The Poems: Mr Charon's Ferry

Title: Mr Charon’s Ferry:Poems in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall. Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire. Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Cover: Loch Voil: Photo by Amoghavira Cost: £3.00. Copyright: S. Blackhall November 2014. For more information on publications by Sheena Blackhall, visit http://sheenablackhall.blogspot.com or the on-line catalogue of the Nat. Library of Scotland ww.nls.uk/catalogues/online/index/html. All of Blackhall’s poems in Scots and English, are now uploaded on www.poemhunter.com. Thanks are extended to Amoghavira for permission to use his photograph of Loch Voil, Balquidder, as the cover for this pamphlet. A Buddhist order member, he now lives in the village of Callander, about 15 miles from Dhanakosa.. Some of the Gaelic poems in this collection will feature in the Winter edition of Causeway / Cabhsair: A Magazine of Irish and Scottish Writing.

An Inside Job: The Poems

Title: An Inside Job. Pamphlet no 106 Poems in Scots & English Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire. Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen.Cover: MRI scan of the poet’s head Cost: £3.00. Copyright: S. Blackhall October 2014. Some of these poems were written as the result of a week’s research in Lancashire & the Lake District. Thanks must be given to Stefanie C. Biehl of the School of Psychology, William Guild Building, King's College University of Aberdeen for releasing the cover photo of the MRI scan (taken as part of a research programme). Thanks are also due to the ongoing support and encouragement of Les Wheeler, in agreeing to publish this collection. Other poems were written during Poetic Aberdeen: Creative Writing Workshops led by Dr Adam Hanna. The poem Lapidus was written for the group’s online magazine Autumn issue. Lapidus promotes writing and words for wellbeing through its work with other organisations and support of its members who are interested in, or working with others to encourage, the use of writing for health and wellbeing. (www.lapidus.org.uk). Three Doric poems were written specially for the Gallowgate Doric Festival 2014, performed at St Margaret’s Episcopal church. The tale, Fair Game, will appear in the Winter edition of the magazine Lallans.

Sparrows' Footsteps: Poems on a Trip to the Past

Sparrows’ Footsteps Poems in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall. Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire.Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Cover: Paul Nash: The Menin Road(Wikipedia Commons)Cost: £3.00.Copyright: S. Blackhall August 2014. This book is dedicated to the memory of Pte William Middleton, 6th Gordon Highlanders, 266834 killed 9/4/17 on the first day of the battle of Arras. Buried in the Highlander Cemetary Rollincourt, Plot 1 Row A Grave 15, and his brother Pte John Middleton, 7th Gordon Highlanders, 2974, Le Touret Memorial Panel 39-41. After only 47 days on French soil, John was killed in a road by the battlefield. They were my father’s paternal cousins, from Tarland. His mother’s maiden name was also Middleton. Three of his maternal cousins, who were an Aboyne branch of Deeside Middletons, were also killed.(Charles Middleton,Pte 422290, 8th btn Manitoba Regiment, born Birse, died 14/6/1916, buried Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium). His father John ('Alberta, Golf Road, Aboyne) had 7 sons in WW1. 3 were killed. On August 4th 2014, 100 years to the day of the outbreak of ww1, I set foot in Belgium for a trip to the battlefields and cemeteries of the region. The information surrounding the poems is gleaned from the Belgian Battlefield Guide, local guide books, and the web. All of the poems were written during this time. Thanks are due to Les Wheeler for his continued encouragement and support in agreeing to publish this little pamphlet.  

The Stories: Scottish Urban Myths and Ancient Legends (Grace Banks & Sheena Blackhall)

Scottish Urban Myths and Ancient Legends (Urban Legends) Paperback – January 1, 2015 by Sheena Blackhall (Author), Grace Banks (Author); Pub. The History Press.Monsters, lunatics, vampires, werewolves, evil dolls, and suicide dogs, stones entombing bodies, faces appearing in walls, curses, and meetings with the devil—all this and more are contained within this book of Scottish urban legends. Now, for the first time, folklorists and storytellers Grace Banks and Sheena Blackhall explore these intriguing tales. Folklore embeds itself into a local community, often to the extent that some people believe all manner of mysteries and take them as fact. Whether they’re stories passed around the school playground, through the internet, or 'round a flickering campfire, urban legends are everywhere. Scottish Urban Legends is a quirky and downright spooky ride into the heart of Celtic folklore.

The Poems: The Gargoyle Man

The Gargoyle Man. Poems in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall.Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire.Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Cover: The Green Man from Le Mans Cathedral in France, c. 1240 Cost: £3.00. Copyright: S. Blackhall July 2014. For more information on other publications by Sheena Blackhall, visit http://sheenablackhall.blogspot.com or the on-line catalogue of the National 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. Many of these poems were written on retreat during a creative writing week run by Ratnadevi, Linda France and Larry Butler at Dhanakosa, Balquidder. Others were the result of a week’s research in the Cotswolds, visiting Stratford on Avon, Bath, and surrounding areas.

The Poems: The Housewife's Dream

Title: The Housewife’s Dream. Poems & Tales in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall. Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire. Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Cover: I and the Village, Marc Chagall, painted in 1911 Cost: £3.00.Copyright: S. Blackhall 2014 Two of these poems were inspired by a writing session led by Dr Adam Hanna in Aberdeen City Council’s Townhouse. Others were written in response to paintings in the 80th Aberdeen Artists' Exhibition. In May 2014 Blackhall became Patron of Reading at Kaimhill Primary School in Aberdeen.The children’s tales at the end of the book were written as challenges set by the pupils providing 4 words, to be incorporated eg Hungary, tiger, cold, girl, with the exception of one tale written by her son, Ross Blackhall.Thanks are due to Les Wheeler for his continued encouragement and support in agreeing to publish this little pamphlet (the 103rd poetry volume). For more information on other publications by Sheena Blackhall, visit http://sheenablackhall.blogspot.com or the on-line catalogue of the National 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.  

The Poems: The Space Between: New and Selected Poems

The Space Between: New and Selected Poems, by Sheena Blackhall, 2014 ISBN 978-1-85752-005-7 www.abdn.ac.uk/riiss/publications/authored-publications-110.php (The website of the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen.) Published by Aberdeen University Press, Cover Image, Emily Carr (1871-1945) ‘Shoreline’1936, oil on canvas, c McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Dedicated to Sir C.Duncan Rice for his support and encouragement of poetry in the North East. This book was launched at Aberdeen University’s May Festival. It was edited and selected by Alan Spence, Professor in Creative Writing, University of Aberdeen, with the assistance of Professor Cairns Craig, Dr Helen Lynch, and Dr Adam Hanna. Detailed Description Blackhall, Sheena (2014) The Space Between: New and Selected Poems, Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, pp.153 + xiv. ISBN: 978-1-85752-005-7 ‘Sheena Blackhall is probably the most prolific poet in Scotland, and one of the most rarely talented. She is the true voice of the North East, a sophisticated, engaged, technically gifted writer who moves with ease through different modes and registers. She’s at home with traditional ballad forms and Buddhist meditations, with collage and cut-up and the found poem – lyrical and bawdy and profoundly funny.’ – Alan Spence ‘Sheena Blackhall has the lyric voice of the early MacDiarmid and prime of William Soutar, and knows unerringly how to send that couthy, earthy tongue to the furthest of stars. She combines tradition and modern wit, ancient knowledge with feminine intuition, personal defiance and spirit, a grasp of language topped up with thorough scholarship.’ – Joy Hendry

The Poems: Biting Dust

Biting Dust: Poems & Tales in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall. Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire.Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Cover: Image from The Droll Dreams of Pantagruel by François Desprez - (1565)Cost: £3.00.Copyright: S. Blackhall 2014. Thanks are due to Les Wheeler for his continued encouragement and support in agreeing to publish this little pamphlet. For more information on other publications by Sheena Blackhall, visit http://sheenablackhall.blogspot.com or the on-line catalogue of the National 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. Summer of Love is due to be published in the following: Forward Poetry anthology, Essence of Love, July 2014. May 2014 (Pamphlet no 101)

The Bairn Books

Jessie the Jumbo is available now online, free to download on Smashwords.Jessie the Jumbo is a selection of tales written originally in English for the hugely popular ‘Nickety Nackety’ children’s programme which was broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland and produced by Frieda Morrison. It drew fan mail letters from children all over the UK, and quite a few adults too, lorry drivers and tractor men amongst them. The format was trialled in Edinburgh nursery settings by Frieda Morrison to assess the reaction from the intended audience. A cast of the finest actors and actresses in Scotland dramatized the stories and brought the scripts to life. The selection of tales in Jessie the Jumbo, drawn from the Nickety Nackety Collection are those written by Sheena Blackhall, and here reset in Scots. The book will be featured on www.ScotsLanguageRadio.com. Frieda Morrison was the first mentor of this much loved North East children’s writer, and commissioned her earliest children’s tales

The Poems: The Mongolian Spot

Title: The Mongolian Spot.Poems & in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall.Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire.Printed by Thistle Reprographics,55 Holburn Street Aberdeen.Cost: £3.00.Copyright: S. Blackhall 2014 Cover: Mongolian Musician This is a file from the Wikipedia Commons. Information from its description page is shown here:Sambuugiin Pürevjav of Altai Khairkhan (an overtone singing ensemble from Mongolia) playing a morin khuur near Centre Georges Pompidou in 2005.Author : Eric PouhierDate : Octob. 2005 This book is dedicated to Philip & Vicki Watt,Fadlydyke Farm, New Deer. Some of these poems have previously been published on www.poemhunter.com. Other pieces will be published by Forward Poetry in May, 2014, in the following publications: Light up the Dark, Darkest before the Dawn, and Candlelit Thoughts. The extract ‘Fyvie’ was taken from a Doric play written by Les Wheeler and Sheena Blackhall. The poems Smack Heid Debbie and The Warld Accordin tae the Rev Angus Macstrewn were taken from a prizewinning play ‘Nichtshades’ also written by Blackhall & Wheeler. The Commonwealth was written as part of a project on the Aberdeen Reading Bus funded by Fairer Scotland. The Great Tapestry of Scotland was written to perform at an event in Aberdeen’s Tunnels, organized by the National Collective, (artists and creative for Scottish Independence). Several poems were inspired by works in the Scottish National Galleries of Scotland, one of which was short listed in the Inspired? Get Writing! 2014 competition. The House of the Russian Dolls was Blackhall’s response to the Scottish Book Trust’s general invitation for people to write a story about the meaning of home.

The Poems: Hare's Foot: A Poet's Notebook

The Poems: Hare’s Foot: A Poet’s Notebook : Pamphlet no 99 Poems & Tales in Scots & English, printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen, Cost: £3.00 pub 2014. Some of the stories are Blackhall’s own versions of travellers’ tales learned from the late Stanley Robertson. Many of the ‘snippits’ of folk lore and UFO sightings were encountered by the poet whilst researching an upcoming book on urban myths and legends. Some inspired poems, others did not. Some of these poems are to be found on www.poemhunter.com.

The Poems: Pirrins and Magnus

The Poems: Pirrins and Magnus: Pamphlet no 98: Poems & Tales in Scots & English, Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen, Cost: £3.00 pub 2014. All of Blackhall’s poems in Scots and English, are now uploaded on www.poemhunter.com. The first section of these poems was inspired by material from the Terezin (Theresienstadt), concentration camp. About 5,000 drawings survived, created by the 15,000 children who passed through there to the death camps, most dying in Auschwitz in the Summer-Autumn of 1944. The drawings feature in the book of Jewish Art Treasures from Prague:The State Jewish Museum in Prague and its collections, Lund Humphries, (London) in Association with the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester. Edited, with a foreword by Professor C.R. Dodwell, LittD FBA. Some of these poems have been, or are about to be, published in the following: Ever Watchful: Forward Poetry, Vice Verses ( Jan 2014). There is Another Xmas, Malfranteaux Concepts, Christmas (1913). Highland Cow was broadcast on Mooney Goes Wild, Raidió Teilifís Éireann,. The tale Hide an Seek was published in the Autumn issue of Northwords

The Stories: Aberdeenshire Folk Tales

Aberdeenshire Folk Tales By Grace Banks & Sheena Blackhall, Pub by The History Press, 2013 ISBN: 9780752497587. The folklore of the North East provides a rich tapestry for the tales within; from Celtic and Pictish origins meet witches, selkies, smugglers, fairies, monsters, despicable rogues, riddles and heroes. Tragic events, spellbinding characters, humour, romance and clever minds are bound together by two well-established storytellers living and working in the city and shire of Aberdeen. Some of the tales in this collection are based on historical fact while others are embedded in myth and legend. All the stories are set against the backdrop of this lovely and varied landscape. Sheena and Grace have both been inspired in their storytelling and singing by the traveller, raconteur and balladeer, Stanley Robertson. - See more at: http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/index.php/aberdeenshire-folk-tales.html#sthash.hKbnWtDU.dpuf

The Poems: Shards

Title: Shards. Poems & Tales in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall. Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire.Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Cover: Based on The Door to Freedom by Rene Magritte, 1936. Cost: £3.00.Copyright: S. Blackhall 2013. For more information on other publications by Sheena Blackhall, visit http://sheenablackhall.blogspot.com or the on-line catalogue of the National Library of Scotland www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/index/html. Some of these poems have previously been published on www.poemhunter.com. ‘They Feared’ will appear in November published by Rain Poetry Books (Keith Murray). ‘A Royal Baby’ will feature in New Beginnings by Forward Poetry, 2014. ‘A Young Iguana’ will be published in Animal Antics by Forward Poetry 2014. ‘The Inconstant Lover’ will appear in Poetry Obsessions by Forward Poetry, also in 2014. ‘Screivin in Scots’ will be published in Lallans 83. ‘The Wall’ was the winning entry announced at the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival in Glasgow on 19th October2013. (Bipolar Scotland ran a short story competition on the theme of ‘First Love.’) ‘Chardonnay’ and ‘The Rowie Song’ were specially written as performance pieces to celebrate Aberdeen Arts Centre 50th anniversary in October 2013, at a civic reception in Aberdeen’s Town House. ‘The Yowes an the Tortoises’ is a Scots owersett of a traditional Nigerian tale told by a parent on an Aberdeen Reading Bus Project. The current project, Global Blethers, is funded by the Fairer Scotland Fund.

The Poems: The Aye-Aye

Title: The Aye-Aye, Poems in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall.Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire. Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen.Cover:Aye-Aye (from the www).Cost: £3.00.Copyright: S. Blackhall 2013.The first poems in this pamphlet were written in response to mysterious paper sculptures appearing in Scotland: Catriona Low, publisher of Severin Books, is constantly on their trail. This pamphlet is dedicated to her for alerting me to each new discovery. http://severinbooks.blogspot.co.uk/ Most of the poems were written during the summer of 2013, during stays on Jersey and St Malo. The Dream o the Restless Bairnickie is published in ‘Pushing Out the Boat, Issue 12’. Thank You Spring will feature in ‘Spirit of Spring’, a Forward Press Anthology due out in October. Memorial Day & Birthday are due to appear in ‘Shadows’, a Malfranteaux Concepts publication compiled by Keith Murray. A Puckle Doric Wirds I like and Fitbaa were written for inclusion in a forthcoming anthology compiled by Mark Pithie for a 2013 Doric Festival event. The Japanese tanka owersetts appeared in Southlight magazine. Thanks are due to Les Wheeler for his continued encouragement and support in agreeing to publish this little pamphlet. Re. The Cro-Magnon Poem My half brother, Charles Middleton Ritchie, died in Canada within a year or so of our first meeting. My younger brother, Ian Middleton, predeceased him. A woman can only access paternal DNA via a close male relative and I was delighted that my nephew Scott Ritchie, in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, agreed to submit a sample for analysis. The result was as follows:

The male line of our family DNA carries the mutation M343. The paternal haplotype is R1b. Haplogroup R is thought to have appeared some 30,000 years ago in Central Asia and is widely spread all over the world. The mutation M343 is linked to one of the subclades of Haplogroup R called R1b which is thought to have been part of the recolonisation of Europe following the Last Glacial Maximum. The R1b expansion was closely linked to the spreading of the Indo-European languages. This makes us direct descendants of the Cro Magnon people, the modern humans who painted the "Lascaux Cave" in Dordogne in the South of France. These paintings can be regarded both as a testimony of the artistic skills of our ancestors but also as a sketch book of their life during the last glacial age. R1b can be found in more than 80% of the population in England, France and Spain. In western Ireland, R1b is found in nearly 100% of the population.

The Poems: Goosebumps for Beginners

Goosebumps for Beginners:Poems & tales in Scots & English.by Sheena Blackhall Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen Cost: £3.00Cover: Image of Geese ( in the Public Domain) by Tom Kelly, US Fish and Wildlife Service Copyright: S. Blackhall 201 3For more information on other publications by Sheena Blackhall, visit http://sheenablackhall.blogspot.com or the on-line catalogue of the National Library of Scotland www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/index/html). The Trouble with War has been selected for publication in The World at War- Poems from the Battlefield in September 2013 (Forward Poetry). Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Mother has been selected for publication by Forward Poetry in the anthology A Mother to Me, due for publication in September 2013 Valentine Card has been accepted for publication by Forward Poetry in the Anthology Endless Love- Heart’s Desire, due out Sept 2013. A Day to Remember has been accepted for publication in ‘A Day in Time’, Forward Poetry, due out in September 2013.

Most of these poems were written in June (22nd-28th) 2013 on retreat at Dhanakosa, Balquhidder. The English poems will eventually be published on http://www.poemhunter.com/sheena-blackhall. Thanks are due to Les Wheeler for his continued encouragement and support in agreeing to publish this little pamphlet.

The Poems: Grey Matter

Grey Matter:Poems & tales in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen Cost: £3.00 This book is dedicated to Les & Sheila Wheeler.Some of the poems are included in Volume 4 of Canvases, published by Rain Poetry Books. The story Destiny Stone appeared on the Scottish Book Trust feature ‘Treasures’. Several poems were inspired by the annual Aberdeen Artists’ Exhibition, and the St Andrew’s Song was written for ‘Families First’, an event organised for disadvantaged families in St Andrews. Various poems have already been published on http://www.poemhunter.com/sheena-blackhall. The cover photograph of Blackhall was taken at the Psychology Department of Aberdeen University, during a research project session conducted there.

The Poems: Walking in Blake's Garden

Walking in Blake’s Garden: Poems in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall. Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire.Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Cover: Samuel Palmer: Early Morning. Cost: £3.00.Copyright: S. Blackhall 2013 For more information on other publications by Sheena Blackhall, visit the on-line catalogue of the National Library of Scotland www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/index/html. Some of these poems have previously been published on www.poemhunter.com. Most of them were written during the spring of 2013, on a visit to Derbyshire. Queen Mary, jyled was prompted by a visit to Chatsworth, one of her many places of imprisonment. The Village of Eyam was the result of an exploration of a scene of death from the bubonic plague in 1665-1666. In the book ‘Eyam Plague 1665-1666’ by John Clifford ISBN O-9544666-0-8 pub 2003, the author refers to a suggested ‘cure’ at the time for the disease, by attaching a live chicken with its anus over the patient’s bubo, the warmth being thought useful in drawing out the poison. He goes on to observe that traces of aureomycin, a drug now used as part of a cure for the plague, were found in the soil of Vietnam where poultry continually ingest the earth as grits, to aid defecation. Meltwater, Jock Thamson’s Bairns in the Ship of Charon, Shellyman and Fear-Bhata were all inspired by Waterlines, an artistic partnership of Will Maclean and Marian Leven. The exhibition featured items from the Special Collections and Museums at the University of Aberdeen. In the production of Waterlines, they created a new sculptured marker in the landscape that is dominated by the ambitious Sir Duncan Rice Library. The Short Story Help! was written for the event Inventions and Experiments from Scotland, 9/5/2013, part of the Children’s programme in Aberdeen University’s May Festival. Stone Age Orcadians was written during a trip to the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the Scots poems will be published in the anthology Dialect Poetry ISBN 978-1-906845-47-6 due out in Autumn 2013.

The Poems: In Faldy's Wood

In Faldy’s Wood:Poems & Tales in Scots & English, Published by Lochlands, Maud, Aberdeenshire, Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen.Cost: £3.00 Copyright: S. Blackhall 2013. This book is dedicated to Philip & Vicki Watt and family, Fadlydyke Farm, New Deer. The poem Pine will appear in the anthology Into the Forest - A Celtic Alphabet of Tree Poems to be published by Saraband Books in autumn 2013, edited by Mandy Haggith. The 3 Flash Fiction tales were published in Northwords Now in 2012. Poems on the Scottish inventions and inventors were written as part of a school Science project for the Reading Bus. The poem for Dr George Philp appeared in The Scotsman. Thanks are due to Les Wheeler for his continued encouragement and support in agreeing to publish this little pamphlet.

The Poems: A Nest of Tongues

The Poems: A Nest of Tongues: Poems & Story in Scots & English by Sheena Blackhall.Pub by Malfranteaux Concepts Aberdeen ISBN : 978 1 870978 91 0. Printed by Thistle Reprographics, 55 Holburn Street Aberdeen. Cover: Pandemonium, August 1914: by George Grosz (archival sources)Cost: £4.00. The cover image is a drawing by the German artist George Grosz (1893-1959) who considered himself a propagandist of the social revolution. He not only depicted victims of the catastrophe of the First World War - the disabled, crippled, and mutilated - he also portrayed the collapse of capitalist society and its values. His wartime line drawings show him to be a master of caricature. What the Dickens is due to be published in ‘Down Memory Lane’, an anthology by Forward Poetry, Peterborough in Winter 2012. Some of these poems have already been published on http://www.poemhunter.com/sheena-blackhall. Many were written during an Autumn trip to Holland and the Rhine. Auld Yowe has been accepted by Lallans mag for issue 81.'Willie' will be published in the Cromar Echo, Tarland.