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SPL Podcast goes to Shetland

November 11, 2009

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Hi! The Scottish Poetry Library has a great new pod-cast for you all. This week we have the amazing, prize-winning, Jen Hadfield reading one of her poems and a Shetlandic poem set to music by Lise Sinclair. You can listen below, or subscribe via i-tunes or RSS. (It’s FREE!)

If you’d like to comment on anything from our past pod-casts or if you’d just like to say hello to Ryan and Colin, please drop us a line to splpodcast@gmail.com

Subscribe with ITunes

Or subscribe without iTunes (RSS)

Listen now…

The Golden Hour Goes Glasgow!

November 10, 2009

Well, kind of. We’ll be performing at Newton Mearns Library just outside of the city. If you are nearby – come along.

The Golden Hour visits Mearns Library, East Renfrewshire!

GH_Renfrew

November 20, 2009

7.30pm
Mearns Library,
Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, G77 6EZ

FREE FREE FREE!

With readings from:

Ryan Van Winkle – Reader in Residence at the Scottish Poetry Library

and Music by:

Jed Milroy – The bluegrass boy!

Burnt Island –  Short stories set to music for late nights and early mornings,
with Rodge Glass, a guitar player better known for writing books.

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The Oran Social – ambient folk-rock

And even if you can’t

come you can STILL

buy the Golden Hour Book!

GHBIIcover

The Golden Hour Book Vol. 2

The Naughty Boys are Back!!!

November 6, 2009

* computers vs drums vs loops vs spoken words *

nauty boyz

There’s  going to be a blow-out party and you know the Naughty Boys are always ready to blow. So, come drink and freak with us durring the legendary Forest Blender!

The Forest is Licensed for One Weekend Only.

Once a year the elusive and enigmatic Naughty Boys get together for a session of live, improvised, performance. Poems vs computers vs drums vs salvaged keyboards and whatever else we can find.

You will come.

Featuring:

* Dan Seizure on keys and computer loop. (http://danseizure.com)
* Stevie Paterson on keys and percussion noises.
* Ryan Van Winkle — Spoken Words (http://ryanvanwinkle.com)

More information on Forest’s weekend of wild activities:

Autumn has come and the rainiest season is upon us. Help The Forest mending the roof before all of the lovely volunteers drown! The roofs needs fixey fixey, and therefore we throw a 4-day long mini festival!

We will open every day TILL 1am and we will be FULLY LICENSED.

All concerts are free!

From the 5th to the 8th November

Here is the smashing programme: blenderfinal_4 web

THURSDAY 5th NOVEMBER

We have live bands in the Café all night:

Martin Boland & Mike Bennet – multitalented musicians

Devils & Medals – blues band

Sons of Fionn – an eight piece folk band (www.myspace.com/sonsoffionn)

Manje – Manje means now and now is the time for this tasty melting pot of world sounds (www.melvitronica.com/manje)

FRIDAY 6th NOVEMBER

The Forest presents Jiggery Fuckery in the Cafè. Jiggery Fuckery is one of the monthly parties at The Forest, and a fucking amazing one too!

In the Hall:

New Urban Frontier – Politically charged noise for the new generation (www.myspace.com/newurbanfrontier)

White Heath – one of the best “alternative” acts in Scotland (www.myspace.com/whiteheath)

Fox Gang – add punked-up reggae and pop and Fox Gang is ready to rock! (www.myspace.com/foxganger)

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SATURDAY 7th NOVEMBER

In the Hall:

Amazing music in the Hall by The Bridge Rectifier – a collective of artists who produce original electronic dance music.  An unique opportunity to hear new live styles, the only rules being NO vinyl, cd or mp3! (www.thebridgerectifier.com)

In the Café:

Witches revenge – raw angry punk girls

Plastick Fork  Night with

Naughty Boys – The elusive and enigmatic Naughty Boys get together for a session of live, improvised, performance. Poems vs computers vs drums vs salvaged keyboards and whatever else they can find.

Cosmic Dork

Lipsync For A Lullaby – (www.myspace.com/lipsyncforalullaby

SUNDAY 8th NOVEMBER

In the Café:

Reggae Sunday – Reggae Sunday is back! Improvisatorial reggae that will make you move your feet!

Sinan Antoon on the SPL Podcast!

November 5, 2009

As part of the Reel Iraq Festival I had a chance to talk to the Iraqi Poet Sinan Antoon. Sinan has two books out and I found his collection, Bagdahd Blues, is hauntingly beautiful. There are some incredibly rendered, short poems in there all written clean and clear.Check it out. You can also find Sinan’s work in the latest issue of The Edinburgh Review as translated by Andrew Philip. I’m really happy that the Reel Iraq Festival branched out into the literary world this year and that I had a chance to be so active in so much of it. Let’s hope these important festivals keep growing in Edinburgh.

Here’s the blurb from the SPL:

Reader in Residence Ryan Van Winkle and Iraqi poet and novelist Sinan Antoon found a break during the Golden Hour to chat about his work, about labels and about which poems he carries with him. Also featuring hip hop track ‘Sunshine’ from Mammoth.

Our podcasts are about to become a bit more frequent. Be here every Friday, or better yet, subscribe!

Subscribe with ITunes

Or subscribe without iTunes (RSS)

Listen now…


Or download as MP3.

Map Poetry on the GPS

November 4, 2009

Go to L'vov on Global Poetry System

Go to L’vov — Or check out the post about it on the GPS – Global Poetry System Site.

Visit the GPS site now to see where poetry has been found and shared near you. If you want to put poetry on the map near your hometown or where you work or where ever – simply “Find it – Map it – Share it” here!

No matter where you are in the world keep an eye and a mind out for poetry. It might be graffiti or a gravestone or just a thought that crosses your mind in a particular place. There’s tons of interesting posts already on the site so, even if you have nothing to post now, go have a look at where in your area people are finding poems.

You’ll find me doing a poetry hunt from Leith Library on 5 Nov at 18.00. The walk is FREE, just bring your cameras!

Nov 18, 2009 – 8pm – The Golden Hour

November 3, 2009

GHnovember2009 November 18th, 2009
8pm
Forest Cafe, 3 Bristo Pl
FREE! FREE! FREE! (byob)

WORDS:

Ron Butlin – the Edinburgh Makar makes

an amazing night for you.

Julia Boll – with a brand new chapbook

from Forest Publications.

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Ewan Morrison – that’s right, we bus Mr. Trouble in from Glasgow.

Ménage is his new novel. You love trouble.

MUSIC:

Yaz duncan – white, middle class punk

Rossco Galloway – Scottish soul music!

+

Rantum Scantum – the traditional vs. the original in one smoking hot band.

And even if you can’t

come you can STILL

buy the Golden Hour Book!

GHBIIcover

The Golden Hour Book Vol. 2

New Chap – DREAMS OF THE CITY by Kirsti Wishart

November 2, 2009

Wishart_web

Now available for a bargainous £2 is the ninth in a series of chapbooks printed by Forest Publications: a collection of short stories entitled, Dreams of the City by Kirsti Wishart.

Here’s an excerpt:

“The final straw was lying in wait for them on the doormat when they came back after a fortnight’s holiday. Both of them had taken turns trying to barge the door open until James brought out the thin wooden spatula Chris had laughed at him for taking. ‘See. Told you this would come in handy.’ After a good two minutes of shoving, the wad of paper jammed in the gap between door and floor, gave and…” Read more!

Product details

  • Title: Vol.1 Iss.9 ‘Dreams of the City’
  • Author: Kirsti Wishart
  • Pamphlet: 16 pages
  • Publisher: Forest Publications (18 Oct 2009)
  • ISBN-13: 978-0956338822
  • Amount: £2

GET YOUR COPY TODAY from the FOREST PUBLICATIONS STORE!:

Poetry and Drawing

October 31, 2009

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGhxT8ZaB4

I’m posting this video on Halloween because it is kind of spooky. At least to me it is. A bunch of drawings of ME from Jenny Soep’s amazing Sketching the Scene event where there was poetry, drinking, drawing and music from the band FOUND. Basically, people were invited to draw as people performed. Jenny did live paintings projected behind FOUND and myself. It was cool, interactive and really very fun which I think this video reflects. Let’s hope there’s more of these evenings soon!

There’s no audio on the video so may I suggest you enjoy the most recent SPL podcast whilst you watch? Click play below:

And if you can’t get enough of me – come see me read at the Storytelling Festival and at the Electric Cabaret Tonight. Both events should be amazing — the former being a lovely chat and the latter being an all-out party!

Keep it creepy,

R

The Witching Hour – Spooky Podcast

October 30, 2009

Happy Halloween y’all! We’ve got a brand new poetry podcast!

We’ve got the supurb Kona MacPhee reading a creepy little poem called The Ghost Toe and Kim Tebble’s brilliant rendition of his “The Raven, the Knight and the Queen of the Birds”

Here’s the Blurb from the SPL

Featuring an interview with poet Kona Macphee, who discusses her Poem of the Week project and reads a Halloween themed poem from her first book, Tails. Her new collection Perfect Blue, is out in February from Bloodaxe. We’ve also got a scary treat from Kim Tebble, who performs his “The Raven, the Knight and the Queen of the Birds”.

If you’d like to send us your favourite scary poem and why you like it, or just say hello to Ryan and Colin, please drop us a line to splpodcast@gmail.com

Subscribe with ITunes

Or subscribe without iTunes (RSS)

Listen now…


Or download as MP3.

And don’t forget you can catch me this weekend at the Storytelling Festival and at the Electric Cabaret. Both events are on Halloween and should be amazing — the former being a lovely chat and the latter being an all-out party! Plus – there’s the Golden Hour at Elvis Shakespeare on Sunday, 1 November. Books, music, good chat. 2pm. Come along.

And now, in case you’re not freaked out enough, here’s Christopher Walken. Enjoy!!!

<httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p99rf63jCE>

Poetry Surgery with Ryan

October 29, 2009

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If anyone would like to have a sit-down in the Scottish Poetry Library with me – I have my regular office hours on Tuesday the 3rd of November. I’ll be in the poetry library from 4 – 6 and will be available to talk about poems, poetry, the library, milk trombones, future events, workshops, David Hasselhoff, or Daredevil.

For your diary: I’ll be in the SPL from 4 – 6 on the first Tuesday of every month — 3 November & 1 December — so feel free to come down for a chat and biscuits!

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