Transcript for the #PerthshireHour Podcast Ep16: Perthshire Poetry Special

(Belated) Perthshire Poetry focus

Hello, and welcome to this (belated) episode of the PerthshireHour podcast. The focus of this week’s episode will be on the poetry being created in and around Perthshire. (To listen to this episode, as well as all previous episodes, you can follow this link)

First of all, I would like to apologise for the postponement last week. Due to a number of unforeseen and unavoidable factors, it was necessary to hold off on this episode until this week. The original episode would have gone up the day after International Poetry Day on Tuesday the 21st of March.

However, I still think it’s well worth celebrating our local wordsmiths and I’m really pleased that so many of them came forward to offer sample pieces for you to enjoy. Thank you in advance to all of tonight’s contributors, and in particular to Andy Jackson for taking the time to act as the liaison between myself and nearly a dozen poets.

Jim Mackintosh with ‘Anzio’ from his latest book ‘The Banes o the Turas’

I’m starting tonight’s poet focus with a piece by Jim Mackintosh. Here he reads the poem Anzio which is from his latest book ‘The Banes o the Turas’.

You’ll hear a pipe tune backing the poem and this is played by Pipe Major Callum Douglas (a tune especially composed by Callum called ‘Douglas Eadie’).

Jim’s book ‘The Banes o the Turas’ is (as Jim describes it) an “…owersettin intae Scots by myself of the poems by Pino Mereu first published in Italian in his book ‘Turas Viaggio’”.

‘Turas Viaggio’ was inspired by Pino’s friendship with Hamish Henderson (who is often named the ‘father of the Scottish folk revival’ that took place in the 1950s) and the people and places Pino would encounter through that friendship.

Hamish Henderson is an interesting and celebrated individual and my brief research of him included mention of his decades of work in revitalising and developing Scotland’s folk movement from the 1950s onwards. On top of this were myriad other stories. Many of these were (somewhat) unrelated but nonetheless special in their own way, such as his work using his sizeable linguistic skills to assist the German resistance (helping rescue Jews from Germany prior to the outbreak of WWII). There’s genuinely too much information for me to go into today, look him up and you’ll see a very full life.

Born in Blairgowrie on armistice day itself it almost feels destined that the man would have a profound role to play in the years following the first world war. It’s easy to see why Pino Mereu was inspired to write a book focussing on his friendship with the man. It’s also no surprise that Jim Macintosh would want to create his own ‘owersettin’ of those poems from Italian into Scots.

Jim’s Reading follows here (no transcript for this)

The Banes o the Turas was published by Tippermuir Books in November 2022 and is available through their website with free p&p and all good bookshops including Waterstones in Perth, and independent bookshops like Adventure into Books in Blairgowrie and the Water Mill in Aberfeldy.

Jim will be reading excerpts from the book at an event as part of the Soutar Festival on Sunday 30th April accompanied by a variety of musicians and singers.

Jim Mackintosh: Banes O The Turas

3 pm

AK Bell Library, Perth

Tickets here. https://www.perththeatreandconcerthall.com/whats-on/jim-mackintosh-banes-o-the-turas-229202

Jennie Turnbull

Next on tonight’s programme is Jennie Turnbull. Jennie is based in Crieff and recently had one of her poems included in an anthology titled ‘Battlefield: Writing the Lives’ An anthology of poetry and prose edited by Linda Jackson and published March 2023 by Finn’s Place publishing. You can find a link to purchase a copy here.

When Jennie sent me her reading we were still on track for the post-Mothers-Day and post-Poetry-Day episode that would have taken place last week. In response to this, as you’ll hear, Jennie chose another of her poems to share which drew on that a little.

Jennie’s reading (no transcript)

Thank you for that Jennie. If you enjoyed Jennie’s work, you can follow her author page on Facebook to enjoy readings and excerpts of her work.

Andy Jackson

Next up we have a piece by Andy Jackson. Andy was a great help in getting this Poetry special together so I’d like to thank him again here for taking the time to coordinate this.

Andy’s own contribution for tonight comes from an ambitious collection of works that make up a Perthshire ‘guidebook with a twist’ called ‘Perthshire 101’. This is the first of a number of pieces from this book that will feature in this episode.

I’ll give a little more detail about ‘Perthshire 101’ as we go through. For now, here is Andy’s piece, titled ‘Stewart Tower Ice Cream’

Andy’s reading (no transcript)

Thanks again Andy, not only for submitting this but also for all your help. Andy has been a wordsmith for years and even held the position of Makar to the Federation of Writers Scotland in 2017. You’ll find a link to his website here as well as a link to purchase his books here.

Alice Walsh

Unfortunately, I struggled to track down a complete website for Alice. I’d be happy to include a bit more info about her in a future podcast so if anyone could point me towards a website or a list of poems by Alice I’d really appreciate it.

Alice’s poem ‘Moncrieffe Hill’ which you are about to hear, also features in ‘Perthshire 101’.

Published by Tippermuir Books, ‘Perthshire 101’ is described as: 101 new poems from twenty-eight writers inspired by the history, geography and culture of Perthshire and Kinross-shire. You can find out more (and buy a copy if you feel inclined) by following this link

Alice’s reading (no transcript)

Thanks for that Alice and apologies for not being able to include more information about you and your work here. Please let me know if you’d like me to share anything in a future episode.

Lydia Robb

Winner of a number of poetry prizes (including the Hugh MacDiarmid Trophy), Lydia is another contributor to ‘Perthshire 101’. Lydia has an extensive back catalogue of poetry which you can look into at the Scottish Poetry Library.

You’ll also find more about Lydia, as well as selected samples of her work, on her profile page on the Scottish Poetry Library website.

Lydia’s poem ‘Comrie – The Shaky Toon’ features the village of Comrie which lies seven miles West of Crieff and is known for (among many other things) being the ‘earthquake capital of the UK’ with more earthquakes than any other part of the British Isles.

Its ‘earthquake house’; erected in 1874 to observe this odd phenomenon has seen a few updates to sensory equipment through the years and is still in use by the British Geological Survey today.

Here is Lydia’s poem about ‘the shaky toon’

Lydia’s reading (no transcript)

Thanks for sharing that Lydia, I really appreciate it.

Also, as I said before Lydia’s reading, she has an extensive selection of poetry that you can look into over on the Scottish Poetry Library (links above). You’ll also find ‘Comrie: The Shaky Toon’ within the pages of Perthshire 101.

Patricia Ace

The next reading comes from Patricia Ace. On top of writing poetry, Patricia also runs workshops in schools and other locations teaching creative writing to adults. You’ll find details about how to get hold of her and arrange a workshop at the Scottish Book Trust website here.

Tying together some more real-world mums with their Beatrix Potter counterparts this is her poem ‘The Mums of Beatrix Potter’.

Patricia’s reading (no transcript)

Thanks for sharing that with us Patricia.

Beth McDonough

Next up tonight we have a piece by Beth McDonough. Beth started her professional life as a silversmith but went on to become a wordsmith instead, gaining her MLitt in Writing Study and Practice at Dundee University. Following that she went on to become Writer in Residence at Dundee Contemporary Arts from 2014 to 16. I nabbed most of this information from her profile page at Candlestick Press where you’ll also find a link to purchase the poetry compilation ‘Ten Poems about Rivers’ which features work by Beth and others. A donation from each sale goes to The Rivers Trust.

Beth’s reading for tonight’s episode is her poem ‘Tribute’ which offers a vivid description of all of the paths followed by a few of the main tributaries leading to the Tay estuary.

Beth’s reading (no transcript)

Thanks for sharing this with us Beth. I really appreciate you taking the time to send this along. For those listening in, you can find links to buy Beth’s work in the show notes for tonight’s episode here:

Dawn Wood

Next tonight is ‘Castle Huntly’ by Dawn Wood. A poem following the upgrading of Castle Huntly by painters of Apollonia Kickius. Apollonia Kickius enjoys the odd title of being the only woman to be documented as working in the building trades in Scotland from the 17th to mid-19th century.

Dawn’s reading (no transcript)

You can find out more about Dawn, her poetry, and other artistic projects on her website here. You can also find a link to buy her book ‘As Mind Imagines World’ directly from her here.

George T Watt

Next tonight is a piece by George T Watt about Concorde Records. I’m making a quick assumption here that he’s talking about the record shop in Perth that’s enjoyed visits from generations of music lovers from in and around the Perth area (myself included). Apologies George, if I’ve mixed this up.

George’s reading (no transcript)

Thanks for that George. If you’d like to find out more about George and his work you can visit his page on the Scottish Poetry Library website here.

Hazel B Cameron

Next tonight, we have a poem by Hazel B Cameron. Among many accomplishments in Perthshire’s poetry circles Hazel administered the Scottish Pamphlet Poetry website for 10 years, and she was also the the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s first Writer in Residence.

This is her poem titled ‘In Such Unprecedented Times’.

Hazel’s reading (no transcript)

Thanks for taking the time to send this in Hazel. It’s greatly appreciated.

For those who enjoyed Hazel’s piece, you can find out more about Hazel and her creative works at her page on the Scottish Book Trust website here.

Jane Picton-Smith

Next in tonight’s programme of poetry is Jane Picton-Smith with her piece ‘Drumochter Pass’ about an area which literally marks one of the most northerly edges of Perthshire.

Jane’s reading (no transcript)

Thanks for that Jane. I have to admit that I struggled a little to find information about Jane and her poetry online. Though I can tell you that she has a PhD in poetry and also works with Riverside Church in Muirton. And she also helps with their cafe Martha’s Kitchen (you’ll find more information about Martha’s Kitchen here).

Karen Macfarlane

Next up tonight is a piece by Karen Macfarlane. This poem is the second one we’ve heard tonight about the trailblazer Apollonia Kickius (the only lady registered as working in the trades in Scotland between the seventeenth and mid-nineteenth centuries). We heard about her in Dawn Wood’s ‘Castle Huntly’ and the admiration for Apollonia Kickius is as clear here.

Karen’s reading (no transcript)

Thank you for sharing your poem Karen.

If you’d like to know more about Karen and her work you can see more on her website here. On this site you’ll also be able to enjoy the selection of poems that Karen has created in response to various different pieces of public art.

Morag Anderson

Our final piece tonight is from Morag Anderson. Her reading is another poem that you’ll find in Perthshire 101 but you can also find more of Morag’s work in her own collection of poems titled ‘Sin Is Due To Open In A Room Above Kitty’s’ and published by Fly on the Wall publishing last August. Here’s a link to find out more.

This piece is titled ‘Hollowing a Mountain’

Morag’s reading (no transcript)

Thank you for sharing that Morag. I couldn’t find a website for Morag’s work but I did track down her Twitter account, which features updates on events she’s taking part in, as well as other references to her poetry. Here’s the link.

Thank you

I’d just like to say another thank you to all of the poets who contributed to this Perthshire Hour poetry special. It was really appreciated.

I also wanted to apologise for the extended time taken to get this episode out into the world. I’ve been getting by fairly easily with the podcast for fifteen weeks. However, this change in format has pushed my knowledge a little. In getting this episode to air I had to experiment with about four or five different audio editing tools.

On the plus side, I’ve now learned how to use an entirely new audio editing programme and I know which one I’ll use in future for more complex episodes like this one. On the negative side, this episode has taken considerably longer to do than normal and, as I say, this resulted in an unexpected and unfortunate delay. Sorry for the long wait on this, and it shouldn’t take this long for an episode like this in future.

Social Media Tips and Tricks: Don’t be afraid to shake things up

Running on from my experience with this week’s episode, I thought I’d touch on an important attitude for anyone using the internet to publicise their business or their creativity. Don’t sit still.

It may be daunting, it may cause delays in the way you normally do things. However, it will also allow you to offer something fresh for your audience. It might be video editing, it might involve taking the time to learn about creating good product photos.

Maybe you’ll learn to write a blog, or you may even wish to create a podcast about what you do. You might even choose to create a small information website for yourself or your business (as discussed in last week’s section on creating a simple free WordPress site).

All of these activities will be hard. Not all of them will show immediate returns on the investment of your time. However, learning something new is always time well spent (even learning what you don’t want to do is useful in its own way).

I may have become a little dejected in my hunt for good audio software this week but I did get through it and I now feel even more equipped for podcasting as a result.

Give something new a go over the next few weeks, and let us know about it in the comments of the show notes for this episode. I’ll be sure to give your new project a mention.

Thanks for listening

As always, thank you all so much for listening in to the PerthshireHour podcast. The more listers I see in the stats, the more worthwhile this time feels (I’m a little data-driven, I have to admit). Don’t forget that you can also subscribe to the podcast using a host of different podcast listening platforms. You’ll find a link to most of them on the PerthshireHour podcast page.

Apologies again for the long wait on this episode, I hope you enjoyed it, and see you all again next Wednesday (5th April).

All the best, John