It’s my turn to present. Mrs Dover is in her usual position – lounging on a desk, elbows resting on her knees, hands clasped – she leans forward, ears primed for grammatical error. My arm shakes as I hold up my book. ‘This is one of my favourites,’ I utter, ‘Ariel, by Sylvia Plath’. Dover, Read More
As part of Creative Scotland and the National Library of Scotland’s year-long celebration of the life and works of Muriel Spark, the International Style of Muriel Spark exhibition is being held at NLS. Spark, who said she threw away “practically nothing on paper”, forms one of the largest archives at the library, and the exhibition Read More
This is Jane McKie’s third collection of poetry. Her first, Morocco Rococo, was published by Cinnamon Press and won the Sundial/SAC Prize for Best First Book in 2007. She then published Garden of Bedsteads in 2011 with Mariscat Press. She is a member of the Shore Poets group and teaches Creative Writing at the University Read More
After Economy is JL Williams’ third slim volume of poetry; it is a haunting collection that explores the world’s impending doom. Progressively, it reads like a human timeline, from the beginning when man first discovered fire to an ending with man becoming leftover cinders. The apocalyptic theme is found throughout the collection, addressing a question Read More
In Muriel Spark’s seventeenth novel, The Only Problem, the rich and secretive Harvey Gotham is holed away in a small cottage in France. He lives with the smallest of comforts, working on a book about the character of Job, from the Book of Job in the Bible. As Spark’s novel unfolds, Harvey’s suffering is likened Read More
Alice Tarbuck’s first pamphlet collection of poetry, Grid, challenges her collection’s title and bends poetry form. In poems of varying lengths, differing tones and metrics, her writing weaves in and out of twenty-first century human nature – exploring time, emotion, people and places. With such mixed themes the collection is difficult to summarise as a Read More
“Sometimes, when I am walking down the King’s Road … and chance to remember the island, immediately all things are possible.” Robinson, Muriel Spark Candia McWilliams’s claim in her introduction to the Birlinn centenary edition of Muriel Spark’s Robinson that she, McWilliams, was reputed at school to have “swallowed a thesaurus”, places her in excellent Read More
Dundee’s Rep brings Levin’s gripping thriller to life with well-executed drama and suspense leaving you wishing that it was more than just two acts. Deathtrap holds the record for the longest-running comedy thriller on Broadway; Ira Levin’s play uses simplicity of character and setting to create a compelling and unexpected piece of work. Described as Read More
Aperture – A space through which light passes in an optical or photographic instrument, especially the variable opening by which light enters a camera. (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2018) In Aperture, Anna Leahy creates apertures through which she envisions and encapsulates – vessels through which a reader may see light. Her collection seeks to peer Read More
I have one simple expectation of every poetry collection that I’ve ever read or will read: that each poem will connect with others towards a cohesive whole. You can imagine my hesitation when four poems in I realised that Colin Will’s The Night I Danced With Maya failed to meet my criteria. Or did it? Read More