Join us for a morning of writing on the theme of Adventures large and small, led by Ian Stephen. All are welcome, with no previous writing experience or creative practice required.
For many years Ian Stephen has travelled from his Lewis home, often by sea. This has been the subject of many publications and cross-arts projects and has fed into his poetry, fiction, non fiction, drama and film.
As a volunteer skipper of traditional sgoth Niseach craft, he has led expeditions including voyages to the Shiant Islands, island-hopping in small craft on the Atlantic side of Lewis and open boat crossings to Sula Sgeir, Stac Skerry, and on by Stromness and Pentland Firth to the Moray Firth. ‘Waypoints’ alternates logs of voyages, short poems and retellings of stories met along the way. ‘Boatlines’ is a geography of the boats of Scotland but also seeks to tell some of the stories of the communities they supported.
Hosted as part of Book Week Scotland 2023, celebrating Adventure in all its forms.
The theme of adventure ties in with our exhibition Virtual St Kilda Revisited which allows adults and children to experience the adventure of visiting this remote island through the medium of virtual reality. There is also an exhibition of photographs by Michael Faint and poems by Steve Ely, exploring the uninhabited tidal island of Orasaigh off the west coast of South Uist.
Please see the other free events we have as part of Book Week Scotland 2023:
Monday 13th – Thursday 16th November Add a Line: Collective Adventure Poem
Tuesday 14th November Book Cafe
Thursday 16th November Into the Wild: Poetry and Storytelling with Ian Stephen
Saturday 18th November Looking at Ourselves
Image credit: Ian Stephen
