The Poems: Matzevot:A Walk on the Face of Gravestones

The Poems: Matzevot: A Walk on the Face of Gravestones. ISBN 9778 1 870978 19 4. Published by Malfranteaux Concepts, May 2012 Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Some of these poems were inspired by works in the Aberdeen Artists’ 2012 Exhibition. The Animal Refugees is to be published in a forthcoming schools’ anthology published by Madhubun Education Books for classes 1-8 in Uttar Pradesh, India. Another poem submitted to Inspired? Get Writing, (the National Galleries of Scotland) won a certificate of Special Merit. Buddha at the Bodhi Tree, Sri Lanka, is published on the Dong Hung Temple Buddhist Education Centre website, Sri Lanka. The Korean owersetts are published in the magazine Cabhsair/Causeway Volume 3 issue 1. In Praise o Lallans is published in Lallans magazine. Several poems were written during an on- site visit to Cambridge. The stories were written as a result of historical research carried out for the children’s book, Apardion,published by the Aberdeen Reading Bus. The English poems will be published on http://www.poemhunter.com/sheena-blackhall. My Favourite Place in Scotland: Balquhidder Eden, appears on the website hosted by the Scottish Book Trust and BBC Radio Scotland. See http://sheenablackhall.blogspot.com for a comprehensive list of the poet’s work. May 2012 Copyright, Sheena Blackhall

The Poems:Three Cats Flying

The Poems: Three Cats Flying.Three Cats Flying. Pub: Malfranteaux Concepts, Aberdeen 2012 ISBN 978 1 870978 32 3. March 2012. The Cover: ‘In 1941, Jewish-American photographer Philippe Halsman met the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí in New York City and they began to collaborate in the late 1940s. The 1948 work Dali Atomicus explores the idea of suspension, depicting three cats flying, water thrown from a bucket, an easel, a footstool and Salvador Dalí all seemingly suspended in mid-air. The title of the photograph is a reference to Dalí's work Leda Atomica (which can be seen in the right of the photograph behind the two cats.) This is the unretouched version of the photograph that was published in LIFE magazine. In this version the wires suspending the easel and the painting, the hand of the assistant holding the chair and the prop holding up the footstool can still be seen. The frame on the easel is still empty. The copyright for this photo was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office but according to the U.S. Library of Congress was not renewed, putting it in the public domain in the United States and elsewhere...The photograph is Halsman’s homage both to the new atomic age (prompted by physicists’ then-recent announcement that all matter hangs in a constant state of suspension) and to Dalí’s surrealist masterpiece "Leda Atomica" (seen on the right, behind the cats, and unfinished at the time). It took six hours, 28 jumps, and a roomful of assistants throwing angry cats and buckets of water into the air to get the perfect exposure.’ (Extracts from Wikipedia).Some of these poems were inspired by the exhibition From Van Gogh to Vettriano, Hidden Gems from Private Collections (2012), Aberdeen Art Gallery. The stories emerged from historical research funded by the Aberdeen Reading Bus, into some of the city’s heritage sites. The English poems are published online at http://www.poemhunter.com/sheena-blackhall. I am indebted to Sir Duncan Rice for bringing to my intention The Death of Kjartan and Audun’s Bear, which are here rendered in Scots. The cover is a copy of Dali Atomicus by the Jewish-American photographer Philippe Halsman.

The Honey That Came From The Sea

The Honey That Came From The Sea

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The Chimaera Institute

The Chimaera Institute

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The Poems:Thorgunna's Curse

Thorgunna’s Curse(ISBN : 978 1 870978 26 2), Poems & Tales in Scots & English was
published by Malfranteaux Concepts, Aberdeen in Jan. 2012 & printed by Thistle Reprographics, (thistle_repro@btconnect.com).Cost: £3.00,copyright: S. Blackhall.The cover is a copy of La mort: mon ironie dépasse toutes les autres! (1889), from a collection of Odilon Redon lithographs at Gallica. Some of these poems have already been published in the Aberdeen Evening Express, in Northword Now Autumn/Winter 2011 and in Remembrance: Poems for Armistice Sunday 2011 (Malfranteaux Concepts) . Others appear in A Celebration of Marischal College, Lys Wyness (Aberdeen Town & County History Society 2012)and on http://www.poemhunter.com/sheena-blackhall. Various stories were written as a result of historical research carried out by the poet for the children’s history book Apardion, published by the Reading Bus Press (2011). Buddha- Frost appears in Tales from Satan’s Grotto (Malfranteaux Concepts)other work appears in Poetic Justice: A Collection of Poems on the Theme of Human Rights, published by Amnesty International Aberdeen Group. Causeway / Cabhsair Issue 4 features the poem Hemingway and the short story The Dream of a Fisherman’s Wife.

The Bairn Books: Apardion

The Bairn-Books:Apardion, a Leopard’s Quest 2011 (pub.The Reading Bus ISBN 987-0-9564837-8-2 is written by Sheena Blackhall with Illustrations by Julie Lacome and edited by Bill Burnett. It is the 5th commercial book produced by The Reading Bus, launched on 27.10.11 at Marischal College Aberdeen. The book tells the tale of a spirit from the Northern Lights who visits Aberdeen to discover if this might be his birth place. Apardion visits 14 heritage landmarks on his travels and at each discovers secrets from the past. With a foreword by HRH Duchess of Rothesay, the book will be a springboard to engage schools across Aberdeen to research the heritage of their Granite City. The 12 Associated School Groups in Aberdeen are being encouraged to adopt one of the heritage landmarks in the book, sponsored by different businesses and will research its rich history and culture. Their findings will be translated in a variety of mediums including film, podcasts and literature. These resources will be shared through a dedicated web site and an App, which will allow both visitors and citizens of Aberdeen to enjoy an interactive virtual or actual tour of the heritage landmarks. The finished website and App will be published in June 2012.

The Poems: Hen Utopia

The Poems: Hen Utopia (ISBN 978 1 870978 10 1 ) is a volume of poems written by Sheena Blackhall, published by Malfranteaux Concepts, Aberdeen, in October 2011, and printed by Thistle Reprographics. The Wickerman Moment appeared in 9/11-TEN (Malfranteaux Concepts, Aberdeen) & was performed at New Words 2011. The Haddo Mothers was written prior to appearing at the Doric Festival’s Chapel Service at Haddo (2011). The Gossiping Sacra Scriptura was written over the Poetry Scotland Weekend at King’s Bookshop, Callander. The Sacrist appears in storyform (spoken) on www.readingbus.co.uk under the Apardion section. Incomin won first prize for best Scots poem in the Wigtown Poetry Festival, 2011. Estranged, Not Home Now & On Death Row were written around the event Turning Point: Any Questions Panel chaired by Sir Kenneth Calman during the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival, Glasgow, October15th. The Singin Sycamore was published in the P&J by Robbie Shepherd. Others have already been published on http://www.poemhunter.com/sheena-blackhall.

The Poems: Bluid-Kin

Bluid-Kin: Poems in Scots and English by Sheena Blackhall. Published by Malfranteaux Concepts, Aberdeen. Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen
Cover: Sìne NicTheàrlaich.(2011) ISBN 978 1 870978 19 4. Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University claims that everyone in Europe is descended from seven women, who arrived at different times during the last 45,000 years, to form clans that eventually became today's population. He concluded this by studying mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down from mothers to children.Haplogroup K appeared 16,000 years ago, as populations followed the retreating ice northward. Tests show that Oetzi, the 5,200-year-old remains of a Copper Age man frozen in an Alpine glacier, belongs to haplogroup K, the DNA grouping shared with the poet Sheena Blackhall. It is found in Britain, the Western European Alps, and 32% of Ashkenazi Jews. In Europe its frequency is 5.6%. By 1931, Ashkenazi Jews comprised nearly 92% of world Jewry. The eminent Jewish-Scottish scholar David Daiches stated that Scotland was the only European country which has no history of state persecution of Jews. Aberdeen and Dundee had links to Baltic port which had large Jewish populations; it’s probable that Jews came to Scotland to trade with their Scottish counterparts. Some of these poems have appeared in Enormities (Malfranteaux Concepts, Aberdeen, ISBN 978 1 870978 70 5). Others have already been published on http://www.poemhunter.com/sheena-blackhall. Two will feature in a forthcoming issue of Poetry Scotland (Callander). Half of this collection was written at Balquidder, Callander, the remainder at Oban and Mull.