scottish pamphlet poetry

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This Award has been created to recognise publishing skill and effort ; to validate the practice of poetry publication in pamphlet form ; and to encourage the preservation of printed material of this kind in the national collections. It is in memory of Callum Macdonald MBE, Scottish literary publisher and founder of Macdonald Publishers and Printers, which eventually became Macdonald Lindsay Pindar plc. Sadly, the firm has now closed down, so the Award will also serve to commemorate the part played in post-war Scottish culture and commerce by Macdonald's. For further information, contact The Administrator The Callum Macdonald Memorial Fund National Library of Scotland George IV Bridge Building Edinburgh EH1 lEW Web : The National Library of Scotland An application form is available to download in pdf format. Click here The short list for the 2013 Award was: Hansel Cooperative Press and Woodend Publishing for 'Reflections' by Yvonne Gray and John Cumming Happenstance Press for 'After the creel fleet' by Niall Campbell Mariscat Press for 'On time' by Donald Mackay New Voices Press for 'Holding' by Maggie Rabatski Roncadora Press for 'Nest' by Tom Pow and Hugh Bryden Stewed Rhubarb Press for 'The glassblower dances' by Rachel McCrum. CMMA 2012 winners, Lesley Harrison & Alistair Peebles with the quaich Tessa Ransford speaking at the Award Ceremony on Callum Macdonald's centenary The shortlist for the 2012 Callum Macdonald Memorial Award. The award recognises outstanding examples of pamphlet poetry publishing with a connection to Scotland or Scottish culture and this year attracted 38 entries. The shortlist was: • Ecstatics, A Language of Birds by Lesley Harrison & Laura Drever, published by Brae Editions • Happyland by William Hershaw, published by FRAS Publications • Some Consequences of Saying Yes by Mary Thomson and published by Mary Thomson • A Natural Curiosity by A.C Clarke, published by New Voices Press • Upon A Good High Hill by Helen Lawrenson, published by Perjink Press • Linked Lines by Hayden Murphy, published by Roncadora Press • Dain Do Shomhairle by multiple authors, published by the Scottish Poetry Library The winner and runner-up will be announced at a ceremony at the National Library of Scotland on 17 May, when all the entries will also be displayed. The publisher of the winning pamphlet will be presented with a cheque for £800 and will hold the Callum Macdonald Quaich for 12 months. ***************************** The 2011 winning pamphlet selected from a shortlist of six was 'Figure in a Landscape' by Anna Crowe. Hamish Whyte of Mariscat Press accepted a cheque for £750 and the Callum Macdonald Quaich (for 12 months). The judges commended 'Figure in a Landscape' both for the high quality of its poetry and the understated elegance of its production, praising it as a fine example of pamphlet poetry publishing at its best. • Mariscat Press for 'Figure in Landscape', by Anna Crowe The runner up was: • JoAnne McKay publisher and author of 'Venti' This year the poet of the winning pamphlet, Anna Crowe, was a Michael Marks Poet in Residence at the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece for two weeks in July 2011, and was joined by the winner of the Michael Marks Poetry Award, presented by the British Library. Anna sent a short report on her experience which is copied below: My Two Weeks in Greece – Looking Back The Harvard residency was a truly unforgettable experience, and I count myself very fortunate to have had the company of Olive Broderick, the Michael Marks Poetry Award winner from Ireland, who proved a delightful companion, and is now a firm friend. This was my first visit to Greece, and I was surprised to find how green the northern Peloponnese was in July. The landscapes are beautiful and awe-inspiring: the Olympic site is extraordinary, its huge columns toppled by an earthquake centuries ago and lying around like huge drums of cheese. I would advise next year's winner of the Callum MacDonald Memorial Award to try to get a bit of Byzantine history under their belts, as they will benefit more from their visits to the amazing hilltop sites of Mystras and Monemvasia. Other advice – apart from remembering to take a shady hat and a plentiful supply of bottled water! – would be to make sure you find out in advance which texts will feature on the course programme and either take them with you or download them, if possible, from Project Gütenberg – and to be clear about whether you actually want to participate in all the lectures on offer. You should bear in mind that you will be, after all, a 'poet-in-residence' and not just another student. The lectures are, in the main, of a very high quality, but it is a question, as Olive and I found, of striking the right balance between devoting time to what is on offer and your own work. One thing is certain: your hosts will be charming and hospitable, and you will have a marvellous time. Anna Crowe Winner of the Callum MacDonald Memorial Award 2011 Runner up was JoAnne McKay publisher and author of 'Venti'. The shortlist was: 'An Illustrated Book About Birds' by Anna Davis, published by Anna Davis 'Figure in Landscape' by Anna Crowe, published by Mariscat Press 'Venti' by JoAnne McKay, published by JoAnne McKay 'Countervailing' by David Betteridge, published by Rhizome Press 'Lost at Sea' by Jean Atkin, published by Roncadora Press 'Threading a Viking' by Sheena Berry, published by Sheena Watson. _____________________________________________________ The results of the 2010 Callum Macdonald Memorial Award** were announced at the NLS on Wednesday 19th May. "The pamphlets the judges have chosen show a spirit of adventure in every aspect: concept and execution, poetry and production, originality of design and sensitive use of typography.” Tessa Ransford The joint winners were: • 'And for that minute', by Leonard McDermid – published by Stichill Marigold Press, Kelso • 'Arc O Mons', by Christie Williamson – Hansel Co-operative Press (Christine de Luca), Edinburgh Runner Up was: •'One bird flying', by Lesley Harrison – Mariscat Press (Hamish Whyte), Edinburgh Other short listed entries were: •'Part truths', by Michael Pedersen – Koo Press (Douglas W Gray), Aberdeen •'Skirlags', by Nalini Paul – Red Squirrel Press, Orkney •'Songs from a dying village', by Tom Pow – Pueblo Press, Dumfries •'Galilee to Gallicantu', by Anne B Murray – Terra Firma Press, Glasgow. ________________________________________ The 2009 winner of the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award was *Postcards from the Hedge* by Hugh McMillan. Published in Dumfries by Roncadora Press received the Callum Macdonald Quaich at a ceremony held on Friday 29th May at the National Library of Scotland. (The pamplet will be available for purchase on this site shortly) Joint runners up were Sky Blue Notebook from the Pyrenees by Jayne Wilding, published in Dunbar by Calder Wood Press. and Ring O’Sangs by Mary Johnston, published in Bonnyrigg by Poetry Monthly. Other short listed entries were: • The Flood, by Alistair McDonald, published in Dunoon by Classical Head Press • Slaughtering Beetroot, by Angela McSeveney, published in Edinburgh by Mariscat Press • Hinkum Clinkum, by Sheena Blackhall, published in Aberdeen by Malfranteaux Concepts. • Hope/Truth by Priscilla Chueng-Nainby, published in Edinburgh by Lemongrass Hut. The winner was announced at a ceremony at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh on Friday 29 May at 6pm. Commenting on the shortlist, judge Tessa Ransford OBE said: “The 2009 award saw 38 entries of great variety, producing creative ways of dealing with the lighter and darker sides of life. We were delighted and impressed and would like to congratulate all the entrants for their well-made and well-written pamphlets. We would have liked to choose many more winners from such an array. The shortlist demonstrates the variety of pamphlets entered. We have everything from the handmade to the more professionally produced, Scottish Arts Council-funded productions. There are a set of translations from German into Scots, a Chinese-inspired collection, and one of Scots rhymes for children.” ____________________________________ The CMMA 2008 winners Duncan Glen of Kirkcaldy and Hazel Cameron formerly of Perthshire and now of Masham, Yorkshire, shared the winning prize at the eighth annual Callum Macdonald Memorial Award Picture shows from left, Duncan Glen, Tom Dalgleish, former chairman the trustees of Macdonald Printers and one of the regualr CMMA judges and Hazel Cameron. . Glen's Edinburgh Poems, is published by Akros publications, whilst Hazel Cameron's The Currying Shop is published by Imago Media. The winners were announced at a ceremony held at the National Library of Scotland on Wednesday 7 May, with each taking a prize of £375 as well as shared custody of the Callum Macdonald Memorial Quaich. Of the winning entries, the judging panel said "The two pamphlets contrast in theme and presentation, as indicated by their covers: one daring and challenging, the other restrained and lyrical. The poetry in both is of a high quality. One evokes ever-poetic Edinburgh, but with subversive humour. The Currying Shop, meanwhile, explores a different, more rural yet industrially historical part of Scotland. The standard of production in both is extremely high. The short listed entries were: • If Ah Could Talk Tae The Artists by Hugh Bryden, published in Dumfries by Roncadora Press. • Treeds by Laureen Johnson, published in Edinburgh by Hansel Cooperative Press. • One Light Burning by Donny O’Rourke, published in Glasgow by Bonny Day Books. • The Currying Shop by Hazel B Cameron, published in Yorkshire by Imago Media. • The Oboist’s Bedside Book by Margaret Christie, published in Glenrothes by Happenstance Press. • Edinburgh Poems by Duncan Glen, published in Kirkcaldy by Akros Publications ____________________________________ The CMMA 2007 winner The winner and runners up of the 2007 Callum Macdonald Memorial Award were announced on Monday, 14th May at The National Library of Scotland. The winner was: Menopausal Bedtime Rhymes by Maureen Sangster, published by Bourtree The runner up was: Fifty Fife Sonnets: Coarse and Fine by William Hershaw, published by Akros Publications Maureen Sangster and Lady Marks William Hershaw & Maureen Sangster Guests Browsing To download the press release Click here : Press Release Others on the Short List were: Into Glasgow, Hamish Whyte (ed.), published by Mariscat Press Window on the Garden by Hamish Whyte, published by Botanic Press & Essence Press Light up Lanarkshire by Gerry Cambridge, self published Boat Songs: A Gairloch Calendar by Ian Blake (illustrated by June Miller) published by Three Cats Press ____________________________________ The CMMA 2006 The winner was: North Uist Sea Poems by Pauline Prior-Pitt (self-published) Pauline Hazel & Tessa display the 2007 leaflet. Runners up were : Exploding Cicadas by Martin Bates published by White Adder Press and Sea Stories by Lesley Harrison published by Pinkfoot Press The other short listed entries were - •The Eel’s Eyebrows edited by Richard Medrington & Elspeth Murray, published by Puppet State Press •Glass Works by Stephanie Green published by Cat's Pyjamas Publications •North Uist Sea Poems by Pauline Prior-Pitt (self-published) •Under the Threshold by Dorothy Lawrenson published by Perjink Press Overall, the judges felt that standards among entries to the CMMA this year were again extremely high in terms of both poetry and production. A considerable number of pamphlets entered had themes or origins from the Western and Northern Isles, and it is also notable that four of the six short listed entries are by women. Tessa Ransford, one of the Award judges, said: “It feels like entering a playground of poets where poets of all ages and backgrounds are trying out different apparatus as they adventure into new forms of both theme and presentation. The freedom and potential of the pamphlet for poets is opening up the field in exciting new ways, and I truly believe that poetry in pamphlet form has become a cutting edge of creativity in Scottish Poetry.’’ ____________________________________ The winner of the CMMA 2005 Gill McConnell Garden Party Published by Woodburn Press