Life has been busy over the last month. I've started a new job working in a homelessness unit in Glasgow so I've not being doing much in the way of writing whilst adjusting to my new routine. However I have been given pretty much free rein to do creative writing in the unit with any of the guys who are interested.
A few years ago I did creative writing on a weekly basis with some guys who were going through drug rehab. It was such a pleasure to be able to give them the space and encouragement to write about their experiences and surprise themselves with the stories and poems they produced.

Likewise, at the unit, it's an honour to share in the stories of those who feel able to take part and create a space for them to express themselves in writing. I give the guys a few options of what to write about. One exercise I particularly enjoyed was using Mirolav Holub's poem 'The Door' to imagine a door, write about that door and who / what might be on the other side of it. It produced some really thoughtful and interesting work. At the end of each writing session I type up the work produced and pin it to the pin board so that all the residents at the unit can have a read.

It's also been fun exploring parts of Glasgow, south of the River Clyde, that I've never really spent much time in before. I've been reading up on some of the rich history of the area and I've a feeling there will be at least a few Glasgow poems to come!

Thanks to Colin Will for organising a fantastic dual launch for Geoff Cooper and myself. It was a great night. I enjoyed hearing Geoff read from his pamphlet collection, Songs the Lightning Sang, after picking it up at the Callander poetry festival last year, the music and singing from Pauline Vallance was simply gorgeous, and the audience were a super-friendly bunch, a real pleasure to read to.

Other highlights included meeting fellow writers and bloggers JoAnne McKay and Jim Murdoch. So good getting to meet them finally in the flesh! Also lovely catching up with poets Jack (Andrew P Pullan) and Amy Anderson whom I've met at previous events.  The CCA is such a nice venue and it was great to be reading in Glasgow, the city of my heart!

It's taken me all day but I've finally managed to work out how to upload and edit videos so here's a clip of me reading three of my poems: