Spring Forward!

Don't forget to put your clocks forward tonight as we 'spring forward' to lighter evenings and the promise of warmer days to come. 

On a day of rain and wind we thought it might be good to share the reassuring opening stanza of George Mackay Brown's poem for Robert Rendall, Chorus: ' Soon Spring Will Come': 

Soon Spring will come, and then the thrifty crofter Must yoke an ox, and drive his eager plough Through the wet mould. the sower will follow after,  And cast the good seed, rhythmical and slow, Along the furrows fringed with April snow. 

After a generally rather mild winter, will April be the month that brings us snow?

Burn's Night

We don't know about you but by this point in January we are in need of a bit of a boost. 

The festive cheer is but a distant memory, as are our resolutions to stay out of the biscuit tin and start a detox/exercise plan/decluttering regime/self improvement scheme etc. So having a legitimate excuse to eat haggis and clapshot, munch shortbread, and drink whiskey is just what is needed to lift the spirits - if also accompanied by the reading of Robert Burn's poetry, some good fiddle tunes and perhaps even dancing we might even forget the howling wind and freezing rain outside!

So have a very happy Burn's night when it comes. We thought you might enjoy the following poem from the bard:

The Book Worms

Through and through the inspired leaves,
Ye maggots make your windings; 
But, oh! respect his lordships taste,
And spare his golden bindings.

We're going on a poem hunt!

Apologies for the extended period of silence on here, let's just pretend it has been the result of an exciting Stromness Library adventure, involving an undisclosed exotic location and literary intregue (rather than because we've been off with a bad back)!

But here we are again, all ready to entertain, amuse and inform you, our lovely readers. Admit it, you've missed us terribly  - havent you?!

To reassure you that life in Stromness Library has gone on, even if our online activities had paused,  here is a heart warming story of how a request for a mystery poem ended in a surprise reunion. 

We get many requests for help in tracking down particular poems, often with no more clue than a vaguely remembered line,  so when a visitor came in looking for a George Mackay Brown poem called 'The Wedding' published in 1968, we confidently turned to the collected poems expecting instant success. 

But it was not to be. 

The index revealed 'The Wedding Guest' and 'Wedding Ring', with a bit of further investigation leading us to 'Fiddlers at the Wedding' - but none of these were the required poem. A quick internet search for 'The Wedding' by George Mackay Brown directed us to the index of complete works on the George Mackay Brown website  which listed a poetry publication called 'The Wedding' - yet no item with that title was listed on our library catalogue. 

The plot thickened. 

Not easily discouraged once on the scent, we turned for help to Brian Murray, long time friend of Stromness Library and an expert on George Mackay Brown related questions. From Brian we received confirmation that there had indeed been a publication of such a poem, but it was rare and hard to find. However he believed the poem had also been published in several anthologies and kindly offered to track it down amongst the volumes of his personal library. Later that same day Brian duly arrived with several volumes containing the poem from which we were able to make a photocopy of the poem.* 

The next day, when the visitor return to collect the copy of the poem, there occurred one of those happy coincidences which this job sometimes allows. There was a moment of recognition between library assistant and visitor and it soon emerged that they had last seen each other 45 years ago when they travelled on the school bus together.

So it just goes to show, you never know what you will find when you go on a poem hunt!




* We would like to thank Brian Murray for all his help in tracking down the poem. For anyone interested, 'The Wedding' by George Mackay Brown is in the anthology Modern Scottish Poetry edited by Maurice Lindsay, available for loan from the Orkney Library. 

Open Windows 2013

Today sees the opening of a new exhibition which turns the main street in Stromness into a gallery space. The theme for the Open Windows 2013 exhibition is No Ordinary Journey - referencing the title of the book about Orcadian arctic explorer Dr John Rae, whose 200th birthday falls on 30th September 2013. 

The writers and artists involved have not necessarily made their work about John Rae but have interpreted the wider theme suggested by the title. 

Take a wander along the street during the exhibition and look out for the compass logo in windows displaying the art works. Including the window here at Stromness Library which features work by Yvonne Gray, Pamela Beasant and the late Margaret Storr Bell.

This is the second Open Windows exhibition with the first taking place in 2011 which you may remember we also took part in.

Seamus Heaney (1939 - 2013)

We were very sad to learn yesterday of the death of the poet Seamus Heaney. He was festival poet at the St Magnus Festival in 1982 and 1994, and was photographed during his first visit by Gunnie Moberg.

photo by Gunnie Moberg http://gunniemobergarchive.wordpress.com/

In the book St Magnus Festival: a celebration compiled and edited by Pamela Beasant, Maureen Gray who worked at the Pier Arts Centre - venue for the festival poet readings - recalls the relationship between Seamus Heaney and Stromness' resident poet, George Mackay Brown :

Seamus Heaney mentioned that it was such an honour to come and read here with George sitting in the audience. George appeared to be in awe of Seamus Heaney too. There was great mutual respect.

The book includes an extract from  Morag MacInnes' review in The Times Educational Supplement from July 2, 1982, where she describes this reading, and Seamus Heaney's effect on the festival audience:

He looked like a piece of bog-cotton among a lot of hot-house orchids: he won his audience with his modesty, his humour, and his brogue.

The mutual respect between Seamus Heaney and George Mackay Brown is evident in each poet's reflections on the other's work. Brown writes of Heaney in The Orcadian, June 23 1994:

The supreme art of making simple events not only memorable but immortal - Seamus Heaney is a master there, like all the great poets.

While Heaney wrote of Brown:

W.H. Auden once called poetry "a way of happening" and in the work of George Mackay Brown the way is a fabulous one; he transforms everything by passing it through the eye of the needle of Orkney. His sense of the world and his way with words are powerfully at one with each other. His vision has something of the skaldic poet's consciousness of inevitable order, something of the haiku master's susceptibility to the delicate and momentary, and since the beginning of his career he has added uniquely and steadfastly to the riches of poetry in English.

Seamus Heaney went on to write the following poem in memory of George Mackay Brown  which was included in the volume Dove-Marks on Stone: Poems for George Mackay Brown which was published to mark what would have been Brown's 75th Birthday in October 1996:

A Landfall
i.m. George Mackay Brown

Far north, in sunlight,
the stone ship ran aground. Larks
sing at the masthead.

A copy of Dove-Marks on Stone is available for reference in The Orkney Room of Orkney Library and Archive in Kirkwall. A copy of St Magnus Festival: a celebration and Seamus Heaney's Open Ground: Poems 1966-1996 are both available to borrow from Stromness Library.

Seamus Heaney was also one of the patrons of The George Mackay Brown Fellowship - along with Sir Andrew Motion and Stewart Conn -  which was established in memory of George Mackay Brown with the aim of both celebrating Brown's writing and encouraging and promoting new creative writing in Orkney. 

This ongoing link with Orkney was a testament to the connection between Seamus Heaney and George Mackay Brown, and today we mourn the loss of another great poet.

photo by Iain Stewart http://www.isphotographs.co.uk/fine_art/portraits.php#../images/seamus-george.JPG

Orkney Nature Festival

Today is the first day of the Orkney Nature Festival , a nine day celebration of Orkney's wonderful wildlife and rich natural history. You can see the full programme of festival events here and our Reader in Residence, Alison Miller, has blogged about the Orkney Library and Archive's involvement in the festival.

Festival events take place all over the islands, with a number of events based in Stromness. Friday 17th May there will be 'Something Fishy at the RSPB' office in Stromness, when between 11am and 5pm you can drop in to see an Orkney beach:

 – in the middle of the RSPB Orkney office! Find a wealth of marine treasure – and some things a bit less precious – as well as learning more from seashell expert Alastair Skene. You’ll see everything from the geriatric Arctic Cyprine, who may have been filtering seawater when John Rae was setting sail to the Arctic, to the microscopic components that make up shell sand. We’ll have a display of whale bones and strandline material and if you have a mystery marine object that you’d like identified, please bring it along. There’s also a big message from Orkney school children about the perils facing the world’s oceans and our Orkney beaches from marine litter... you’re sure to ‘pick up 3 pieces’ when you’ve heard what they have to say.

Then from 2.30pm - 4.3-pm you can find out about Crustacean conservation and enjoy a crabby buffet at The Ferry Inn. Tickets for this event cost £10 and can be booked through The Ferry Inn, by calling 01856 850280 or email info@ferryinn.com.

 The day finishes with a real treat when former Storyteller-in -Residence, Ian Stephen returns to Stromness for an evening of poetry and tales of his adventures sailing around Orkney and other Scottish islands. We are delighted to see Ian back in Stromness for this event, which takes place at Stromness Academy in the Upper Library at 7pm, and are looking forward to hearing more from this talented poet and storyteller.

Street Shapes

Sorry for the late notice but if you are free this evening you might like to get along to Northlight Studio in Graham Place, Stromness, for the launch of a new book of poems, prints and paintings offering a

 journey through Stromness in time and space... full of childhood memories and well known places.

Street Shapes features poems by local author Morag MacInnes and prints and paintings by local artist Diana Leslie and the launch will include an exhibition of the original artwork and poems as well as readings by Morag.

If you can't make it along tonight then the exhibition will also be open tomorrow (Saturday 27th April) and the book, which is available in black and white or in colour will also be available from Stromness Books and Prints.

A Week of Words

We hope you had a restful weekend because this week is full of exciting literary events for your enjoyment.

On Wednesday 10th April, Reader in Residence Alison Miller will lead The Poem's the Thing - an informal poetry reading group open to all who want to discover new poems and share old favourites - there will be a session in Kirkwall Library between 1pm-2pm and here in Stromness Library from 6pm- 7pm.

Then on Thursday 11th April the Orkney Book Festival 2013 begins with a Film night hosted by West Side Cinema at 7.30pm when they will be showing That Now by Sarah Forrest, who was the first Margaret Tait resident in 2012. This will be followed by a showing of Blue Black Permanent by Margaret Tait.

A full list of events during the four day festival can be found on the George Mackay Brown Fellowship website , or pick up a programme from the library, but we would like to draw your attention to the events being held in Stromness on Sunday 14th April.

At 11am here at Stromness Library, Bryce Wilson will give a talk on 'Stromness and John Rae'; then in the afternoon from 2-4pm Ian Macpherson will be running a Workshop on comedy writing - if you would like to sign up for this workshop please email pamela.beasant@virgin.net

Still in Stromness on Sunday evening starting at 7.30pm in the Stromness Hotel Ian Macpherson and Magi Gibson will host an evening of entertainment entitled 'Bemused'.

Entry to all events costs £5 (£4 concessions) at the door, with a Whole Festival Pass costing £20  available in advance from Orkney Library in Kirkwall, or on the door at events.

After all that excitement you may need a peedie sit down with a good book, so don't forget there will be a book sale running in Orkney Library, Kirkwall on Friday and Saturday, while here in Stromness we have our own small selection of sale books at the bargain price of 5p per title,  with the offer that, should you buy 5 books we will give you a 6th for free.

It's going to be a busy week!

Easter Daffodils

The sun is shining on Stromness this Easter Saturday morning, and on our way into the library we noticed, among the bright oranges and purples of the crocuses, the first golden daffodils unfolding to greet the spring.

For, despite the cold, spring is here (don't forget to put your clocks forward tonight as we enter British Summer Time) though for many places in the south tomorrow's Easter egg rolling will be complicated by lying snow.

In view of the mixture of weather and season it seemed appropriate to share the first stanza of George Mackay Brown's poem 'Daffodil Time'

1 Daffodils

Ho, Mistress Daffodil, said Ikey (tinker)
Where have you been all winter?
There was snow in the ditches last night
And here you are.
Did you light your lamp in that blizzard?

When Ikey came back
Next day, with his pack, from windy Njalsay
The yellow hosts
Were cheering and dancing all the way to the inn.          

Both Stromness and Kirkwall  libraries will be closed on Monday 1st April for the Easter Monday public holiday. We wish all our readers a day full of warm spring sunshine and golden daffodils.

 

 

 

The Poem's the Thing

Tonight sees the first meeting of our new poetry reading group - The Poem's the Thing -  led by Reader in Residence Alison Miller.

The group will meet on the second Wednesday of every month from 6pm - 7pm in the Stromness Library exhibition room - the Kirkwall group will meet on the same dates from 1pm-2pm in the Kirkwall Library. Come along to share your favourite poets and poems and discover new ones.

This week also sees the launch of  2013 Young Orkney Writers’ Prize for poetry run by Orkney Library and Archive and the George Mackay Brown Fellowship. 

The theme this year is Adventure and poems will be judged in two age groups, 8-11 years, and 12-15 years. Entry forms are available from both libraries or can be downloaded from the Orkney Library and Archive website. 

The closing date for entries is 16th March 2013 - so get writing!

Christmas Day

Now Kings and shepherds have come.
A wintered hovel
Hides a glory
Whiter than snowflake or silver or star.

(From 'Christmas Poem' by George Mackay Brown)

Wood Engraving by John Lawrence

Advent - 23rd December

Festive spirits may be somewhat dampened as the weather continues to make festive preparations difficult - from those trying to get home for the holidays to those looking for last minute presents or needing to stock up on essentials.

For our northerly neighbours in Shetland the dreadful weather had led to cancelled ferry sailings, and with fresh food supplies running low and increasingly empty shelves, it looked like it might be a sprout-less Christmas for many. However a certain supermarket chain, who have a store in Lerwick, came to the rescue by chartering a Hercules to fly in supplies.

photo from https://www.facebook.com/shetlandwildlife?fref=ts

Advent of course is a time of journeys, and we hope however and wherever you are travelling you will reach your destination safely. 

T.S. Eliot's poem "Journey of the Magi" seems appropriate for all travellers in this season.

‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’ 

Advent - 21st December

Midwinter Haiku

The low sun slants grey shafts
between the Hoy hills; light fills
the Rackwick valley

Great wings beat in 
sweeping white across the Sound.
Waves break at Braga

Among broken walls
at Breckness a ewe lies down
with her Solstice lamb.

(from In The Hanging Valley by Yvonne Gray, published by Two Ravens Press, Ullapool, 2008)

photo by Ben Whitworth 

Advent - 20th December

An extract from 'Yule' by George Mackay Brown:

We came at noon to the marked tree,
A grey gnarled column.
The sergeant shouted.Our axes flashed. They bit.
We struck out pieces of bark and bole.
We laboured like men in a siege, among whirls of snow,
But root was one with berry still
In the first red seepings of sunset.
                            In the village windows, that twilight,
Tinsel stars glittered.
There were chains of coloured tissue and paper lanterns.
Under the street lamp, chaste mouths.
Then the village slept, unblessed by the winter tree.

(in Winterfold by George Mackay Brown,  published by Chatto and Windus Ltd, London, 1976)

Photo courtesy of http://sianthom.blogspot.co.uk/

Advent - 17th December

As we make our way towards the solstice, the dark days and cold weather draw us together as families and friends seeking warmth and companionship.

We love this extract from the poem 'The Fire' by Margaret Tait, which captures this need for light and warmth in the darkness.

Tending a fire
As a full-time occupation
Is a feminine contentment.
To watch the flames rise,
Hear the crackle
And judge the correct moment and the correct place
to add the next bit of fuel
Satisfies
Some ancient impulse.
Hearth-keeper,
I build a little flame
And keep it there, feed it, keep it going
To warm you all by and feed you and cheer you by
And cheer myself too,
Cheer the deepest comfortless dark in my own self.

(from 'The Fire' in origins and elements 1959)

Advent - 14th December

In the inn of December,  a fire, 

A loaf, a bottle of wine.

     Travellers, rich and poor, are on the roads.

(From 'Dance of the Months' in Christmas Poems by George Mackay Brown)

Wood engravings by John Lawrence in Christmas Poems

Advent - 1st December

We thought we'd try something new this year and try to mark advent with a post a day during December. We can't promise you chocolate but we will try to bring you a seasonal reflection, in word, or images , with a suitably local flavour. 

Today we woke up to see the first white flakes of winter at the window and so we thought we'd share the following extract from George Mackay Brown's poem "House of Winter", from his Christmas Poems collection:

                             At last, the house of winter. Find

                             On the sill

                             Intricate ice jewellery, a snowflake.

 

 

 

Creative Vision

Tonight sees the launch of a new anthology of Orkney writing as part of Creative Vision - a series of events in Orkney celebrating mental wellbeing and challenging stigma, which are part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.

The new anthology To The World, edited by Rosie Alexander,  includes work by a wide range of local writers and artists, from the experienced to first-time writers and artists, and offers an honest exploration of the mind and self in all moods and states of health. The anthology has been funded by See Me and is published by The George Mackay Brown Fellowship and Orkney Minds. 

Tonight's launch event takes place in the Upper Library, Stromness Academy, at 7.30pm and will include readings from the anthology by some of the writers, along with music and refreshments. 

National Poetry Day

Happy National Poetry Day to all our blog readers and library visitors!

This year's theme is Stars, and as usual there is a set of lovely postcards, featuring poems on that theme, to collect from the library.

Have a look at the Scottish Poetry Library's website for lots of wonderful poetry resources, available all year round, and you can even order free poetry postcards from previous National Poetry Days.

Here is one of this year's postcards, featuring the poem 'Sea Poppy 2' by Ian Hamilton Finlay.

 Wishing you a day full of poetic pleasures.

Rody Gorman

We will be celebrating National Poetry Day in the library on Thursday 4th October,  but in anticipation of this celebration of poetry we wanted to draw your attention to a live poetry reading, happening here in Stromness. 

For tomorrow, Wednesday 3rd October, the poet Rody Gorman will give a reading at the Pier Arts Centre Stromness at 7.30pm. Born in Dublin, but now living in Skye, Rody Gorman has published a number of collections of poetry in English, Irish and Scottish Gaelic. He has translated Cavafy, Yeats, Prévert, Neruda, Kavanagh, Holan, Milosz, Różewicz, Larkin, Popa, Holub, Aspenstrom, Snyder, Njardvik, Longley, Platelis and Armitage into Gaelic, while his own work has been translated into many languages.

Rody Gorman © Anna Pettigrew

As well as being a poet, Rody Gorman  has worked as Convenor of the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee of Scottish PEN; Chair of HI-Arts Writing Development Group, as Specialist Adviser for the Scottish Arts Council, and as songwriter, lecturer, creative writing tutor and adjudicator of literary competitions.


The reading is organised by Orkney Arts Society and admission is £4, or £3 concessions and £1 for school students.