The February event, which immediately followed the AGM on 17th February was a collaboration between HighlandLIT and SHIPS (the Scottish Highlands and Islands Poetry Society). The poets on board SHIPS come from all over the Highlands and Islands, including Moray, and write in Gaelic, Scots, Doric, English or a combination.
HighlandLIT Chair Paul Shanks told us that the poetry society was established in 2023 at the instigation of Mandy Haggith with Paul’s support. And then we heard from two members of SHIPS, Cáit O’Neill McCullagh and Sharon Black who gave us an inside view of its activities.
Cáit shared a poet’s image, conveying the sense of inclusion and mutual encouragement which SHIPS gives its members, It is, Cáit said, ‘a canopy of care for poetry and poets’. Sharon substantiated this in her contribution via Zoom from France where she lives. Sharon also described the range of activities SHIPS offers:
The monthly, on-line open mics are ‘successful’, ‘fun’ and ‘popular’, she told us. There are also on-line writing workshops, led by poets, each focusing on a theme – February’s theme was ‘the moon’. And then there’s a monthly ‘writing hour’ led by Lydia Harris. She begins by reading a poem, and then the participants simply write. Writing together on-line in this way gives a great sense of rapport, and says Sharon ‘a sense of the legitimacy of your writing.’
Cáit added that anyone interested in joining SHIPS should email Mandy Haggith and join the Facebook Group. The evening’s collaboration between SHIPS and HighlandLIT was highly appropriate, Cáit said: they are ‘sister organisations’.
The rest of the evening was devoted to members of SHIPS and members and friends of HighlandLIT reading their own poems. We heard from 10 poets, 3 of them via Zoom. Here they are in order of reading:
Iris Perrin, Pauline Prior-Pitt (via Zoom), David Goldie, Sharon Black (via Zoom), Karen Hodgson Price, Ian Tallach, Ian Stephen (via Zoom), Marina Gertsen, Conor O’Hara, Cáit O’Neill McCullagh.
We heard accomplished poems, some lighter, some thoughtfully profound, largely in English but with some Scots and Doric. After each contribution Paul Shanks gave an encouraging impromptu assessment of what we had heard.
As we listened to each participant in that wee function room at the Chieftain Hotel we became aware that we were actually sitting beneath Cáit’s ‘canopy of care’ for both poets and poetry. When it was all over Paul expressed his hope that the collaboration would continue. On the evidence of that evening, I’m convinced it will.
The photo below is of Mandy Haggith and Paul Shanks, the chief instigators of SHIPS when it was formed back in 2023 - sorry I forgot to take a photo actually at Monday's event!
Comments