I've made it past the post-collection doldrums, thank goodness. I've been absorbed in reading Hart Crane's The Bridge and the work of a wonderful Slovenian poet called Ales Steger. I've been reading a collection of his called The Book of Things. It's a collection of brilliantly written object poems. He is often compared to Francis Ponge and is obviously influenced by him but definitely has his own voice and slant. 

I've had a busy summer working as a tour guide at Inveraray Castle since May. It's been an enjoyable experience - I've learned so much 17th and 18th century Scottish history and I've just finished writing a three-part poem sequence about the castle. 

The poem I wrote for the Scotia Extremis project will be published in a collection based on that project. And I'm delighted that a three-part ballad - my version of an old Scottish ballad about lovers who drown in the Clyde has been accepted by Poetry Magazine!!