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www.scottishwriterscentre.co.uk

This episode’s recording is a special one: one of the best audiences we’ve had at the Scottish Writers’ Centre, displaying love, warmth and admiration for the talented gentleman sitting in front of them.

Returning to the SWC was writer Pádraig Ó Baoighil, who was launching his new book: The Gaelic League in Scotland and Other Essays. The event was co-hosted by Conradh Na Gaeilge Glaschú, who have been supporting the Irish language and Irish culture in Glasgow and beyond for more than 120 years.

It was an evening of tributes, songs and stories about the Irish language, and Irish writing. The discussion turned into a form of oral history, taking you back in time!

Don’t worry about any language barriers: the majority of the beautifully spoken Irish has been interpreted, so no one misses out.

The Scottish writers’ centre proudly presents to you
The Gaelic League in Scotland with Pádraig Ó Baoighill!

 

Thank you to Pádraig and to The Gaelic League for that incredibly touching event. With folks like you, the Irish Language will always be preserved. Padraig’s new book of short stories is out now and the league is as committed as ever, running 7 classes weekly for adults as well as one for children alongside many other cultural and community activities. For more info, you can follow the league on twitter @gaeilge_glasgow and on their website.

Thank you to the team at the SWC for their contribution and help with coordinating this podcast series.

This podcast was recorded and produced by Wheezy Whispers.

If you have any questions about future episodes or want to provide some feedback please email info@wheezywhispers.co.uk

The views expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Scottish Writers’ Centre.

Right from the off, please note that this episode contains some strong language and sexual themes.

Welcome back, all! Your old friend, the Scottish Writers’ Centre Podcast is back for another episode of literary joy. Back in January 2017, we welcome two accomplished, entertaining, and talented poets from the wilds of Dumfries and Galloway.

You’re about to hear Hugh McMillan and Stuart A. Paterson discuss and share readings on Solway seascapes, sheep, the Large Hadron Collider and a multitude of other matters. I must confess, I (Mark) wasn’t actually at this event, so I’ll be listening along with fresh ears. Its timing was prescient too: a few months later, Hugh was awarded the post of Michael Marks poet in residence at the Harvard Summer School and Stuart was appointed BBC Scotland’s poet in residence!

The Scottish Writers’ Centre proudly presents to you: ‘Galloway Comes to Glasgow’ with, Hugh McMillan and Stuart A. Paterson!

Many thanks to Hugh and Stuart for sharing your poetry, cheerful anecdotes and fascinating facts about your home. Hugh came back to the Scottish Writers’ Centre in June this year and Stuart will be part of our special in conversation event later this month.  Therefore, if you enjoyed this episode there are plenty more treats for you further down the line!

The accompanying event blog was written by Katherine Warren and you can read it here.

Thank you to the team at the SWC for their contribution and help with coordinating this podcast series.

This podcast was recorded and produced by Wheezy Whispers.

If you have any questions about future episodes or want to provide some feedback please email info@wheezywhispers.co.uk

The views expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Scottish Writers’ Centre.

Welcome! First off, let us extend an invitation to you for our tenth anniversary party: join us to celebrate ten years (and a few extra days) of the Scottish Writers’ Centre! We’ll have a fabulous array of performing writers, drinks, cake (if we have anything to say about it), and copies of our brand new anthology on sale!

Keep an eye out as we release more details in the next few weeks, but mark your calendars. We can’t wait to see you there!

Yes, for ten years the Scottish Writers’ Centre, has always been here to promote Scotland’s vibrant literary culture. During this time, we’ve always placed particular importance on giving new writers the chance to read out their work, and this episode is one such event!

This sublime student showcase was in partnership with the University of Glasgow’s Creative Writing Masters Programme and it was hosted by everyone’s favourite, Derek Parks.

Please note that this episode does contain some strong language. Listen on!

 

Thank you to Derek for hosting and to everyone who shared their writing with us, we really appreciate it.

The event blog was written by Katherine Warren (we miss you!) and you can read it on the SWC website.

Thank you to the team at the SWC for their contribution and help with coordinating this podcast series.

This podcast was recorded and produced by Wheezy Whispers.

If you have any questions about future episodes or want to provide some feedback please email info@wheezywhispers.co.uk

The views expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Scottish Writers’ Centre.

Right off the bat, please be aware that this episode does contain some strong language and adult themes.

We’re back! After a fantastic event with Gerda Stevenson in our temporary home at the Project Cafe, the SWC is back in the swing of things. We may be in a transitional stage, but your old friend, the Scottish Writers’ Centre Podcast will always be here for you!

This episode marks the return of former Chair of the SWC, Douglas Thompson! Douglas is the author of many novels, but for his 2018 releases he’s been concentrating on poetry: ‘The Fallen West’ unites his poetry with his surrealist short stories, while ‘At the Witch Stones’ is his first poetry collection, a sequence of sixty-two love poems published by Diehard Books, which is helmed by our last podcast guest, Sally Evans!

In this talk, Douglas takes you on a whirlwind tour of the poetry and philosophy that have influenced his interpretation of what love is. He then follows this with readings from his own poetic attempts to define the elusive and enduring mystery of human love. Enjoy!

 

Thank you Douglas, for being one of our most memorable guests to date! You can find more of his writing, as well as his fantastic artwork, on his website or by following him on Twitter.

Douglas was our first ever guest on Writer’s Reel, which you can find on the SWC website, along with the event blog by Kate Jackson.

Thank you to the team at the SWC for their contribution and help with coordinating this podcast series.

This podcast was recorded and produced by Wheezy Whispers.

If you have any questions about future episodes or want to provide some feedback please email info@wheezywhispers.co.uk

The views expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Scottish Writers’ Centre.

 

We have some exciting news about our confirmed events for the rest of the summer, we’ve really missed you and we can’t wait to see you again, face to face!

We have found our summer holiday home, and it’s not too far away either: our next few events will be at The Project Café, 134 Renfrew Street, Glasgow!
You can find out the details in this episode or have a look at our events page on Facebook.

For this week’s podcast, we take you back to an event we held last August. Sally Evans came to the Scottish Writers’ Centre to discuss her latest poetry collection, A Burrell Tapestry and a Marion Burrell Sampler, which takes a look at the lives of Glasgow’s Burrell family.

You will hear Sally consider how research affects poetry’s creation; how a real story can be brought to life by poetic imagination and lots more. And if that wasn’t enough, writer AC Clarke joins Sally and performs some readings too! Enjoy!

 

Thank you to Sally Evans and AC Clarke. You’ll be hearing more from both writers in future episodes!

The blog about this event, written by Maeve O’Brien, is on the SWC website along with an interview with Sally. She was featured in our first series of Writers’ Reel too!

Thank you to the team at the SWC for their contribution and help with coordinating this podcast series.

This podcast was recorded and produced by Wheezy Whispers.

If you have any questions about future episodes or want to provide some feedback please email info@wheezywhispers.co.uk

The views expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Scottish Writers’ Centre.

Unfortunately, since our last episode the CCA is still closed following the devastating fire at Glasgow School of Art, and last week’s event was cancelled.

Please bear with us as we attempt to find a new home for our upcoming events! If you have any suggestions for venues please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@scottishwriterscentre.co.uk.

In the meantime, your old friend the Scottish Writers’ Centre Podcast is still here for you! This episode features a particularly moving speakeasy which focused on medical experiences of all kinds. We invited patients, practitioners, carers, and family members to read their work, with heartfelt results!

Performers include:
Derek Parkes
Tony Beekman
Edward Rogers
LA Traynor
Ann MacKinnon
Archie Life
George Gibson
Francesca & Steven
John Bullivant
Sally Gates
Pauline Cannon
Gail Winters
Lindsey Stuart
Jen Grey
Mary Irvine
Giovanna MacKenna
Dee
Neil Gallacher

If we’ve misspelled your name, please let us know!

 

If you especially enjoyed this medical theme, Rachel Walker has compiled a list of brilliant literary works with illness and medicine at their core.

Thank you to the team at the SWC for their contribution and help with coordinating this podcast series.

This podcast was recorded and produced by Wheezy Whispers.

If you have any questions about future episodes or want to provide some feedback please email info@wheezywhispers.co.uk

The views expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Scottish Writers’ Centre.

Continuing our series on Scots novels that we have loved, here are three novels written by highly successful Scottish authors who are, of course, masters of the Scots tongue. Let us know in the comments if you have any other recommendations – we’d love to hear them!

How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman

Whenever anyone questions what success you can possibly hope to have if you write in Scots, it’s worth citing James Kelman in your defence. How Late It Was, How Late, which is written entirely in Glaswegian dialect, won the 1994 Booker Prize- one of the few working class novels ever to do so- and despite its brilliance, in my opinion, it’s not even his best book! Kelman’s writing embodies and elucidates the souls of ordinary Glasgow people and if you haven’t read any of his novels, I recommend that you start now.

A couple of weeks ago, we were very sad to cancel Laura Fyfe’s event on Wellspring writing – the event has now been rescheduled to 28th of August but, in the meantime, we have an interview with Laura to enjoy! SWC’s Literary Editor Rachel Walker talked to Laura about Wellspring writing and how it has influenced her own writing. We hope it’ll whet your appetite for August!

As you’ll know if you’ve been attending our events for a while, Scottish Writers’ Centre has a very fruitful partnership with the brilliant Red Squirrel Press – their book launches are always some of our favourite events, and we’re looking forward to working with them on our upcoming anthology! Elizabeth Rimmer is one of their very talented editors, and Claire Kennedy spoke to her about her editing process, the joys of working for Red Squirrel Press, and how editing has influenced her own poetry. We hope you enjoy this fascinating insight into editorial work!