So yeah, TiLT took a break… I was that lethal combination of sick and busy. Sad trombones. BUT! A ton of lovely stuff happened in the intervening period, so yay! Here is some of it.
Working with wonderful women
I just finished work on part of a creative project with a local women’s community support group. In the interests of confidentiality, can’t get any more specific about it than that, but I can say that I had an incredible, emotional and hugely rewarding time working with these amazing women. When I was initially approached about facilitating this part of the project, I have to admit — I was kind of scared. I’d never worked with participants like these before, and I felt wholly unprepared for what might happen. I also felt extremely excited about the aims of the project, though, and knew that my involvement could potentially be something to be proud of. So I gathered all my courage about me and said yes.
Fast-forward a few months and I am gutted that this part of things is all wrapping up. I’ve had some of the best, most revealing discussions of my adult life over these past few weeks, and learned so much from the incredible women I was teaching! What’s more, I’ve had a whole ton of fun and laughs in the process. In a lovely but rather emotional final session, my wonderful group presented me with the bouquet of flowers above, along with some tasty chocs and a card. The card was filled with sweet messages thanking me for my presence and hard work — although in fact, all the hard work was done by the ladies themselves! Thank you, wonderful women of the world… you know who you are!
Where Rockets Burn Through: Contemporary Science Fiction Poems From The UK
HOW FREAKING GORGEOUS IS THIS BOOK? Seriously! It’s been months now since I got the exciting news that I’d be having three (or five? One’s a series of three) poems published within its pages, so I’ve been extremely impatient to get my hands on it for a good while now! Last Thursday night it was finally launched, at a brilliant event at Blackwells, one of my favourite places. Yours truly got up and read some poems (thanks a million billion zillion to the uber-talented Chris Scott for managing to photograph me not wearing my usual pug-chewing-toffee reading face!), alongside a glittering array of great poets — I particularly enjoyed hearing from Pippa Goldschmidt and Andrew J Wilson, Andrew C Ferguson’s poem about John Knox and the fishwife, and Jane McKie’s spellbinding moon poem. They all have several works in this lovely book, which would make a fantastic Christmas present for the geek in your life. I mean it!
Want to read more? Buy the book!
Major props to Russell, the editor, Tom, who runs Penned in the Margins, and the fabby people from Blackwells and beyond who organised the launch. There were sci-fi fairy cakes — here’s young Leon getting extremely interested in one! — and space travel survival kits on every seat! It was a great night, and as you may have gathered by now, it’s a great book! Buy one, buy one — support a great press, a ton of fabulous poets, and this exciting poetic genre!
(PS: I’m extra excited about this book because it’s the first major anthology I’ve ever seen published by an English publisher where Scottish poets make up the majority of contributors. More like this, please!)
Advent!
For some reason, I am extra-super-excited about Christmas this year. I feel like a little kid, counting down the days! I’m hyper-prepared… almost all my Christmas presents are bought, I know exactly what I’m going to bake for the big day (very important), and I’ve even bought myself a festive starry onesie (YES) to wear on Christmas morning for maximum present-opening cosiness. But the cherry on top of the festive prep cake was definitely my fabulous sister rocking up to my house on December 1st, bearing this amazing gift — a hand-made advent calendar! She knows it’s kind of tricky for us vegans to find a chocolate-y advent calendar that’s cruelty-free, so she took the stress out of it by just making one for Lovely Boyfriend and I. Each hand-sewn pouch is stuffed with dairy- and egg-free treats, and as the month goes on, the goodies get increasingly exciting! She is truly the best sister in the whole wide world.
Honourable mentions:
Vegan cooked breakfast a la Lovely Boyfriend // Getting my Christmas shopping SORTED without any stress, largely thanks to Etsy // MY NEW ONESIE. Seriously you guys. So cosy. // Book Week Scotland. I loved their events at the Mitchell Library last weekend. // Cute stuff on Tumblr (you’re welcome). // Balsam tissues. They are a life-saver… or at least, a nose-saver! // Lovely folks on Twitter // People who exclaim to me that my shop contains “the perfect gift!” for someone they know.
What are YOU loving this week?
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You can also visit Read This Press for poetry and typewriter paraphernalia! Alternatively, check out Edinburgh Vintage, our sister site. If you want to get in touch you can follow OneNightStanzas on Twitter, or email claire[at]onenightstanzas.com. I reply as swiftly as I can!
