Join us for an experimental 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.
Due to the wealth of talent available, the line-up of performances for the Sgrìob Scratch Night is now full!
Artist & writer Susannah Bolton 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’.
We will hear from Cat MacLeod, poet, creative facilitator, eco-literature researcher and library worker based in Dundee, and visiting as a ‘poet from another port’. Cat is particularly drawn to writing ecological poetry ‘weaving in experiences of witnessing alongside fun facts about animals, and seeing where the spaces between these facets grow’; and finds that as she learns more about ecology, she ‘can’t stop writing alongside it’.
Internationally renowned singer songwriter, Gabriella Coniglio, who has been delighting audiences worldwide with her mix of sultry, sweet and sometimes even silly song stylings is also joining us. She has written songs in several different languages and also loves to improvise songs connecting to the creative flow of the moment.
Pauline Prior-Pitt will share some of her poetry, with her readings described as “clever, funny, poignant and … simply magical.” Pauline writes about the relationships between men and women, family life, the domestic scene, gynaecology, political issues, dresses, the ageing process, and love and death, while in her book‚ Storm Biscuits, she writes about the landscape of North Uist.
The open mic opportunity is now full with a fantastic range of local performers signed up with poems, songs, readings and music. 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.
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This event is part of the Poet in Every Port programme, hosted in partnership with the Southbank Centre and National Poetry Library. You can find the full programme of Uist Poet in Every Port events here, with details of the Mobile National Poetry Library which will be visiting on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th June. More information about the Poet in Every Port project is available here.
