Secrets: Poems in Scots & English. Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire. Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen.The cover image is ‘Alone’, by the artist Rosy Long. Cost: £3.00. July 2018 opyright: S. Blackhall July 2018 Two of the owersetts were published in the Aberdeen University magazine Causeway/Cabhsair in May 2018. Two of the Scots poems are to be published in Lallans Magazine. Rosy Long’s cover picture is entitled ‘Alone’. Both poet and artist were school friends. Both were members of the Forecourt Art group and the Aberdeen artist society. Both worked for many years teaching special needs pupils. Rosy is a visually impaired artist who lives in the village of Muchalls. She also has the rare trait of synaesthesia, in her case a strong association between various symbols such as letters of the alphabet on the one hand and clear, well-defined colours on the other. Her work is inspired by cats and by the picturesque rural surroundings in which she lives. She runs the Muchalls drawing group.For more information on publications by Sheena Blackhall, visit http://sheenablackhall.blogspot.com or the on-line catalogue of the Nat. Library of Scotland www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/index/html. All of Blackhall’s poems in Scots and English, are now uploaded on www.poemhunter.com. Her website can be found on http://smiddleton4.wix.com/sheena-blackhall. An interview in podcast form with the poet appears on: http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/connect/podcast/sheena-blackhall. Thanks are also due to the ongoing support and encouragement of Les Wheeler, in agreeing to publish this collection, and to Rosy Long for agreeing to allow the use of her image ‘Alone’ as the cover of Secrets. Of that picture she said: "This is where I ultimately find myself. It is not frightening but rather beautiful".
