St Andrews - Paris - Glasgow - London

Busy times on the poetry front! Had a wonderful time at StAnza which was a couple of weeks ago now. My worries of bursting into bouts of coughing during my reading thankfully never materialised (was recovering from a nasty sinus infection). How strange it was to be one of the 'proper' readers at the festival this year! I read as part of The Scottish Book Trust award writers showcase alongside Tracey S Rosenberg, Kathrine Sowerby and Andrew Sclater. Our reading was in the wonderful St. Andrews Town Hall in front of a very generous and warm audience, I signed a fair few copies of Vintage Sea afterwards and people were very kind with their comments - overall a very encouraging experience!

I went to a number of events, my favourites being Douglas Dunn in Conversation , the masterclass with Paul Muldoon and readings of modern Chinese poets in translation by Brian Holton and Bill Herbert. Chatted to a great many poets in between events too. Favourite book buy of the weekend was Sujata Bhatt's Collected - bought one of her collections when I arrived there on the Friday and loved it so much that I bought her Collected on the Sunday before I left! Sadly I couldn't make it up to St Andrews in time to hear her or Brian Turner read though I saw her wondering around the Byre theatre many times but failed to pluck up the courage to talk to her or ask her to sign her book for me!

You can read a pre-StAnza interview with myself and Andrew Sclater by the online lit mag The Skinny on our experience of winning the new writers award - here. 

So! Two weeks till Paris!! Last year I was invited by Pansy Maurer-Alvarez to come to Paris and do a reading as part of a monthly reading series she runs called Poets Live. Of course I agreed (Paris in the spring!!!) and I'm excited to be reading with the Irish poet Afric McGlinchey and instead of a usual third reader we are to be treated to a performance by a dancer!


My book is coming out in May - I've arranged to have the Glasgow launch on Friday 16th at Tell It Slant - Glasgow's new poetry bookshop - and I'm excited to have Glasgow-based poets Katherine Sowerby, Samuel Tongue and Calder Wood Press fellow poet Ross Wilson reading at it also.

The London launch is the following week at the London Review Bookshop on the 21st with Mandy Kahn, Rufo Quintavalle and SJ Fowler. Exciting times coming up!