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.

The Poems: The Dragon's Vertebrae

The Dragon's Vertebrae (Malfranteaux Concepts, 2007) is a collection of poems and tales in Scots and English, some of which have appeared in various magazines and journals.

'The Thorn Buss' was shortlisted for the McCash Poetry Prize in 2007. 'Reflections of a Minotaur' features in the Forward Press anthology Scottish, Irish and Welsh Verses (2007). 'Latte: Books n' Beans' has been published in There's a Poem in My Soup (Koo Press).

The short story 'Beelzebub' was published in Lallans 2007 and won the William Gilchrist Graham Award for best story in Scots.
'Jingle Bells' appeared in Immersed in Imagination (New Fiction, 2007).

The Poems: The Pierrot's Narrative

The Pierrot's Narrative (Malfranteaux Concepts, 2007) includes some poems written and performed during Aberdeen University Word Festival, 2007. Many were inspired by work exhibited at the Aberdeen Artists' 73rd Exhibition. Sheena Blackhall is an ordinary member of the Aberdeen Artists' Society under her maiden name of Middleton. She illustrates books as Sìne NicTheàrlaich.

Other poems in this collection were written during a week's retreat at the Buddhist Centre of Dhanakosa, in Balquhidder.

The Novellas: The Quarry

Launched at the Word Festival,
The Quarry (Lochlands, 2007) is a novella in Scots. In four parts, it centres on a granite quarry in the town of Meikleburgh spanning the years 2010 to 3000. A short story 'The Yalla Idol' also features in the book.

Sheena dedicated the novella to the late Sir Cyril Lucas, the Director of Fisheries Research for Scotland based at the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen. She writes, "For over forty years he was my parents' next door neighbour. After the bells rang in each Hogmanay, he would first foot us. As a sleepy child struggling to stay awake to greet the New Year, I remember a conversation he once had with my father on the subject of the Future... Dr Lucas argued convincingly that cities would eventually be built under the sea to conserve land."

The Poems: On Brigid's Day

On Brigid's Day (Malfranteaux, 2007) contains a number of poems written while Sheena was a Creative Writing Tutor at the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen in Spring 2007.

'The Herdboy' is included in Poppy Fields 2007 (Poetry Now), while others have been published in Pushing Out the Boat. 'The Deliverance Sang' was performed at the Deliberately Thirsty Fringe Event at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival.

'An Auld Sang/A New Sang' was written specifically to work with children during workshops for primary schools at Aberdeen's Central Library to mark the 300th anniversary of the Union of the Parliaments of Scotland and England in 1707. The workshops were part of the A Union for a' that Schools Education Project.

Also included is 'A Mearns Laddie's Spikk: in memoriam James Leslie Mitchell', a cornkister set to the tune of Drumdelgie, which commemorates the life and achievement of the writer, more familiar to many as Lewis Grassic Gibbon. It was performed at the Grassic Gibbon Centre on 31 March 2007 for his daughter, Rhea Martin, at the Friends of the Centre’s Annual Supper.

Bairn Poems: Dragon Rikk

Dragon Rikk: Poems & Tales in Scots for Halflins & Littlins was published by Malfranteaux Concepts, 2006.
Some of the poems and stories have been published in Freens: a Scots anthology published by Lochlands, and Dinna Tine the Doric, produced by Aberdeenshire Council and the Buchan Heritage Society. 'Tam' was published in Pure Ghosters, produced by Black & White Publishing in association with Dub Busters. 'Wee Aipples an Wee Orangies' was told to the author by Stanley Robertson. It comes from the Traveller tradition.

The Poems: The Likeable Ordeal

OUT NOW.... Sheena's 50th collection of poetry, The Likeable Ordeal, published by Severin Books.

The collection includes a number of poems written in October 2006 during Sheena's time at the Ted Hughes Centre, Lumb Bank, Yorkshire.

Some of the poems and songs included in The Likeable Ordeal were performed at the Brechin Arts Festival 2005, the Aberdeen Arts Carnivals 2005 and 2006, Deliberately Thirsty at the Edinburgh Fringe 2006, Aberdeen Word Festival 2006, and the William Wallace 2005 Commemorations. Others have been published in 100 Favourite Scottish Poems (Luath and the SPL, 2006), Scotland's Poets (Poetry Now, 2006), Great Britain (Anchor Books, 2005) and in the Friends of Elphinstone Institute newsletter.

Copies of The Likeable Ordeal are available from Severin Books - get yours before they sell out!

The Poems: The Heavenly Cow of Thebes

HOT OFF THE PRESS!
A new collection of poems, newly published by Lochlands as a Limited Edition booklet.

The Heavenly Cow of Thebes was written mainly in Egypt, as Israel entered Lebanon during a volatile period in Middle East relations. Some of the poems were subsequently performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and during the Aberdeen Arts Carnival. 'The Time Traveller’s Convention' was published in The Thing that Mattered Most (Black & White Publishing and the Scottish Poetry Library).

The Poems: 2006 Limited Editions

The Owl Hour (Malfranteaux Concepts, 2006) contains ‘This Braif Toun’, a cantata commissioned by Aberdeen Orpheus Choir in 2005 (lyrics bySheena Blackhall, music by James Reith). It also features ‘Sculpture in Granite’, a film commentary commissioned by Aberdeen City Council’s Maritime Museum to accompany a film on the granite industry from their archives. Coincidentally, Blackhall’s third novella ‘The Quarry’ is located around the Rubislaw Quarry area. The poem 'The Dauncin Piper' was composed as a tribute to the late David M. Low, and was first performed at a memorial concert in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care at Aberdeen University's Elphinstone Hall in April 2006.

The cover of Past Masters (Lochlands, 2006) shows the poet’s paternal grandfather, Alexander Middleton, in his Masonic insignia. He was a Past Master of Lodge No 281, Charleston of Aboyne, Aberdeenshire West. The poems draw on Masonic symbolism. The motif of Jacob’s Ladder is a recurrent one in Sheena’s poetry.

Sea Quine (Malfranteaux Concepts, 2006) includes fourteen poems inspired by paintings in the 72nd Exhibition of the Aberdeen Artists’ Society, of which Sheena is an ordinary member. Others were broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland's Reel Blend, or published in Sex & the City (Koo Press).

Bairn Poems: The Tiger o Trincomalee

The Tiger o Trincomalee is a Very Limited Edition collection of poems in Scots for bairns, published by Malfranteaux Concepts in 2006.
In his review in Lallans, David C. Purdie said: 'this is a wee traisure trove that'll kittle up the childer nae fash. Forbye the poems the buiks illustratit wi umpteen braw wee drawins duin bi ane Sine NicThearlaich wha turns oot tae be nane ither nor Sheena Blackhall hersel... sae lang as we hae skellie makars like Sheena Blackhall screivin for bairns an growne-up bodies forbye, there's hope yet for the Scots leid'.

The Poems: 2005 Limited Editions

Ferlies, published by Lochlands in 2005, is another collection of poems by Sheena, sold in aid of Mental Health Aberdeen.

Lochlands also published a further booklet in the Very Limited Edition series, Sergeant Buchan's Jacket. This collection included poems inspired by work from the Aberdeen Artists' Society 71st Annual Exhibition in 2005, and a poem, 'The Gweedman's Craft', which Sheena wrote after studying Arthur Watson's 'Goodman's Land', exhibited by Grampian Hospitals Arts Trust as part of the University of Aberdeen's Word Festival.

Sergeant Buchan's Jacket also includes 'Holyrood', a poem written after Sheena, myself and my better half went doon on the train to Embra to visit the Scottish Parliament. The afternoon we visited the Chamber, Thursday 19 May, did indeed include discussion of "...breastfeeding, / noxious emissions, beavers, health, horse passports".

The Poems: 2005 Limited Editions

The Win an the Rain, a collection of poems and tales, was published in 2005, with all proceeds donated to the Tsunami Relief Effort.

Death of a Pope was published by the University of Aberdeen to celebrate Word05. The collection contains poems written during Sheena's visit to Italy, her original intention for her trip being to fulfil a lifetime's ambition to study the art of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, and explore the remains of ancient Rome. However, as the title indicates, events changed the mood and emphasis of the writing, as she became caught up in some of the most moving and extraordinary scenes of recent times.

The Poems: 2004 Limited Editions

Hairst o Thorns and Serendipity are the final pair of 2004 very limited edition collections, and were published by Lochlands.

As with some earlier collections, all proceeds from Hairst o Thorns went to support Mental Health Aberdeen. 'Luggin in at Khan’s' was commissioned by Radio Scotland. Other poems were published in three Anchor Books anthologies, the Triumph House anthology ‘Within my Hand’ and in Forward Press’s ‘Poetry Now, Scotland Ireland and Wales 2004,’ or in Storm magazine. Haunfast was published in Handfast, an anthology of poems published by the Scottish Poetry Library in association with Polygon. Hairst o Thorns also includes the short story 'Souvenir'.

Serendipity once again features poems written during Sheena’s travels to the East – this time from her visit to Sri Lanka.

The Poems: Gallery Prints

This collection, a collaboration between Les Wheeler and Sheena, was published by Lochlands in 2004. It contains poems and verse suggested by works in Aberdeen Art Gallery, and was written while the authors were conducting writing workshops there.
David Atherton, the Creative Links Officer for Aberdeenshire Council, worked closely with Les and Sheena in his former role as Education Officer at the Gallery. In his foreword to Gallery Prints he comments: 'Les and Sheena have spent many hours over the last few years composing their own responses to the displayed artefacts. These responses, works in their own right, have now been collated and form a remarkable anthology of literature that reflects admirably the original intentions of the artists whilst at the same time imbuing them with their own flavour of wit, insight and sophistication.'

The Poems: 2004 Limited Editions

Two more collections from 2004's Very Limited Edition series.

The cover for The Toad on the Rock's Opinion, by Sìne NicTheàrlaich, is based on a detail from The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, a precursor of the Surrealists (a favourite group of Sheena's). Poems in this collection also appeared in Worlds in Wonder, Lapidus, and Poetry Scotland.

Poems from Preparing to Meet the Minotaur, in keeping with the changing platform for poetry, appeared in magazines (Lallans and Leopard), as part of an Art Exhibition (GHAT), on Radio Scotland with Robbie Shepherd, and online via The Elphinstone Kist and Red Lotus Arts.

The Poems: Pandora's Box

Pandora’s Box was another of the Very Limited Editions published in 2004. A collection of poems in Scots and English, the booklet contains a selection of work which featured in a Grampian Hospitals Arts Trust exhibition alongside the pictures which inspired them. Poems performed at the Edinburgh Festival Book Fringe in 2004 are also included.

The foreword contains one of my favourite Sheena anecdotes, which I first heard lang syne when I asked her what inspired a particular poem:
"Ten years ago I attended a workshop run by the Scottish psychosynthesists on integrating the psyche. We were to imagine the psyche as a house. We were to imagine the front door. We were to imagine the door opening. A very important element of the psyche was to emerge in symbolic form. Others saw Indian chiefs and Egyptian priests. From my front door there stepped a large hairy Friesian, mooing amiably… "

The Short Stories: Pie in the Sky

Pie in the Sky is another Very Limited Edition from 2004, and features fourteen short stories in Scots and English.

Sheena's foreword to the booklet discusses the challenges of writing in Scots, and the often frustrating quest to find a publisher outside the sphere of local presses. It contains some valuable advice for any new writer.

Sheena produced an astonishing wealth of material during her years at the Elphinstone Institute, and decided to publish the work herself rather than see it wait patiently unpublished in a drawer: "You'll lose money on the venture, but the general public will actually buy your work and hopefully read it. If the thought of losing money appals you, you should examine the reasons behind why you are actually writing... Is it to become rich and famous? Write in English then. Possibly for Mills and Boon."

Bairn Tales & Poems: 2004 Limited Editions

In 2004, three special collections for children were published as Very Limited Editions:

Katy the Crocodile: Poems in Scots for Littlins

The Wizard o the North: Poems in Scots for Halflins

Indian Peter: Bairn Tales and Poems in Scots and English

The Wizard o the North was a finalist in the 2005 Callum Macdonald Memorial Award for poetry pamphlet publishing.

The Poems: Fae the Muckle Furth

The Tower o Babel: A Wheen Owersettins in Scots and The Lan o Tea an Tigers are the next in the series of Very Limited Edition booklets which appeared in 2004. Both collections are subtitled 'Poems fae the Muckle Furth' and include work inspired by Sheena's travels.

All the poems in The Tower o Babel are owersetts into Scots taken from English translations completed by others who are expert in their own linguistic fields. "What interests me", says Sheena, "are the ideas behind the words, from different countries and times."

The Lan o Tea an Tigers, in addition to poems written during Sheena's travels in Thailand and India, features 'The Lion and the Eagle', a poem written and performed during 'Scotland at the Smithsonian' which Sheena attended with Elphinstone colleagues Stanley Robertson and Ian Russell in 2003.

The Poems: The Boddamers' Monkey

The Boddamers’ Monkey is a collection of place poems published in Very Limited Edition in 2004.
The title comes from the traditional song of the same name:
Eence a ship sailed roon the coast,
an aa the men in her wis lost,
Barrin a monkey up a post,
sae the Boddamers hanged the monkey oh!
Tradition goes that during the Napoleonic wars a ship ran aground off Boddam. The only survivor was a monkey which the Boddamers hanged, thinking it was a French spy, but gave it Christian burial anyway. In the past, to rile the inhabitants of Peterhead and Boddam, other North Easters would enquire ‘Fa beeriet the monkey?’

This collection includes the prizewinning ‘Salute tae a Bonnie Fechter’, a poem written in tribute to the late Hamish Henderson.