The Poems: An Infestation of Clocks

Title: An Infestation of Clocks: Pamphlet no 163 Cover:It isTime Photoshop Manipulation by njakkk (on pin interest) Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall January 2021

The Poems: The Pantheist

Acknowledgements:Title: The Pantheist (Pamphlet 162), Cover: Yoga Tree (in public domain),Published by Malfranteaux Concepts,Printed by Repro Overflow, Aberdeen December 2020 Two of the poems were written to perform at a Xmas event to be filmed at Saint Machar’s Cathedral. John Bett and Fiona Kennedy are producing VSA’s ‘A Guid Noel’ at St Machar’s Cathedral on Tuesday 15th December. All lockdown rules will be observed. The programme will be celebrating 150 years of VSA.

The Poems: Mind Spaghetti for a Rainy Day

Title: Mind Spaghetti for a Rainy Day (Pamphlet 161)Cover Design : clip art,Published by Malfranteaux Concepts,Printed by Repro Overflow, Aberdeen Acknowledgements:I was lucky in childhood in having a grandmother and father who loved me unconditionally. Indeed, it was more than love, I was cherished. My brother, on the other hand, was cherished by our mother. Oddly, both my brother Ian & myself were overly ambitious, well beyond our talents. He aimed to become a famous concert pianist. My ambition was to go to Paris, become a famous artist, maybe even found a painting dynasty. Both of our ambitions crashed and burned. He ended up as a chartered accountant, I diverted into writing. The careers we cherished, perished. Our ‘second starts’ did not hold us in the same tenacious grip, although neither of us forgot our father’s statement: ‘Naebody’s interested in fa comes second. It’s winnin that matters.’ Sheena Blackhall November 2020 (It is important) ‘not to love too much, for he knew the injury that a father can do to a daughter or a mother to a son by attaching them too closely: afterward, out in the world, the child would seek in the marriage partner the same blind tenderness and, failing probably to find it, turn against love and life.’ From Babylon Revisited  

The Owersetts: Twenty Sonnets for Mama

Some months ago I was contacted by Shao Lei from China's Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press(FLTRP) who is in charge of the overseas copyright of the Chinese poet Jidi Majia's works, through the good services of Gerry Loose. I was asked to translate into Scots the poem :Twenty Sonnets for Mama, which was published in 2020. Jidi Majia (simplified Chinese: 吉狄马加, traditional Chinese: 吉狄馬加, pinyin: Jídí mǎjiā) is Chinese poet and was a lieutenant governor of Qinghai from 2006 to 2010. He has won national literature awards, is also considered one of the greatest poets of minorities in China. He is the President of the China Minority Literary Association and Permanent Vice-President of the China Poets' Association.

The Little Book of Issues

Title: The Little Book of Issues (Pamphlet 160)Cover: Pixabay Photo, online, copyright free Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Repro Overflow, Aberdeen 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 due to Malfranteaux Concept for publishing this volume. October 2020: copyright Sheena Blackhall Limited Edition of 50

Poems: The Mannequin

Title: The Mannequin (Pamphlet 159).Cover: Copyright free from Pixabay. Published by Malfranteaux Concepts.Printed by Repro Overflow, Aberdeen Limited Print 50 copies Acknowledgements:Seasonal Shifts was inspired by participation in A Half-Nijuin Renga in for National Poetry Day October 1st 2020, run by Gerry Loose & Ken Cockburn on Zoom: the actual group Renga ‘No Quasimodo clang; can be found on the Lapidus website, https://www.lapidusscotland.co.uk/no-quasimodi-clang/. Making a Stand was inspired by a Zoom meet with the Scottish Poetry Library, discussing poems about racism. Prior to that I was commissioned by Aberdeen City Libraries to pull together responses by the general public on Aberdeen’s Future, which prompted my own poem, Aberdeen: The Future. Twa Traditional Malay Pantuns was published in Pantouns. Bretagnes-Celties, Pantun Sayang: Les Amis Francophones du Pantoun (AFP), with thanks to Georges Voisset. In September I was contacted by Lisa Jablow, from The Voice for Asian Elephants Society. This was founded by Sangita Iyer, who created the documentary Gods In Shackles, about the temple elephants of Kerala. The VFAES two-day event in November is to include a concert, wherein my poem The Walk of the Temple Tooth Elephant, will be set to music and sung.Some poems were inspired by the BP Portrait Award 2020 exhibition, Aberdeen.October 2020: copyright Sheena Blackhall

The Owersetts: The Itchy Coo Book o Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales in Scots

The Itchy Coo Book of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales in Scots By (author) Martin Waddell; Edited by James Robertson; Edited by Matthew Fitt; Introduction by Julia Donaldson; Illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. ISBN 978-1-78530-313-5 2020 This classic collection brings together nine favourite stories, The Little Mermaid, translated by Sheena Blackall is the final story.

The Poems: The Thunderbolt Carline

Title: The Thunderbolt Carline (Pamphlet 158), Cover Design : k-mitch-hodge-w8 free download from upsplash,published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Repro Overflow, Aberdeen. Sawney Bean has been recorded for an upcoming event on Waywords, hosted by Aberdeen University. In the Gairden is to be published by Lallans. The Maid o Ocram is a Doric owersett of a poem by John Clare. I heard the Scots version, Lord Gregory, sung with great feeling by the late Stanley Robertson. 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 due to Malfranteaux Concept for publishing this volume, and to the creator of the cover image.Sheena Blackhall September 2020 Dedicated to Skye Anderson, aged 3. This is a limited print run of 50 books

The Poems: The TVs 10th Birthday

Acknowledgements I wrote The Cam-ruadh and Fear na Bruach: Man of the Braes, after filming stories in Ballater with Jackie Ross and Grace Banks for the 2020 International Storytelling Festival. Two Chekhov owersetts were performed via Zoom in the Edinburgh Literary Festival Chekhov event, Doctor Chekhov’s Prescription, 23rd August 2020. 2020 marks 160 years since master playwright and short-story writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born in Southern Russia. This was hosted by Starling and the Scotland Russia Forum in cooperation with Tom Hubbard and friends . Twa Laments were published in the anthology The Hale Clamjamfry, Poems from the North East of Scotland, pub by Tangletree Pres, Aboyne, with the aid of the Doric Board. Veesions frae a Heilan Burn, 1986: was a Scottish Poetry Library commission chosen by Thomas Clark as part of the Scottish Poetry Library’s ‘Champions’ project, a guest curatorship programme to help extend their national reach. Thomas Clark says, ‘Oor theme is ‘Vision’, an if language is a wey o seein the warld, there’s naebody maks thon ony plainer than Sheena Blackhall. Is a ‘futterat’ actually jist a common ferret? Dae ‘sparkling’ an ‘skinklin’ really mean the exact same thing? The act o seein, an describin whit is seen, is a transformative yin, kythin the mither tongue o the minority as somethin mair than either medium or message. Blackhall’s rich northern Scots middens awthegither the intermediary o English, an cairries its imagery vieve frae the ee straicht through tae the hert.’ The film of the poem (Glen Gairn) was filmed an edited by Andrew Davidson from Scots Radio supported by the Doric Board. It went live on the SPL site on August 12th 2020 : https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/veesions-frae-a-heilan-burn-1986/ 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 due to Malfranteaux Concept for publishing this volume, and Frieda Morrison for her ongoing support. August 26th 2020: copyright Sheena Blackhall

The Poems: The Love Jam of Nostradamus

Acknowledgements:Pamphlet no. 156 Title: The Love Jam of Nostradamus, Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Aberdeen, Printed by: Repro Overflow 5 Novar Place Aberdeen.Cover: A black & white version of a woodcut by Johannes Zainer 1473. The Murderet Bairn is based on information from https://holeousia.com/about-me/deeside-tales-the-stories-of-a-small-glen/ I recorded The Auld Woman fa steeked the door on Daith, on the following website: Forest Heritage Scotland : Discover your roots in Scotland’s forests www.forestheritagescotland.com. The Auld Wumman fa steeked the yett on Daith, is a story told to me by Stanley Robertson. This is a version I wrote from the transcript of the audio file I recorded. The story Bojo was written in response to the Journalists’ Charity/Dickens Fellowship competition which aimed to find a new Dickens character for the 21st century. There were almost 300 entries in the competition to mark the 150th anniversary of the great writer’s death. The competition was used to raise awareness (and funds) for the Journalists’ Charity which, having begun his career as a freelance Parliamentary reporter, Dickens helped found over 155 years ago. ‘Bojo’ was one of the short listed entries. The Journalists’ Charity trustee, Charles Garside, recorded it on You Tube Volume 1 track 12. https://journalistscharity.org.uk/dickens/ The Ballads of Torry and Banchory were inspired by The Storytelling Centre Edinburgh’s project Scottish Story Ripple. Deeside poems were written on a day up GlenGairn filmed by Grace Banks for our THAIA initiative. The Lonely Monkey Puzzle Tree was published by Sally Evans on her poetry website, inspired by her comments on Facebook. This a Limited Edition of 50 books. 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.This book is dedicated to Sally Evans, poet & friend 2020 © Copyright Sheena Blackhall August 2020

The Poems: The Plumber's Widow

Acknowledgements Title: The Plumber’s Widow: 2020 Pamphlet 155 Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Aberdeen Printed by: Repro Overflow 5 Novar Place AberdeenCover: Detail from a sketch by Henri Toulouse Lautrec Acknowledgements This a Limited Edition of 50 books. 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 I wrote Tales frae a Clachan to ingather in ballad form Ballater stories, inspired as a spin off from an upcoming performance of 'The Hills an in Atween' for SISF. See Grace’s description here:‘The Hills an in Atween – a tapestry o life wi Grace Banks and Sheena Blackhall Grace Banks has worked wi schools as a storyteller and outdoor practitioner for years. Increasingly the question has arisen: how can we support our next generations to care and love the land if they’ve no connection with nature? Grace devised a simple project where for 8 weeks a class would be fully immersed in their local river (not physically!) – looking at the life that’s dwelt on, in and around it from the distant past, to now and what of our future? In Autumn19 the Storytelling Centre provided a seeding grant from The Andy Hunter Bursary, which enabled Grace and Sheena to introduce the project to 4 classes in 4 schools through story and song. Each class was visited by a number of specialists and artists who supported them to discover and explore their local river. The teachers were given supplementary materials to compliment the youngsters’ experiences so the whole class deepened their understanding of the importance of waterways both generally and locally. Their discussions, artwork, creative and factual writing and music express much of what they have gained.The project also enabled the young people to be introduced to their local green or historical community groups, which was wonderful. The children’s creations weave into this audiovisual-scape, which portrays the significance of our waters and the life they support.’ G.B.’Thanks are due Malfranteaux Concepts for publishing for this pamphlet. Sheena Blackhall © July 2020

The Poems: The Rabbit Man

Title: The Rabbit Man: 2020 Pamphlet 154, Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Aberdeen, Printed by: Repro Overflow 5 Novar Place Aberdeen Cover: Poster by Anonymous, no Text, Magician on Moon,This a Limited Edition of 50 books.The poem Lockdown XX was inspired by the digital exhibition of the Aberdeen Artists’ Society, 2020. Thanks are due to Frieda Morrison for bringing The Narcissistic Fish by Scottish Opera to my attention. Thanks are also due Malfranteaux Concepts for publishing for this pamphlet.

The Poems: Into the Blue

Title: Into the Blue: 2020 Pamphlet 153. Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Aberdeen. Printed by: Repro Overflow 5 Novar Place Aberdeen. Cover: ‘Into the Blue’ by the artist Rosy Long. This a Limited Edition of 50 books. 2020 © Copyright Sheena Blackhall June 2020 Of the 10 children of George Philip & his wife Helen Craib of Coull, Tarland, (my great grandparents), half immigrated to the New World. Their first child George, homesteaded in Tilston Manitoba in Canada in 1898, and one of their grandsons later moved to Medicine Hat. Three of my great grandparent’s children immigrated to Illinois, two to Canada. Their 7th child, Patricia, married Arthur Simpson of New Deer, and they immigrated to America, passing through Ellis Island, as did their 8th child William, who married Arthur Simpson’s sister. Ellis Island is a historical site that opened in 1892 as an immigration station, a purpose it served for more than 60 years until it closed in 1954. Located at the mouth of Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, Ellis Island saw millions of newly arrived immigrants pass through its doors. The first nations in the area of Canada where the Philips’ children settled were the Blackfoot and the Cree. The first nations where the Philips’ children settled in Illinois were, amongst others the Dakota Sioux. One descendent of the Craibs is settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On my father’s side, my brother Ian Middleton settled in Rua Engenheiro Monlevade, São Paulo, swopping his mother tongue for Portuguese. The indigenous Guarani people live on the lands surrounding the Pico do Jaraguá Mountain in São Paulo. Three families have lived on this 72-hectare plot of land since July 2014 when FUNAI (Brazilian federal agency of Indian affairs) recognised it as traditional Guarani territory. My half-brother Charles Middleton Ritchie settled in Oshawa Ontario. Canada seems to have been a popular choice for Deeside men to emigrate to. Amongst the First Nation people there, are the Mohawk, the Cree, the Chippewa and the Delaware Indians. Most of the diaspora from both my parents’ families, (Craibs & Middletons) went not to emigrate, but to work in Ceylon and Kuala Lumpur, tending to retire, for the most part, back to Aberdeenshire. But that is another story

Title: The Arrival of Thoughts: May 2020 Pamphlet 152 Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Aberdeen Printed by: Repro Overflow 5 Novar Place Aberdeen Cover: Is ‘Time Transfixed’ by the Belgian Surrealist René Magritte, 1898–1967. Magritte was unhappy with the English translation of the original French, La durée poignardé, which literally means “ongoing time stabbed by a dagger.” The Art Institute of Chicago is pleased to offer free, unrestricted use of over 50,000 images of works in the collection believed to be in the public domain or to which the museum otherwise waives any copyright it might have. This a Limited Edition of 50 books. Some of the poems were inspired by two of Catherine Arnold’s books, Necropolis, London & its Dead, and Bedlam, London and its Mad. The Bird Man was written to celebrate the wide range of creative work undertaken down the years by Larry Butler. Craobh was inspired by a project led by Mandy Haggith. The Beauty of Painted Stairs was written on receiving an e mail from Don Robert House, with photographs of some amazing street art. This book is dedicated to Don Robert House Illinois, and his family, my kinsfolk 2020 © Copyright Sheena Blackhall May 2020

The Poems: The Prophet Hen of Leeds

Title: The Prophet Hen of Leeds Published by Malfranteaux Concepts, Aberdeen Printed by: Repro Overflow, Aberdeen Cover: Mediaeval Engraving from godecookery.com, A Feast for the Eyes 32. Stuffing a Hen: illustration from Mediaeval Life. The poem ‘Immigrant’is published by Silvia Errejon from Pearson Educacion in Spain. Pearson Educacion is a publishing company specialized in publishing textbooks for English teaching language in schools. This publishing plan includes a new Secondary method for English Language Teaching for students aged between 12 and 16 . Title: 9788420569246 / 9788420569260 Real World Advanced Students' Format: print and digital Territory: Spain. Craigcoilleach, Ballater is to be published by Lallans. The Wee Sea Quine :Owersett from The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Anderson, was commissioned by Itchy Coo for a forthcoming anthology. Thanks are due to Malfranteaux Concepts for agreeing to publish this pamphlet and for Repro Overflow for printing it. 2020 © Sheena Blackhall May 2020

Not my Circus, Not my Monkey Poems & Tales in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall & Tom Hubbard Published by Malfranteaux Concepts 2020 © Copyright Sheena Blackhall and Tom Hubbard 2020 The cover image is of an Aztec monkey god (1) Sheena Blackhall Ozomatli the Aztec monkey was considered the companion spirit ('nahual') and servant of the god Xochipilli (god of music and dance). The monkey was a creature associated with the arts, games and fun. The song 'Elphinstane' was written to commemorate the Institute's 25th anniversary. Others celebrate the recently opened Music Hall & Art Gallery in Aberdeen. Gairden Veesitors was inspired by a calendar created by the wildlife photographer Catriona Low of Kintore. Dreams was written in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens inspired by a tea tree, during a workshop overseen by Larry Butler. Blythe was one of the first poems written as Makar for the Doric Board. Blythe Yule in Aiberdeen was published in the Evening Express. Thanks are due to Philip & Vicki Watt for their ongoing help and support. Acknowledgements (2) Tom Hubbard Not all the pieces in my section are 'new' in a strict sense, but they appear here together, along with more recent items, for the first time. Thanks to the Ledig- Rowohlt Foundation for my 2012 residency at the Château Lavigny, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, where a number of these pieces were composed. I'd also like to thank the Elphinstone Institute of Aberdeen University.where, as a Visiting Scholar in 2012, I gave the lecture on William Alexander; I'm also indebted to my friends at Glasgow University's Slavonic section (School of Modern Languages and Cultures) for inviting me to present the paper on Pushkin in Scotland at a weekend conference in December 2019. I was fair joco when Sheena invited me to share this pamphlet, the third of our collaborations .since 2012! My daughter Claire Hubbard has helped with the pagination. Thanks, too, to the editors of the following publications where some of these pieces appeared for the first time: Bella Caledonia; A Festschrift for Duncan Glen at Seventy-Five; Fras; The Glad Rag; Lallans; The One O' Clock Gun; Scotia Nova; Scottish Poetry in Translation. For details of my recent books of poetry and fiction, please visit the website of Grace Notes Publications. Details of these and my other works are also available on the online catalogues of the National Library of Scotland, Glasgow University Library, and the Scottish Poetry Library.

Title: Henry VIIIth’s Perks.Pamphlet no 150 Poems in Scots & English Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Service Graphics Aberdeen The Cover Image is the King of Spades c. Sheena Blackhall March 2020 Many of these poems were written whilst a patient in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Slains was written for filming at Slains Castle during a visit with Freak Films and Dr Fiona-Jane Brown. The Thunder Hole was written after a photographic session at Maryculter House for a tourism project 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 collection.Sheena Blackhall March 2020 Dedicated to Kenna Anderson ‘Just take this step’, said the horse. ‘The horizon will look after itself.’…‘ The Truth is I need pictures. They are like islands , places to get to in a sea of words.’ From: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox & the Horse’, by Charlie Mackesy, Ebury Press, 2019

The Poems: The Gas Mask in the Glory Hole

Acknowledgements: The Gas Mask in the Glory Hole Pamphlet 148 Poems in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall Published by Malfranteaux Concepts 2020 Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street, Aberdeen.The Reiver Rattie was written as a Doric version of The Reiver Rat, the Scots translation by James Robertson of The Highway Rat, by Julia Donaldson. Drumneachie Ferm was chosen as one of the poems to appear on the Best Scottish Poems online, 2019. Thanks are also due to Malfranteux Concepts for agreeing to publish this collection.Sheena Blackhall February 2020

The Poems: The Undertaker Bees

Acknowledgements: The Undertaker Bees Poems in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall Published by Malfranteaux Concepts 2020 Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street, Aberdeen. Wid Mannie was written to re-enact at Aberdeen’s Belmont Cinema, prior to a screening of The Reiver Rat, the Scots translaton by James Robertson of The Highway Rat, by Julia Donaldson. Deeside Games was written to deliver to the annual dinner of the Ballater Games Committee.Thanks are also due to Malfranteux Concepts for agreeing to publish this collection.Sheena Blackhall January 2020.Dedicated to my children,Ross, Morag & Kenna & grandchildren Jessica, Winnie, Natalie & Skye.