is Commonwealth Poets United. It is an international exchange between six Scottish poets and poets from six Commonwealth nations: Canada, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, Nigeria and South Africa. It will establish relationships between artists, organisations and communities throug
h a culturally enriching poetry exchange. While in Scotland our Commonwealth visiting poets will participate in public festivals and events (StAnza, Aye Write), visit schools and get to know their exchange partners a little bit more. Built into their busy schedule will be time to explore Scotland at their own pace, and visit places they have always wanted to visit. Likewise, while visiting their Commonwealth country, the Scottish poets will perform at readings and workshops, visit schools or colleges and have time to investigate and follow their interests.
Operating as usual
New book soon from our Jamaican exchange poet Tanya Shirley. In the meantime here's a link to remind us of how fab her poetry is!
Tanya Shirley is a startlingly bold writer with a particular gift for highlighting the telling detail in her vivid and arresting poems, which variously contain portraits of lovers, colourful eccentrics and family snapshots that capture the elusive magic of childhood memories, and reveal those parado…
Check out this YouTube interview on Channels Book Club with Tom Pow and Tolu Ogunlesi when Tom was recently in Lagos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmAM4IfeyPs
Tom Pow is blogging from Lagos - check out his full story here:
http://commonwealthpoetsunited.com/tom-lagos-big-picture/?preview=true&preview_id=1198&preview_nonce=7af7351853
On the move after Commonwealth Poets Unite! event pavilion, Toni Stuart, Tolu Ogunlesi, Tom Pow, Ian Stephen and Rab Wilson (Rachel McCrum must have been hidden in there somewhere!) What a great event that was!
Commonwealth Poets United
And here's a snap of Rab Wilson hanging out with Salman Rushdie in Jamaica, as you do.
And here's a snap of Rab Wilson hanging out with Salman Rushdie in Jamaica, as you do.
New Commonwealth Poets Utd blog. Rab Wilson visits Jamaica, and shares a stage at the Calabash literary festival with Paul Muldoon & a wild dog.
The opportunity tae gang tae the Calabash Festival in Jamaica came entirely oot o the blue fir me. Ah wis delichtit wi the oaffir o this trip tho as it seemed tae be an endorsement frae the poetry ...
The BBC is broadcasting poems read by poets from across the Commonwealth. Scotland's Kathleen Jamie reads her poem 'Here Lies Our Land':
Here lies our land: every airt
Beneath swift clouds, glad glints of sun,
Belonging to none but itself.
Hear and read it in its entirety by clicking the link below.
Kathleen Jamie reads Here lies our land, a poem about the Battle of Bannockburn
The BBC is broadcasting poems read by poets from across the Commonwealth. Bangladesh's Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi reads her poem 'Sari Dreams':
Mothball stale in silent air
Unravelled as time stood still
As I bring water-filled hands to cover my face
I see my mother's reflection
And within her, her mother's too
And in the void wonder
Visage of my daughter's queue.
Hear and read it in its entirety by clicking the link below.
In Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi's Sari Reams, she describes its beauty and significance
The BBC is broadcasting poems read by poets from across the Commonwealth. Maldives' Farah Didi reads her poem 'I Will Forgive':
for the third time
they cuffed me from behind,
the cold unforgiving metal
biting into the skin,
my shoulders drawn together
arching my back like a rainbow
Hear and read it in its entirety by clicking the link below.
Farah Didi reads I will forgive, a poem describing police brutality
The BBC is broadcasting poems read by poets from across the Commonwealth. Namibia's Emmanuel Hitilasha reads his poem 'African Way':
The way I walk
Was to convince myself to see my future
To prepare personally for anything tricky
The way with guts I must to live to tell the tale
That is the way I walk
Hear and read it in its entirety by clicking the link below.
Emmanuel Hitilasha describes his native village and reads African Way
The BBC is broadcasting poems read by poets from across the Commonwealth. Mozambique's Sonia Sultuane reads her poem 'African':
You tell me I want to feel African,
You say and think that I'm not
Just because I don't wear a "Capulana"
Because I don't speak "Changana"
Because I don't use "Missiri" or "Missangas"
Let me laugh...
But who is it that told you?!
Hear and read it in its entirety by clicking the link below.
Sonia Sultuane, a Muslim poet, discusses identity in her poem African
Fancy hearing some Commonwealth Poetry Postcards being read live? What are you doing on July 31st?
Poetry Postcards: The Performance, BBC at the Quay, Free Tickets, Glasgow, Commonwealth Games, Pacific Quay, BBC Scotland, Radio 4
Salma, our Indian representitive on Commonwealth Poets Utd, reads for the BBC's Commonwealth Poetry Postcards.
Everything happens so quickly
before I can feel it.
I keep trying to feel something
before it's too late.
It all happens in my name
without me being there.
Salma talks about women's rights and reads her poem 'Breathing'
"Shortly before my arrival someone in the town had organized an event for the more than 200 Nigerian girls kidnapped by terrorist group Boko Haram on April 14. Residents of Dumfries gathered one Saturday to put out shoes for the girls – the idea was to have each missing girl represented by a shoe."
Nigerian poet and journalist Tolu Ogunlesi visited Scotland last month, at a time his country was in the news for all the wrong reasons. In a blog for Commonwealth Poets United, he reflects upon 'a map of loss' as he travels around Scotland.
I’m no stranger to Scotland, but the Commonwealth Poets United project provided a new and different perspective. It was a two-week visit into which was packed quite a lot – readings in Aberdeen, Du...
Commonwealth Poets United is an international exchange between six Scottish poets and poets from six Commonwealth nations.
Toni Stuart is a South African poet named in the Mail and Guardian’s list of 200 Inspiring Young South Africans for her work in co-founding I Am Somebody! – an NGO that uses storytelling and youth development to build integrated communities.
Rachel McCrum, originally from Northern Ireland, is an Edinburgh resident today, a poet and the co-creator of popular spoken word event Rally and Broad. Both poets visited each other's countries to draw inspiration from a different culture.
When Toni was visiting Scotland, she came into the Scottish Poetry Library with Rachel to talk about their exchange trips, how food united them, and how 'when you learn a new language, you gain a new soul'.
Commonwealth Poets United is an international exchange between six Scottish poets and poets from six Commonwealth nations. Toni Stuart is a South African poet named in the Mail and Guardian’s list of 200 Inspiring Young South Africans for her work in co-founding I Am Somebody! – an NGO that uses sto…
"Before coming, Tolu recommended I read Oliver Twist, which paints the backdrop to contemporary Lagos and many other mega cities: 'long after [the direst contrasts between wealth and extreme poverty] dropped out of Western literature, they became the stuff of ordinary life elsewhere, in places where modernity is arriving but hasn’t begun to solve the problems of people thrown together in the urban cauldron.'"
In our latest blog, Tom Pow reads up before travelling to Nigeria on his Commonwealth Poets United exchange trip. What's on his reading list?
http://commonwealthpoetsunited.com/2014/06/06/the-new-travel-writing-and-lagos/
Recently, at Boswell Book Festival, I took part in a panel discussion on 'The New Travel Writing'. We explored many by-ways, but here, as a pre-amble to what follows, is my shortest ever history of...
‘Think of two Londons without an underground.’ Tolu Ogunlesi describes his native Nigeria for his Commonwealth Poets United poetry partner Tom Pow in a new blog on the CPU website.
I've known for some time that I'm going to Nigeria. I've skimmed the books I have. In an essay published in 1983, The Trouble with Nigeria, Chinua Achebe wrote, 'It is a measure of our self-delusio...
At Iota Gallery yesterday evening. Glenn Colquhoun's final night in Scotland and a fascinating event; a collision of poetry, song and cultures - in the best possible sense.
Get ready to tune into Radio Scotland's Culture Studio from 3pm onwards when New Zealand poet Glenn Colquhoun, of Commonwealth Poets Utd, will be on the show, reading his poetry and talking about his work as a doctor.
Janice Forsyth tunes into what's happening in arts, culture and music across Scotland.
Thursday night is the beginning of the weekend! Join us in Glasgow and see New Zealand poet Glenn Colquohoun.
Commonwealth Poets United: reading and conversation with Glenn Colquhoun.
Thursday 5 June | 6-7 pm | Free (donations welcomed)
iota at Unlimited Studios, 25 Hyndland Street, Glasgow G11
The son of a construction worker, Colquhoun practices medicine on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand. Colquhoun's first book of poems, The Art of Walking Upright, was published in 1999. It has been said the book is a love letter to the people of Te Tii, the Northland town where he was living at that time. His third collection, Playing God, sold over 10,000 copies in New Zealand. While in Scotland Glenn has spent almost a week in Shetland with his project partner, Jen Hadfield.
Billy Letford, his poetry exchange partner Salma and friend following his reading at Café Amdavadi in Chennai.
Badilisha is a project of The Africa Centre, an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa. The project is focussed on archiving and showcasing the Pan-African voice beyond their localities. Badilisha's aim is to create an expansive archive of African poets from both the continent and the Diaspora.
They showcase poets to our wide-spread audience, on other podcast platforms, at events and festivals. They have over 300 poets on our website representing over 25 countries. They have a number of poets who recite in Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, Zulu, Tshwane, and Sesotho.
The Badilisha Poetry Exchange promotes Pan-african poets with a podcast platform exclusive to African poetry, and hosts annual live poetry events.
Here's Glenn Colquhoun reading his poem 'Koha' for the BBC's Commonwealth Poetry Postcard series. See Glenn read on Thursday 5 June in Glasgow at iota: http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/connect/events/commonwealth-poets-united-reading-and-conversation-glenn-colquhoun
Glenn Colquhoun reads ‘Koha’ (meaning gift) and discusses the identity issues.
And now, an opportunity to see the great Glenn Colquohoun in action, New Zealand's representitive in Commonwealth Poets Utd.
Commonwealth Poets United: reading and conversation with Glenn Colquhoun.
Thursday 5 June | 6-7 pm | Free (donations welcomed)
iota at Unlimited Studios, 25 Hyndland Street, Glasgow G11
The son of a construction worker, Colquhoun practices medicine on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand. Colquhoun's first book of poems, The Art of Walking Upright, was published in 1999. It has been said the book is a love letter to the people of Te Tii, the Northland town where he was living at that time. His third collection, Playing God, sold over 10,000 copies in New Zealand. While in Scotland Glenn has spent almost a week in Shetland with his project partner, Jen Hadfield.
New Zealand's representitive on Commonwealth Poets United, Glenn Colquhoun. He is a doctor, poet and children's writer.
Commonwealth Poetry Postcards will be going out on Radio Scotland as follows:
Once a week on:
The Culture Studio, Mondays
Iain Anderson, Monday or Tuesday
Saturday GMS
Out of Doors, Saturday/Sunday
Morton Through Midnight - Saturday
Sunday Mornings with (most but not every week)
www.bbc.co.uk/poetrypostcards
They're also available to listen online or subscribe to the podcast
Text of the poems and links to the poets also online.
All the Commonwealth Poets United have taken part.
Poetry from around the Commonwealth brought to Glasgow for the Games.
Tolu Ogunlesi, our Commonwealth Poets United Nigerian poet with Kei Miller in Aberdeen last Sunday. Tolu is doing two public readings this week - Glasgow on Thursday and Edinburgh Friday. See details www.commomwealthpoetsunited.com
And here's what events Commonwealth Poets Utd participants are taking part in while here in Scotland. Coming up: readings by Tolu Ogunlesi (Nigeria) and Glenn Colquhoun (New Zealand).
For poetry lovers in Scotland, check here to see when there's a Commonwealth Poets United poet reading in your area. GLENN COLQUHOUN, NEW ZEALAND - IN SCOTLAND Wednesday or Thursday 4/5 June | (t...
Fancy hearing our Commonwealth Poets Utd participants read a poem each? Click below for readings by Tanya Shirley (Jamaica), Toni Stuart (South Africa), Louise B Halfe (Canada), Glen Colquhoun (New Zealand), and Salma (India). Each poet was recorded as part of the BBC's Commonweath Poetry Postcards, which is part of their cultural response to the Commonwealth Games.
As part of the Commonwealth Poets United project we are working closely with BBC and each of our visiting Commonwealth poets has recorded a poem to celebrate 2014. Here's a link to those that have...
"Nigeria has left the Africa-pages and Rest-of-The-World sections, and moved into the headlines and round-the-clock-news." Nigeria's Tolu Ogunlesi is in Scotland this week for Commonwealth Poets Utd. He's written about .
If was a flood, is a tsunami. Nigeria has never seen anything like this before. David Cameron, Michelle Obama, Sarah Brown, Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Kim Kardashian even, have all added their voices/tweets/banners to the campaign.
Ian Stephen recorded a podcast with us two years ago which you can still hear on our website, or indeed by clicking on the link below. It makes a great introduction to his poetry and life.
If you would like to read Ian Stephen's Best Scottish Poems 2013 entry 'In Breton', click on the link below.
In Breton, they say
there’s a word that weaves between
green and blue
If you would like to read the online anthology BSP 2013 from which 'In Breton' is taken, click here: http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/best-scottish-poems/best-scottish-poems-2013
In Breton, they say / there’s a word that weaves between / green and blue, allowing for / haze, precipitation, / the burr of distance, / the welcome...
Ian Stephen, one of the poets taking part in Commonwealth Poets United, was featured in our online anthology Best Scottish Poems 2013. You can listen to a recording of his poem 'In Breton' below.
'Breton Three' was chosen to appear as part of the Scottish Poetry Library's online anthology Best Scottish Poems 2013 by editor David Robinson. It...
Commonwealth Poets Utd's Louise Halfe is in the UK now, and has penned another poem inspired by her stay.
Standing against this stone guardian
Too old for word
they shuffle dance still
Quietly around their dead
Whose bones are splayed
Like the bird skeleton
In the tunnel of the brochs fortress.
Click below to read the entire poem.
Standing Stones Standing against this stone guardian Too old for word they shuffle dance still Quietly around their dead Whose bones are splayed Like the bird skeleton In the tunnel of the broch...
Commonwealth Poets Utd's Louise Halfe is in the UK now, and has penned a poem about Glasgow!
Trees burst into song
Shower the sidewalk
In pink white softness
A confetti spring wedding
Click below to read the entire poem.
Trees burst into song Shower the sidewalk In pink white softness A confetti spring wedding Purple blue Bells stand the elegant warriors Of the Glasgow city forest While a great blue heron Stands on...
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St Cecilia's Hall: Concert Room & Music Museu
Niddry StreetBiblioteca Nacional de Escocia
SelkirkMuseum of Scottish Fire Heritage
Dryden TerraceCamera Obscura and World of Illusions
The Royal Mile
Camera Obscura and World of Illusions
The Royal Mile
Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage
Dryden Terrace