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Tomorrow night, May 15 at 23:55, join me on Periscope (@rvwable) for a reading from The Good Dark, my second collection, published by Penned in the Margins. Hope to see you then.

Delighted to announce that my second collection, The Good Dark, published by the good folks at Penned in the Margins, will be going on a virtual book tour through poetry magazines and blogs over the next several weeks. My sincere thanks to those who are giving it room and board.

Also, if you’re on Periscope, please join me on my feed (@rvwable) at 23:55, 15 May, when I will be reading from The Good Dark in the good dark.

Here’s where you can find poems and fine things:

– Penned in the Margins — 16 May

– Scottish Poetry Library — 19 May

– Inpress Books — 20 May

– The Poetry School — 21 May

– 3am Magazine — 25 May

– Sabotage Reviews — 29 May

– Shakespeare & Company — 1 June

– Scottish Book Trust — 2 June

– The Ofi Press — 4 June

– Missing Slate — 7 June

– B O D Y Literature — 10 June

For seven years Colin Fraser and I have been making the Scottish Poetry Library podcast. In that time I’ve had the opportunity to interview over 100 poets, many of whom you’ll know. In this, our final episode, we look back at some of my favourite moments. In this very special episode, you’ll hear candid clips, bemused moments, revelations and advice from some of the world’s most talented and generous poets. My sincere thanks to everyone who has allowed me to talk with them over the years and we wish Jennifer Williams and Colin Waters the best in helming the SPL podcast from here.

Featuring: Robert Pinsky, Caroline Bird, Sarah Broom, Owen Sheers, Jed Milroy, Matthew Zapruder, Jane Hirshfield, Golan Haji, Sabreen Khadim, Krystelle Bamford, John Glenday, Mark Doty, Paula Meehan, Adam Zagajewski and Mary Ruefle.

And if you want to continue listening to the podcasts Colin & I make, you can find all sorts of conversations on our Culture Laser podcast including favourites like this conversation with the playwright Jo Clifford.

If you enjoyed our final episode or want to share your favourite memories from our SPL podcast you can tweet to [email protected] or just drop me a line. We’d love to hear what were your favourite poetry podcast conversations.

Our final Book Talk podcast features a pair of heavyweights from the world of crime fiction and a debut author we should all be sure to keep an eye on.

First up: Ryan Van Winkle has a chat with bestselling author Val McDermid and her partner in crime (research), forensic anthropologist Sue Black. Val has recently returned to her roots as a journalist with her latest book, Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime, a work of non-fiction. But although, in her own words, she usually ‘makes stuff up,’ she still does meticulous research, and for that, she turns to Sue. The pair met while guesting on a radio show years ago and have been friends and research partners ever since. Learn how the writer/expert relationship works, what Sue respects most about Val’s writing, and how they balance the dark aspects of their day jobs with normal life.

Ryan next introduces us to Kate Tough, whose debut novel, Head for the Edge, Keep Walking, deals with a woman’s ‘late quarter-life crisis.’ Kate talks about her inspiration, how she went from writing poetry and short stories to a novel and the invaluable assistance she received with it, and what you can expect from her at the upcoming Aye, Write! Festival in Glasgow.

Finally, Sasha de Buyl has a word with Nordic crime superstar Arne Dahl. Dahl discusses his latest book, To the Top of the Mountain, the third in the Intercrime series, and what he loves most about the crime fiction genre.

Photo: Natalie Taylor

Last month, Natalie Taylor, Artist-in-Residence at North Edinburgh Grows, asked me to help a group of amateur wood carvers create a bespoke poem for the revamped community garden behind the Muirhouse Library.

The idea was to carve words into the gate of one of the vegetable gardens. Natalie envisioned something along lines of what Iain Hamilton Finlay did at Little Sparta.

With that lofty goal in mind, a small, thoughtful group gamely bounced words and themes around and – together – created the small concrete poem you see in these photos. You can visit the newly re-designed community gardens next to North Edinburgh Arts and the Muirhouse Library.

Thanks to Natalie for involving me in this making and congratulations to all involved in creating this beautiful & poetic garden.

photo: Natalie Taylor

Very chuffed to have ViewMaster reviewed in February’s edition of Gutter magazine. The reviewer, named Black Sheep, found our work ‘meditative and haunting’ and wrote: ‘Together they produce emotive and sonic landscapes.’

If you like great films about parts of the world that don’t tend to cross our radar, Highlight Arts has just the thing. On Tuesday 14 April in the Red Lecture Theatre in Summerhall I’ll be hosting Highlight Arctic an evening of films, slides, stories and discussion on the landscape, ecology and culture of the High North, at a time when the Arctic region is experiencing enormous and rapid transition.

I’ll be joined by award-winning author Gavin Francis, geographic-architects Lateral North and the Highlight Arctic team to uncover some of the unique peoples, events, research and artworks shaping and defining life in the Arctic today. Hope to see you there!

What: Highlight Arctic

When: Tuesday 14 April, 8-9.30pm.

Where: Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, Edinburgh

How Much: £8/£6, (£4 for #SciPals students)

On Tuesday 17 March I’ll be performing a collaborative piece with Neil Pennycook as part of Franz Nicolay’s European tour launch, in Edinburgh’s own Banshee Labyrinth. It’ll be an awesome party, we’ll be joining the amazing Hailey Beavis and Broken Stories, it’s seven bucks, I do hope to see you there.

Massive Nights Collective & Make-That-A-Take Records proudly present…

FRANZ NICOLAY (USA, EU 7″ LAUNCH TOUR)

We are absolutely delighted to welcome Franz Nicolay back to Edinburgh and to be celebrating the release of his brand new European Tour exclusive Double A-Side 7″ single through MTAT Records.

Franz, formerly of The Hold Steady, World/Inferno Friendship Society, and many more, brings his dark full-throated vaudevillian multi-instrumental beat-poetry inspired punk rock storytelling back to the road in support of his new full-length “To Us, The Beautiful”. Out now through Xtra Mile Recordings and Silver Sprocket Bicycle Club, the record is another Nicolay tour de force and features performances from members of punk luminaries Against Me!, Leftover Crack and The Slackers.

We are thrilled to be hosting Franz in Edinburgh and couldn’t be more excited to be releasing his brand new 7″ record to accompany his tour.

You Like the Sports?

Ross Sutherland & Ryan Van Winkle

ROSS SAYS: Ryan and I had a brief conversation at Hidden Door festival, about how little we both knew about sport. Sport, as it happens, is our conversational weak-spot. We hate sport, in all it’s myriad forms. When sport comes up in conversation, we have absolutely nothing to say. We decided immediately that “sport” should be the subject of a collaborative poem. Sport was neutral territory- neither writer had the upper hand. Also, we could attempt to out-do each other with increasingly bombastic platitudes. That’s how it went, back and forth, with each of us piling on the enthusiasm for a thing we cared very little about! By the end I think we nearly convinced ourself.

Ross Sutherland was born in Edinburgh in 1979. Sutherland currently works as a writer and tutor in Cambridgeshire. His last collection, Emergency Window, was published by Penned in the Margins in 2012. Ross also makes work for the stage, including Comedian Dies In The Middle Of Joke (2012) and Standby For Tape Back-Up (2014). Ross is also one of the hosts of Homework, a literary scratch night in East London.

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Inspired by  SJ Fowler‘s  ‘Camarade’ project which pairs poets to create new work, I’ve stolen the notion and begun to collaborate with friends and writers of interest. You can read about the project and see 2013’s poems here & 2014 poems here.