The Poems: Metamorphosis 62

The Poems: Metamorphosis 62 was published by Malfranteaux Concepts, Aberdeen in December 2008 (Cover: photomontage, Sìne NicTheàrlaich)
A Mother Worries was selected by the poetry editor Fred D’Aguiar for the on-line magazine www.londongrip.com. The article Flora Garry was commissioned and published by ZED2O magazine (The Journal of Akros Publications, No 23 Spring 2008, editor Duncan Glen). A Hair of the Elephant’s Tail currently appears on the Radio Scotland/SAC website ‘Days Like This’. Several poems were inspired by Surrealist photomontage images from the website www.macarenses.co.uk.

The Poems: The Red Horseman

The Red Horseman was published in 2008 by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire, after a trip by the poet to Malaga and Gibraltar. The cover is a copy of a detail from Otto Dix's etching & aquatint Stormtroops Advancing under Gas. 'The Survivor' was published in 11 11 11 11 (Malfranteaux Concepts, 2008). 'Summer is i Cumin in' features in 'Life's Serenity', an anthology from Forward Press. Throughout November 2008 Blackhall was working on a schools project at the Gordon Highlander Museum. She has family links with the Regiment, and the two themes of this collection are war and bullfighting. A verse-play based on the Wizard Laird of Skene is also included.

The Poems: Waking in Wolf Light

Waking in Wolf Light published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire (2008) is Sheena Blackhall's 60th poetry pamphlet. Some of the poems were written during a visit to Greece. 'Humming Bird' appears in the Anthology Forward Press Poets 2008: Wales, Northern Ireland & Scotland. 'Advice tae Veesitin Scholars' was written for the 12th International Conference on the Literature of Region & Nation. 'Ooto the Cauldron' & 'Embro's Bard' feature in For Angus Calder: An Anthology of Poems & Prose in Scots, Gaelic & English published by Los Poetry Press, Cambridge. 'Fit's Adee?' appears in the Doric Anthology Fit Like Yer Majesty? compiled by the Reading Bus .

The Poems:The Wind's Nest & Hinkum-Clinkum

The Wind's Nest is published by Lochlands, Maud, 2008, and is a collection of Scots & English poems. The Gas Mask, Damaged Goods, & Curriculum for Excellence all featured in the Anthology 'Cleave: New Writing by Women in Scotland'
(www.tworavenspress.com) 2008. The Rattens was written from a verse of traditional rhyme supplied by Catriona Low of Severin Publishing. The Eirde is Wide was written & performed at Aberdeen University's Word Festival. The Dinosaur was published in the February issue of the Times Educational Supplement.
Hinkum-Clinkum is published by Malfranteaux Concepts Aberdeen (2008) and is a collection of poems in Scots for younger children, illustrated by the poet under the name of Sine NicThearlaich.

The Poems: The Hoose o the Cacklefart Hen & Dead Men's Whispers

The Hoose o the Cacklefart Hen (1) and Dead Men's Whispers (2) are two collections of poems in Scots and English, published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire(2008). Both were launched at the Word Fringe Festival (www.wordfringe.co.uk ) event, Poetry Scotland on the Road. 'The Ridin o the Pairliament'(1) was published in Lallans 71. 'The Hoose o the Cacklefart Hen' (1) was featured in the S.L.S. Collogue (2007). 'Summer is i Cumin in.' (1) was published in There's a Poem in my Soup (Koo Press). 'The Plunderers' (2) appeared in Skein of Geese: An Anthology of Poems from the 100 Poets Gathering, Stanza 2007 (Shed Press). 'Childhood' (2) features in 'Nature's Paradise' (Forward Press 2008). 'Terminal Five' (2) has been published in Poetry Scotland. Many of the poems in Dead Men's Whispers were written during a visit to Pompeii and Rome.

The Novellas:The Gods of Grayfriars Lane

Launched at the Word Festival, the Gods of Grayfriars Lane (Lochlands 2008) is a novella in English with Scots dialogue. It centres on the lives of two cousins between the years 1899-1904, and is loosely based on the lives of Lizzie Philip and her cousin Dr Catherine Emslie Anderson, one of the first women doctors to graduate from Aberdeen University. Some background information on these women can be found on 'Serendipity', at www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/corpus/search or 'Leerie-Lichts & Gorblies, from 'Spirits of the Age: Scottish Self Portraits' (Saltire Society, ed Paul Scott, 2005) on www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/secondary/nonfiction

The Poems:Absences

Absences (Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire 2007) is a collection of poems in Scots and English, mostly written during a 5 day stay in Amsterdam, in October 2007. ‘Existentialist’ appears in Best Scottish Poems On-Line Anthology 2007, edited by Alan Spence. ‘Japanese Pool in the Trossachs ‘ has been selected for a forthcoming issue of Poetry Scotland. ‘The Traffic Jam’ and ‘Green Ladies’ have been selected for a forthcoming Doric Anthology to be published by The Reading Bus. ‘The Pageant o Moray’ was specifically written for a Morayshire project, lines from this poem feature in a DVD produced by staff and pupils of Lossiemouth High School.