Scottish Poetry Library's Sam Tongue runs a monthly online meet-up, where Friends of the Poetry Library get together to read and discuss a fresh poet and their poems.  In this podcast, Sam introduces us to Daniel Sluman  Have a look at our website to find out about becoming a Friend, and join us for the next Nothing but the Poem meet-up. Or simply enjoy this podcast and the excellent poems therein.  ..read more

Scottish Poetry Library's Sam Tongue runs a monthly online meet-up, where Friends of the Poetry Library get together to read and discuss a fresh poet and their poems.  In this podcast, Sam introduces us to the general style and format, and enjoys the work of Jay Whittaker Have a look at our website to find out about becoming a Friend, and join us for the next Nothing but the Poem meet-up. Or simply enjoy this podcast and the excellent poems therein.  ..read more

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Butler Yeats, the extraordinary Irish poet. His work reflects and sometimes opposes changes in the the poetry of his times. His life was large enough to encompass the remarkable changes Ireland underwent during his life and one of literature's most famous unrequited love affairs. In a podcast marking the 150th anniversary of his birth, the SPL invited a number of poets to read and reflect on their favourite Yeats poem. Recorded in March at St Andrews StAnza poetry festival, our podcast features Kei Miller, Ryan Van Winkle, Carolyn ..read more

This podcast is a recording of the 2015 StAnza International Poetry Festival Round Table event in which SPL Programme Manager and poet Jennifer (JL) Williams was in conversation with the poet Alice Notley. Alice Notley has published over thirty books of poetry, including (most recently) Songs and Stories of the Ghouls, Negativity’s Kiss, and the chapbookSecret I D. With her sons Anselm and Edmund Berrigan, she edited both The Collected Poems of Ted Berrigan and The Selected Poems of Ted Berrigan. Notley has received many awards including the Academy of American Poets’ Lenore Marshall Prize, t ..read more

Poet Chrys Salt talks about who has the right to write about certain subjects, about writing war poetry when you have a son who is a soldier, and how poetry can benefit from a good performance. Thanks to James Iremonger for the music in this podcast. https://jamesiremonger.wordpress.com/ Image of Chrys Salt by Claire Newman-Williams ..read more

Marion McCready is at the forefront of the new wave of Scottish poets. A writer who succeeds in making nature sound unnatural, she has a unique vision of the landscape we inhabit which she captures in an intense, sometimes sinister, lyricism. In conversation with the SPL, she talks about how Christianity influences her work, and what she has against rhubarb ..read more

This podcast was recorded at and in partnership with the 2014 StAnza International Poetry Festival. Jennifer Williams talks to Jacob Polley about meaning and lack thereof, about resisting the idea of ‘home’, about remaining open to possibility when you’re writing and much more. Jacob Polley is the author of three acclaimed poetry collections, The Brink, Little Gods and, most recently, The Havocs, as well as a Somerset Maugham Award-winning novel, Talk of the Town. Born in Cumbria, he lives in Scotland where he teaches at the University of St Andrews. http://jacobpolley.com/ Many thanks to J ..read more

Ryan Van Winkle talks to the poet Sasha Dugdale, who is also editor of Modern Poetry in Translation. She tells us about how some of her poems come from 'failed translations' and she discusses how sound plays a much more important role in her own writing than other factors. She also discusses the problems involved with being a poet and a poetry translator. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle and produced by Colin Fraser of Culture Laser Productions http://www.culturelaser.com @culturelaser ..read more

In this first SPL Podcast of 2015, Jennifer Williams, SPL Programme Manager, speaks to Salma, Indian poet and crusader for women’s rights. They talk about Salma’s strength and bravery in the face of oppression, her commitment to writing and publishing under extremely challenging circumstances and even *gasp* the use of the ‘v’ word in contemporary poetry! We hope this will be an inspiring and entertaining podcast to kick off your poetic new year. Salma was born in a small village in Southern India, and overcame many obstacles to publish her poetry and fiction, now recognised as an important co ..read more

In this podcast Jennifer Williams talks to Madeleine Campbell, A C Clarke, Christine De Luca and Haris Psarras about poetry translation in Scotland and about the innovative new book Quaich: An Anthology of Translation in Scotland Today. Purchase Quaich here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quaich-Anthology-Translation-Scotland-Today/dp/1782010696 Music by James Iremonger http://jamesiremonger.wordpress.com ..read more