Taigh Chearsabhagh is excited to welcome the Mobile National Poetry Library as part of the A Poet in Every Port tour, which calls in Uist on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th June.
A Poet In Every Port is a Southbank Centre initiative which aims to celebrate the UK’s diverse dialects and languages by telling the stories of our coastal communities and showing that poetry is for everyone.
In partnership with the Southbank Centre, the pop up library will be stacked full of books, resources and activities which celebrates local culture and language through poetry. The Mobile Library is free to drop-in to, you can browse their collections, record your own readings, and participate in activities including the Word Exchange Poetry Competition. We’ve got a jam packed programme which interprets and experiments with local traditions of verse, song and literature and everyone is welcome to join in!
Uist Poet in Every Port: Susannah Bolton
Artist and writer Susannah Bolton was selected as the Uist poet for the Southbank Centre and National Poetry Library’s New Poets Collective to celebrate the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary.
Susannah is an artist & writer interested in layered experience, supportive acts, and textile structures. Their work often materialises as woven sculpture or dialogic texts. They presented the choral performance & pamphlet ‘Gam Thàladh’ at ‘Strange lands still bear common ground’ (TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, Galway, curated by Beulah Ezeugo), and recently wrote a poem for a revolving door in conversation with an exhibition by AJ Stockwell.
UIST EVENTS PROGRAMME
TUESDAY 16TH JUNE
Artist Workshop for Schools: Reworking Reality with Susannah Bolton
Artist & writer Susannah Bolton will be catching a lift with the Mobile Poetry Library to Sgoil Lionacleit and to Sgoil Uibhist a Tuath with some fun poetry workshops for the students. Drawing on her art practice, Susannah will share some playful collage-inspired techniques to start off on the road to self-expression. They’re hoping to hear all the ways in which young people experience life in Uist, for new words and ideas about the world through the eyes of islanders.
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TUESDAY 16TH JUNE
Poetry Evening: Uist Writers’ Group Pamphlet Launch
Taigh Chearsabhagh, 1930 – 2100
Join us for a laid back café style Poetry Evening event on Tuesday 16th June, hosted by members of the Uist Writers’ Group who will be introducing reflection / faileasan, their 10th collection of poems and prose. The launch will celebrate life on the islands in poetry and music and song. No need to book, just come along and enjoy a relaxed evening of readings and performances from our local writers. Free and all welcome!
The Uist Writers’ Group meets once a month, guided by Pauline Prior-Pitt. It began in 2009 and has a membership of twelve people at any one time.
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WEDNESDAY 17TH JUNE
Mobile Library Drop-In
Taigh Chearsabhagh, 1000 – 1600
The Mobile Poetry library will be parked up at Taigh Chearsabhagh all day on Wednesday 17th June. Please call in any time to browse the vast collection packed in to the van, including a selection of local publications and writing from Uist. Relax and enjoy some time reading old favourites or discover new voices. You may be inspired to compose your own Word Exchange poem which you can record in the mobile library’s recording studio! The van also features a variety of poetry games visitors can try – bring the family and see where the words take you.
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WEDNESDAY 17TH JUNE
Artist Workshop: Never fall in love with a rock* with AJ Stockwell
Taigh Chearsabhagh 1400 – 1500
In this free artist workshop with AJ Stockwell, we will consider the different ways that human relationships with geology have been expressed in writing. Using the method of ‘extractive’ poetry we will then create our own short poems, reflecting our lived relationship with familiar geologic bodies. No need to book, come along to Gallery 1 on Wednesday 17th June to join in.
*title is quote from Dyke (geology) by Sabrina Imbler
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WEDNESDAY 17TH JUNE
Sgrìob Scratch Night
Taigh Chearsabhagh, 1900 – 2100
Join us for an experimental Sgrìob scratch night which will feature a few pre-arranged performances and an open platform to share and test experimental material in writing and language. We welcome storytelling, poetry, conversations, songs, verse, mixtapes and jams. Friends and strangers are invited to perform material which could be unfinished gestures or polished performances to create a community space for listening, transmission and dialogue.
The programme includes Uist’s Poet in Every Port writer and artist, Susannah Bolton, who will perform a selection of new poetry with archival finds. With language that trips between Gaelic & English, reality & fiction, introspection & wide lands, Susannah’s braided practice plies a vision of life lived firmly in place. Her work has been described as ‘visual and embodied’ and ’atmospheric—you feel what is meant’.
Due to the wealth of talent available, the line-up for the Sgrìob Scratch Night performances is now full! Come along to enjoy the packed programme and perhaps let us know if you would be interested in taking part in another Sgrìob in the future? Free and open to all!
