My contributor copy of Scotia Extremis arrived this week. Beautifully put together by Andy Jackson and Brian Johnstone, it is a great selection of poems. A wide-ranging anthology exploring the many aspects, extremes and icons of contemporary Scotland.


The collection is being show-cased at Glasgow's Aye Write Festival. I will be reading my poem, alongside readings from many other poets who contributed to the collection, on Sunday 24th March, 3pm at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.



I've had a good writing week - been working on a three-part sequence on Glasgow Central Station, another Glasgow poem and a playful primrose poem. It's been cathartic getting back to writing after three months of no poems!

I spend a lot of time in Glasgow Central Station these days. With my new job I'm either hanging about waiting for a train or killing time until my shift starts. I've been gathering Central Station notes / images over the last couple of months and I'm now ready to start working on a sequence of poems.

I've been thinking over why I like writing sequences so much and feel it's very much to do with the fact that sequences give me the sense of freedom and space to explore my subject in a variety of ways that are all interconnected but coming from different angles.

My current ambition is to bring together the symbolism and otherworldliness of Brigit Pegeen Kelly, the control and candor of Durs Grunbein, the playfulness of Theodore Roethke and the clarity and insight of Tomas Transtromer, all clothed in my own voice. A tall order to say the least... but what's the point if you don't aim high?