The Poems: Muninn & Huginn Pamphlet 188

Title: Muninn & Huginn (Pamphlet no 188) Front Cover : a photo from a Vendel era helmet Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall May 2023 Limited print run of 50 copies Acknowledgements In Norse myth, Huginn (Old Norse, thought) and Muninn (Old Norse, memory) are the two ravens that fly all over the world and bring back information to the god Odin. Odin only drank wine and spoke only in poetry.For more information on 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 & 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.Sheena Blackhall copyright May 2023

The Poems: Baa/Humbug

Title: Baa Humbug (Pamphlet no 187) Front Cover : on-line photo of a bumble bee Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall April 2023 Limited print run of 50 copies The Soutar’s Shop was written after a visit with members of the confraternity of the Knights of the Most Holy Trinity, arranged by Grand Prior Albert Thomson. to the Soutar’s Shop at Ballogie where we were met by Toni Watt, manager of Birse Community Trust (BCT), the organisation responsible for the building. The shop is the only one of its type left in Scotland. The poem was published in the Knights of the Most Holy Trinity’s magazine, issue 62 of The Northern Light. Birse Community Trust became the owner of this historic soutar’s shop in 1999. It was built in 1896 by James Merchant on a croft in Ballogie and he continued his soutar’s business there until his death in 1941. The Soutar’s Shop is a remarkable ‘time capsule’.Most of the poems were written during a 5 day tour of the Caledonian national Park. Some of the poems were inspired by brief entries in A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable, by Ian Crofton, pub. by Birlinn, 2016, Edinburgh ISBN 978-1- 78027-428-7.The six short bairn rhymes at the end were written as part of a programme of 6 visits to Aberdeenshire libraries, funded by the Doric Board, for much thanks. Copyright April 2023

The Poems: The Devil's Pulpit

Title: The Devil’s Pulpit, Finnich Glen (Pamphlet no 186)Front Cover : on-line photo of the scene Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall March 2023 Limited print run of 50 copies.The Enemy Inside was commissioned by Asif Khan of the Scottish Poetry Library which is partnering with Parkinson's UK Scotland to mark World Parkinson’s Day on 11 April. It will be published on their social media platforms.Ukraine was written after a dinner with the confraternity of the Knights of the Most Holy Trinity, hosted by Grand Prior Albert Thomson, where two Ukrainian guests, Mariya Pavlova and Inna MacLeod, related stories of the suffering in their homeland. They have set up an Association of Ukrainians in Aberdeen. 2,000 refugees from Ukraine have now settled in the city. The poem was published in the Knights of the Most Holy Trinity’s magazine, issue 61 of The Northern Light. Overheard at Wetherspoons and Bullied was published in the anthology Tales Frae the Doric Side, a collaboration between spoken word artist and writer Jo Gilbert, The Friends of Elphinstone, and the Elphinstone Institute at the University of Aberdeen. It was funded by Aberdeen City Council Creative Funding. The anthology was published through Doric Books – a community interest company dedicated to promoting NE Scots. CEO Jackie Ross said “Doric Books are fair trickit tae be publishin iss anthology. It's sairly needed fur e secondary skweels. It'll be gran tae hae a hantle o contemporary screivins in e Doric aat'll appeal tae teenagers an aulder fowk as weel.” For more information on 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 & 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. Sheena Blackhall copyright March 2023

The Poems: Moon Struck

Acknowledgements Title: Moon Struck (Pamphlet no 185) Front Cover : Free image from Pixabay Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Limited print run of 50 copies.

In February Sheena Blackhall continued to run creative writing workshops for children at Aberdeen Art Centre. This month she also gave a reading in Keith. Kirils Kuzmins, a student at RGU, carrying out an Internship at Doric Books filmed an hour-long session of the poet reading her poems, and those she had translated, to later post weekly on Doric Books social media pages. Also carrying out an internship with Doric Books, Kirstie Clark carried out another hour long interview with the poet at RGU. At Aberdeen University Blackhall delivered a session on storytelling to the students. She was one of the editors of Tales fae the Doric Side promoting the collaboration between the writer Jo Gilbert, The Friends of Elphinstone, the Elphinstone Institute at the University of Aberdeen and Creative Funding, and she read at the launch of this anthology. She also touched base with Aberdeen University’s Laura Grant and Georgios Leontidis on the theme of technology, to discuss writing, ‘what writers draw on, the importance of emotion and empathy – all the good things that machines, even the highly intelligent ones, lack.’ The short story ‘Bobby was Gone’ was written by Kenna Anderson, a new and exciting emerging writer. Thanks are due to Malfranteaux Concept for publishing this volume.Sheena Blackhall copyright February 2023

The Poems: Doppelganger

Title: Doppelganger (Pamphlet no 184)Front Cover: freepik evgeniibashta online Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall January 2023 Limited print run of 50 copies Our Sustainable Development Journey was written to perform at the visit by the Camilla, the Queen Consort to Aberdeen University on 19/1/23. The event was held to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen Consort as the University’s Chancellor. The event featured an update on the University's 2040 commitment to sustainability, highlighting current academic, operational and community initiatives. In Memoriam, Andrew Philip Watt was written to read as a tribute at the funeral of Philip Watt, farmer, New Deer, who was not only a kinsman but patriarch of the Philip family. With his wife Vicki he funded several of my poetry pamphlets. Two Doric Limericks were written in response to a request by Dan Ryder, a lyricist and painter who paints his own limericks as murals. His public work often focuses on the local culture and history of places. He intends to approach Nuart to seek a commission to paint one these limericks. Many of these poems were written on a writing retreat at Myres Castle led by Sukhema and Ratnadevi on Mindfulness & Tai Chi. Sheena Blackhall copyright Jan 2023

The Poems: The Hale Rickmatic Pamphlet 183

Title: The Hale Rickmatic : (Pamphlet no 183) Front Cover : Lockdown by Rosy Long Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall December2022 Limited print run of 50 copies Birse Kirk was published in the collection Our Living Rivers & Glens. The River Dee & Dee Journey was published in Four Rivers, Deep Maps: edited by Jo Jones and Neil Curtis, pub. University of Western Australia (launched 4/11/ 2022) Collected Responses on the Don and Dee Rivers (North-East Scotland)and the Derbarl Yerrigan and Dyarlgarro Beeliar (Swan and Canning Rivers, Western Australia). ISBN 978-1-76080-218-9. The cover ‘Lockdown’ is reproduced here with kind permission of the artist Rosy Long.

The Poems: Scarecrow

Acknowledgements: Title: Scarecrow (Pamphlet no 182) Front Cover: Outstanding in the Field by ackeibler on Deviant Art Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall 2022 Limited print run of 50 copies The Poem Autumn IX was commissioned by the Scottish Poetry Library as part of my role as Scots Ambassador for Poetry. Letter tae Aiberdeen was written to perform at the Doric Festival in the Gallowgate kirk of St Margaret of Scotland. The Mystery o the Sheen was written to perform at the Tarland Food & Music Festival of 2022. Others were inspired by the Music Hall Art Exhibition of 2022. Sheena Blackhall copyright October 2022

The Poems: The Young Wife

Title: The Young Wife (pamphlet no 181). Front Cover: The Japanese Goddess by TechBehr on Deviant Art. Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Repro Overflow. copyright Sheena Blackhall September 1st 2022 Limited Edition of 50 copies

The Poems: Giraffe

Acknowledgements Title: Giraffe (Pamphlet no 180 ) Front Cover : by Jessica Blackhall, aged 11, (after a print by Steven Brown, Francie & Josie McZoo).Back Cover: by Winnie Blackhall aged 9, (after a floral design by Charles Rennie Mackintosh) Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall, August 2022 Anne Simpson, Chair, The Book of Deer Project SCIO has written to say that she hopes to use the Poem The Book of Deer, (with others) in print or via a performance at the end of summer. Permission has been given to the composer Annabel Kershaw to use the poem Solar Siblings within a choir composition for the Aberdeen Sound Festival. It is a choral piece and will be sung by the Aberdeen -based choir, Con Anima. The performance will be free to the public and will take place within the Aberdeen Art Gallery on 29th October at 3pm.

The Playlets:

Acknowledgements Title:Pamphlet no 179 Cover: Crow on a Branch by Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) from the online collection of Brooklyn Museum Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall, July 2022: North-east poet Sheena Blackhall was commissioned to write 5 playlets, to perfom alongside actor Hamish Somers . The work was specially created for the magical and intimate surrounds of St Margaret’s Braemar, drawing inspiration from major historical events and ghost stories of the area. The playlets were inspired by local legend, many learned on her aunt’s bus service which ran tours with local stories for tourists.The poem Filmin oor Culture was written for the Doric film festival, 2022. The Song: Homage to Haddo was written after being asked to perform at Haddo House. Linking Doric Couplets were commissioned as part of the filmed documentary Tatties and Typhoid Ham, a fusion of evolving visual art, music, and spoken word, wherein three women from Aberdeen, Diana Buchan, Ruby Stephen, and Pat Robertson, shared their thoughts and experiences on being locked down during the typhoid outbreak in 1964 and their concurrent situation during the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak. It was directed by visual artist Kate Steenhauer and produced in collaboration with Blackhall, composer Maria Sappho, and videographers Alex Cormack and Martina Camatta.Thanks are due to Malfranteaux Concept for publishing this volume, and to the creator of the cover image.July 2022 Sheena Blackhall This is a limited print run of 50 copies

The Poems: Norlan Lichts Anthology

Title: Norlan Lichts.First published 2022 by Rymour Books 45 Needless Road, Perth PH20LE © The Authors 2022 ISBN 978-1-8384052-0-0 http://www.rymour.co.uk cover and book design by Ian Spring printed by Imprint Digital, Exeter, Devon A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library The paper used in this book is approved by the Forest Stewardship Council This book is set in Bembo, a typeface cut by Francesco Griffo in 1495 for the works of Pietro Bembo, a poet, a Cardinal and lover of Lucrezia Borgia. Lesley Benzie, Sheena Blackhall and Sheila Templeton are the pre-eminent women poets writing in the Doric, or the Scots of North-east Scotland. This is a new collection of predominently unpublished work by them.

The Poems: Suitcase of Dreams

Acknowledgements: Title: Suitcase of Dreams Pamphlet no 178 Cover: Softly Surreal Incognito photo by Ozstuff1 on Pinterest:Published by Malfranteaux Concepts :Printed by Retro Overflow: Copyright: Sheena Blackhall, June 2022 The Treisur Hunters was a commissioned story for the BBC childrens’ schools section. Like T-Rex was published in The Scotsman. Many of the poems were inspired by paintings exhibited in the Aberdeen Artist Society’s exhibition in 2022 in Aberdeen Art Gallery. Performers was written during the Portsoy Traditional Festival weekend, coinciding with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Hairdresser, the Cooncillor, the Coven, features on https://gudeandgodlie.wordpress.com/

The Poems: There is no Cow on the Ice

Acknowledgements Title: There’s no Cow on the Ice (Pamphlet no 177 )Cover: Royalty Free online art Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall, May 2022 There’s No Snow on the Ice is a Swedish saying, meaning Don’t Worry.Most of these poems were penned on a week’s creative writing retreat at Dhanakosa, Balquidder, incorporating Tai Chi, Meditation & Poetry. The tutors were Linda France and Sukhema (Larry Butler). For more information on 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 & 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.

Title: Something Fishy This Way Comes :Pamphlet no 176: Cover: Royalty Free Clipart.Published by Malfranteaux Concepts, Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall, March 2022 Acknowledgements Many of these poems were written after staying a few days in Clippie Lodge, Ballater. This is an extensive refurbishment of my family’s holiday home, owned by my aunt, the late Helen Strachan, then called ‘The Shack’…a very different, basic, but much loved dwelling.

The Poems: Carpe Diem

Title:: Carpe Diem Pamphlet no 175 Cover: Girl Before the Mirror (1932) Picasso (free from the web) Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall February 2022 Acknowledgements I was commissioned by the Spectra team to contribute a piece to Writ Large. They asked artists Illuminos to use a section of one poem to be the basis of a large-scale video map projection on Marsichal College over the Spectra dates 10-13 Feb. Six Frames is a playful interpretation of six stanzas from my poem On the Bus: nummer 1 route. Using six repeating sections of the Marischal College facade, Illuminos used principles found in flick books and early animation, to take us on a journey through Aberdeen from the bus route of the poem. Using a six frames per second repeating format, the building is brought to life through cascading rhythmic imagery drawn from my poem in Scots dialect - a pulsing, whirring, humming trundle from Brig o Dee to Music Haa to Justice Coort and beyond. A bit more about their work is here https://www.illuminos.co.uk/ The poem Lang Sandy appeared in Eiks an Ens, Nummer 25 Scots Leid Associe Januar’s online feature. This is a limited edition of 50 copies February c. Sheena Blackhall ‘Picasso's rendering of the reflection in the mirror has been described by Debbie Goldberg at the Museum of Modern Art as a depiction of Death. Picasso made reference to other artworks within his compositions and may have been influenced by a painting belonging to a friend which was an image of Death holding up a mirror to a woman. The prevailing theme of this is memento mori or "remember that life is brief". From Wikipedia

The Poems: Ganesh's Daughter

Acknowledgements Title: Ganesh’s Daughter,Pamphlet no 174, Cover: Pin Interest clip art elephant,Published by Malfranteaux Concepts,Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall January 2022. The song ‘David Toulmin’s Heirskip’ which sings to the tune Drumdelgie was commissioned by the Elphinstone Institute to celebrate the launch of their book which brings together all the winning stories since inception of the Toulmin Story Comp together with selected others in the anthology Dinna Mess wi the Popo and other stories of the North-East of Scotland. Balvaird Castle appeared in The Northern Light Issue 55 – December 2021 Confraternity of the Knights of the Most Holy Trinity (Priory of Scotland). ‘Birse Kirk’ features in the The Dee Don Ceilidh Collective ‘Our Living Rivers and Glens’ project. Added to their media map, as an inspiration for their composers and songwriters, Jenny Sturgeon has cited it as one of her inspirations for her new song ‘Spinning Discs’. The tunes and songs are now complete, and you can listen to them on the designated website A‘legacy’ book for the project, will include all of the new music and songs, and some of the images and inspirations behind them. Birse Kirk will feature in this. The Spikk o the Nor East Leid was commissioned by DOST, and the poem (text & video) is live on dsl.ac.uk/Aitken100.‘A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (‘DOST’, 1932–2002) is a unique record of the language, history, culture and traditions of the Scots-speaking people from their earliest records to the year 1700. Running to 8,100 pages, this national treasure incorporates some 50,000 entries and 581,000 illustrative quotations drawn from more than three centuries of language use…. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of its most significant contributors: A.J. (Jack) Aitken (1921–1998), an outstanding figure in Scots language scholarship and editor of DOST from 1955 to 1986. …’As a lasting tribute to DOS five poets were commissioned to write poems celebration of Scots and its extensive history. The poems, written in a variety of local vernaculars, were published on St Andrew’s Day 2021, by Sheena Blackhall, Liz Lochhead, Alison Millar, Gregor Steele and Rab Wilson Sheena Blackhall c. January 2022

The Poems: Meenstrukk

Title: Meenstrukk : Pamphlet 173. Cover: The Lovers: by Marc Chagall. Published by Malfranteaux Concepts. Printed by Retro Overflow. Copyright: Sheena Blackhall November 2021.Acknowledgements: Peter Craig, editor of Echoes from Cromar’s Past, tells us that ‘the rock underlying Morven is much the same as some of the rock brought back from the Moon. The most accepted theory of the origin of the Moon is that it was formed when a large asteroid hit the Earth soon after its formation and the huge amount of ejected debris later coalesced to form the Moon. Thus Moon rocks are very similar to those that the Earth was made of at that time, but, while Moon rocks haven’t suffered any weathering or erosion (no atmosphere, water or plate tectonics), those on Earth have been constantly recycled, with the result that there are many, many more different kinds of rock on Earth than on the Moon.’

The Poems: Touch & Go

Acknowledgements Title: Touch & Go : Pamphlet no 172 Cover: Free Surrealist image from Pixabay Published by Malfranteaux Concepts Printed by Retro Overflow Copyright: Sheena Blackhall 2021. The Doctor in the Kirk was accepted by Lallans 99. The Cattie Poem was inspired by a piece written by Ananda, (Stephen Parr). Blue Lampie was written for the event North East Voices, part of the Aberdeen University Festival Wayword 21. The Howe o the Mearns was written to perform at the Johnshaven Heritage Day. Bawd bi the Dee featured in The Great Scottish Canvas virtual exhibition on 18 September during Climate Fringe Week, a week of climate events in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow. It will also appear in the Great Scottish Canvas book which will be brought to the UN climate conference, COP26, in Glasgow this November, to kickstart conversations about the future the people of Scotland want to see. The concluding Scots Owersetts are based on poems in World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time.Sheena Blackhall c. September 2021

The Poems: Chacun à Son Goût / Fitiver Floats yer Boat: Pamphlet no 171

Title: Chacun à Son Goût / Fitiver Floats yer Boat: Pamphlet no 171 Cover: Free Image: Shuttershock,Published by Malfranteaux Concepts,Printed by Retro Overflow,Copyright: Sheena Blackhall 2021.The poem The Hurcheon was written to perform at The Wee Gatherin, July 21st 2021, a mini festival of the best in Scottish poetry, hosted by the Poets’ Republic Magazine. The Poem, Burns the Celebrity, was inspired by the Glasgow University Future Learning Course: Robert Burns: Poems, Songs and Legacy.Re. the poem ‘I Remember’…The Scottish Covid Memorial honours lost loved ones and recognises the impact of the pandemic upon us all, helping to shape a culture of recuperation. During summer 2021 the artistic team, led by Alec Finlay, prepared to co-create the memorial – an artwork in Pollok Country Park, online publication, and installations at satellite venues across Scotland – details of which will be confirmed in the autumn. From July, workshops took place in communities. These guided the writing of memories as an ‘I remember’ written text. The creative workshops will be guided by designer Lucy Richards and poet Ken Cockburn. The ‘I remember’ form was first devised by Joe Brainard. Examples of the ‘I remember’ produced for the memorial project can be found on the project blog. http://www.i-remember.uk/ Thanks are due to Malfranteaux Concept for publishing this volume, and to the creator of the cover image from Shuttershock.

The Owersetts: The War o the Warlds

The War o the Warlds: The War of the Worlds in North-east Scots (Doric) (Scots Edition) Owersett by Sheena Blackhall ISBN: 1782012710 Author: H G Wells. Pages: 224 Publisher: Evertype Publication Date: 2021-08-01