The Lithgae Launch

Summertime (officially), and the temperature's freezing. That's Scotland's wind chill for you. Otherwise, it's a glorious morning; a fitting follow-up to a good night at the Black Bitch, with Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage playing in the background. I lost count, but I think there were close to 30 people there. It was mostly Linlithgow folk, but James W Wood came through from Edinburgh, Alastair Findlay came over the hills from Bathgate and my good friends Alex and Jacqueline escaped the Netherlands just as the Tartan Army was invading. I read two sets, as follows:

• Pedestrian
• Improvisation for the Angel Who Announces the End of Time
• The Meisure o a Nation
• Cardiac
• Hairst Day
• Wandelvakanties Dicht bij Huis
• The Invention of Zero
• The Ambulance Box

Then:

• Still
• Waukrife
• In Praise of Dust
• Lullaby
• Notes to Self

I sold 20 copies and chatted to various folk until 11ish -- midnightish BST -- then we headed home with a couple of boxes of chips.

Home and Away

Tomorrow night, I'm on home turf to launch The Ambulance Box in Linlithgow's Black Bitch Inn*. I'm expecting a smaller crowd than at the SPL, but looking forward to it just as much. The event kicks off at 8 pm. There's a bar and I'll be reading two 15-minute sets, though I've yet to decide what. Anyone is welcome.

On Thursday 9 April, I'll be at the Italian Cultural Institute in Edinburgh to celebrate the publication of 5PX2: Five Italian Poets and Five Scottish Poets. Details of the event are at the first link in this paragraph.

*The black bitch is the emblem of Linlithgow -- it's one of those faithful hound stories -- and, indeed, natives of the town, regardless of sex, are known as "black bitches". That's right: Scotland's current First Minister is a black bitch.

Into Spender's Canyon

What can I say about Wednesday night's launch of The Ambulance Box and The Opposite of Cabbage at the Scottish Poetry Library that isn't already in the reports by Peggy at the SPL (who does the name dropping for us), Colin Will and Rob himself?

Rob is right to say it couldn't have gone any better. It was a fantastic, really celebratory atmosphere. The library was packed. Apparently, we had 67 bodies through the door. (No wonder there were folk standing on the stairs!) When the library's reader development officer Lilias Fraser said there'd been concerns about the mezzanine floor's ability to take the weight, I didn't think she was being serious but with numbers like that ...

Anyway, the launch was scheduled to begin at 7 pm. From about 6.55, I was stuck at the punters' side of the librarians' desk signing books for about half an hour. I had to make an effort to break off and slip into the lift (there was little hope of getting easily up the stairs) and up to the mezzanine, where Rob and I read.

Rob and I had agreed that whoever kicked off in Glasgow last week would go second this week, so I read first. Here's my set list:

1. "Pedestrian"
2. "Improvisation for the Angel who Announces the End of Time"
3. "The Meisure o a Nation"
4. "The Ambulance Box"
5. "The Invention of Zero"
6. "Lullaby"
7. "Dream Family Holiday"
8. "Notes to Self"

and a picture of me reading said set, taken by my friend and colleague, Diarmid Mogg:

Rob read another great set (you can see his set list at his post). His is a fresh, distinctive, intelligent and sophisticated voice. It's a huge pleasure to read alongside him. I certainly hope people in the poetry world and wider reading public sit up and take notice of it. They should.

Once we'd read, the two of us sat for ages at the table signing more books and chatting to people. Here's another photo -- a cracking shot; the same one as is on the SPL blog -- by Diarmid by way of illustration:

Afterwards, Rob and Katy Evans-Bush, who had come all the way up from London for the event, joined me and members of my family at Empires Turkish Cafe for a meal. The mezze, main courses, Turkish coffee and company were all excellent. Empires is definitely to be recommended. The coffee didn't even keep me awake when I finally stumbled home off the last train back to Linlithgow.

I really must repeat my thanks to the SPL staff for all their hard work and more. They set everything up: book table, wine table, crisps and seating. They poured the wine and dealt with the money. They looked after not only our bags but Katy's. They provided those little sticky strips that make for much less fumbling about the book when you're reading (God bless you, Lilias!). They coralled and herded the guests when needed and Lilias introduced the reading. They cleared up and cashed up. And they did the whole lot with smiles, warmth and enthusiasm.

And that post title? Well, my friends Kenny and Jane who came along gave me a card with this quotation from Spender on the front:

A modern poet launching forth his slim volume today is like a person dropping a feather over the edge of the Grand Canyon and then waiting for the echo.

Inside, it simply says:

XXXXXXXXXBANG! BANG!
XXXXXXXBANG! BANG! BANG!
xxxxxBANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

SPL Launch: A Preliminary Post

Last night's launch at the SPL was a huge success. We ran out of seating and wine glasses though not wine, I'm glad to say. Or books, I'm equally glad to say, despite the goodly number sold.

Really, though, I'm far too tired to give you a proper account tonight. I had an unavoidably a full -- in fact, long -- day at the office today on the back of my suitably latish night yestreen and my wrists wouldn't thank me for it even if my brain could put a proper post together. Normal service will resume after recovery, which will involve a glass of wine and at least one night's sleep. I'll leave you with links to Peggy's post and Colin's comments.

Oh, and a set list:

1. "Pedestrian"
2. "Improvisation for the Angel who Announces the End of Time"
3. "The Meisure o a Nation"
4. "The Ambulance Box"
5. "The Invention of Zero"
6. "Lullaby"
7. "Dream Family Holiday"
8. "Notes to Self"

Oh, and a picture of me reading said set, taken by my friend and colleague, Diarmid Mogg:

SPLaunching and SPLogging

After the success of Thursday's Mirrorball launch, I'm very much looking forward to the launch for Rob A Mackenzie's book and mine on Wednesday at the Scottish Poetry Library. It'll be a bigger affair than Mirrorball, I suspect. There'll be wine and crisps (oooh, the extravagence!), and both of us will read. I've not yet decided how much overlap there'll be between the poems I read on Thursday and those I'll read on Wednesday, but it won't be an identical set. The books will be on sale as well, of course.

Speaking of the SPL, you might want to check out its new blog, Our sweet old etcetera…. This adds a lighter, more informal side to the Library's burgeoning web presence (which includes not only the main site but the Reading Room) and is a welcome addition to the Scottish poetry blogosphere.

Mirrorball

Thursday's reading at St Mungo's Mirrorball with Rob A Mackenzie and performance poet Robin Cairns was a good night. As usual, Mr Mackenzie has got in ahead of me and blogged about it already. As he says, it was a varied evening but the audience was happy to switch mood and style along with each reader. It was a decent-sized crowd too.

Rob was up first (you can find his set list at his post), reading from The Opposite of Cabbage for the first time. For literary poets like Rob and me, I think there's a greater degree of confidence that comes with holding your book in your hand in front of an audience. Rob and I have seen each other's books in varying states of manuscript, but the authority of the printed and bound article allows us to sit back and enjoy the poems. It gives them a stamp of finality that's obviously lacking in a draft. That effect holds for the live reading, I think. Seeing how well the audience reacted to Rob's work simply served to reinforce its wit, sophistication, intelligence and passion; its mix of irony, cynicism and compassion; it's freshness and quality.

Robin Cairns, as is often the case with performance poets, performed all his work from memory. It's an impressive skill, especially given that we're not talking about short lyrics here. He's a highly confident performer and certainly gets the audience laughing. For me, though, his best piece was a serious one: an accomplished ballad exploring how music breaks down barriers between individuals. Robin was launching his first pamphlet.

I came last, setting a different tone for the end of the evening with The Ambulance Box. Here's what I read:

1. "The Ambulance Box"
   
2. "Cardiac"
3. "To Bake the Bread"
   
4. "The Meisure o a Nation"
5. "The Invention of Zero"
6. "45 Minutes"
   
7. "Waukrife"
8. "Lullaby"
9. "Notes to Self"

Quite a varied bunch, but moving into gradually more direct poems about my son's death in its second half. It was the first time I've opened a set with the title poem, which seemed to work fine in pole position. I very much enjoyed having such an attentive and appreciative audience. Several people were clearly listening carefully. The applause and post-reading comments were warm, and I sold a decent number of books too.

After the gig, Rob and I wound up in the CCA Bar for a pint with one of my oldest mates and his friend the visual/minimalist poet Stephen Nelson, whom I'd met previously at the Mitchell Library. A fine end to a really good night.

Triple Decker

The Month of Book Launches is nearly upon me! First up is a triple launch: myself, fellow Scottish Salter Rob A Mackenzie and performance poet Robin Cairns. An eclectic mix, hosted by St Mungo's Mirrorball in Glasgow. If you're in the vicinity, come along. The reading is free, and there will be books to buy. Here are the details from the Mirrorball site:

St Mungo’s Mirrorball - Thursday 5^th March 7.00

Poetry Club, Glasgow School of Art – 167 Renfrew Street Free

The next St Mungo’s Mirrorball event will be a triple book launch involving 3 very different voices on the poetry scene today

Rob A. Mackenzie lives in Edinburgh with his wife and daughter. His pamphlet collection, The Clown of Natural Sorrow, was published by HappenStance Press in December 2005. His poems and reviews appear regularly in literary magazines. He blogs at Surroundings (http://robmack.blogspot.com) and organises the Poetry at the Great Grog reading series (http://poetryatthegreatgrog.blogspot.com) in Edinburgh. His first full collection, The Opposite of Cabbage, is published by Salt on 1^st March 2009.

Andrew Philip was born in Aberdeen in 1975 and grew up near Falkirk. He lived in Berlin for a short spell in the 1990s before studying linguistics at Edinburgh University. He has published two poetry pamphlets with HappenStance Press—Tonguefire (2005) and Andrew Philip: A Sampler (2008)—and was chosen as a Scottish Poetry Library “New Voice” in 2006. The Ambulance Box, published this year by Salt, is his first book of poems.

Robin Cairns is a performance poet. www.robincairns.com Having written plays, music and journalism he turned to verse by chance on millenium night in Manchester Airport. He performs across Scotland on a regular basis, at poetry nights, slams, comedy clubs, ceilidhs (lots of ceilidhs) after-dinner engagements, in schools, in libraries, rock festivals, and arts festivals, what have you got? He has had work published in various collections, including "Skein Of Geese" (the book resulting from the gathering at the Stanza poetry festival of 100 poets) and "Glasgow Tales" published by Endpapers. ”Last Man with Sky” is his first collection.

Upcoming Readings

Just a quick note on readings I'll be doing in the coming weeks and months.

This Friday, I'll be among those making their six-minute appearances at West Lothian Write! at the Regal Theatre in Bathgate, sometime between 7:00 and 9:30pm. It should be a good night, if the standard of the work and performances by the other West Lothian writers who came to the Linlithgow Book Festival open mike is anything to go by.

Rob A Mackenzie and I are reading at St Mungo's Mirrorball on Thursday 5 March. There'll be one other poet on the bill besides us. It might be Brian Whittingham, but that's yet to be confirmed last I heard. I'll give more information when it becomes available.

Rob and I will also be launching our respective collections on Wednesday 11 March at 7pm in the the Scottish Poetry Library. I'm also having a Linlithgow launch at the Black Bitch Tavern at 8pm on Saturday 28 March.

I'll be on the Golden Hour stage again on Wednesday 22 April. I'll let you know more about that when I have the details. Should be a really good night, though, if the October one is anything to go by.