Acknowledgements: Title: The Glastonbury Thorn (Pamphlet145)poems & Tales in Scots & English, Published by Malfranteaux Concepts,Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street, Aberdeen, The Cover Image the Glastonbury Thorn (postage stamp)c. Sheena Blackhall October 2019 Price £5.00
At the first Scots Language Awards on the 27th September in Glasgow, Blackhall was presented with The Janet Paisley Lifetime Achievement Award. The Scots panel which awarded this honour included Matthew Fitt, Ali Heather, Sheena Wellington, James Robertson and more. The poem, Gaitherin Lear, was written to read at the Ceremony. The Tale o C-Thru D2, frae the Planet Diabetes has been accepted by Lallans. This tale was written at the request of Garthdee Diabetic Doctor, Dr House.The Imp of the Perverse was written to explore the metaphor for the urge to do exactly the wrong thing in a given situation for the sole reason that it is possible for wrong to be done. The impulse is compared to an imp (a small demon) which leads an otherwise decent person into mischief, and occasionally to their death. The phrase has a long history in literature, and was popularized (and perhaps coined) by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story, "The Imp of the Perverse". The Imp of the Perverse is also exemplified in "Le Mauvais Vitrier" ("The Bad Glazier"), a prose poem by Charles Baudelaire.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 Malfranteux Concepts for agreeing to publish this collectionc. Sheena Blackhall October 2019
