After my last, incredibly recent, sojourn to Australia, I never thought I’d be back. I regretted this immensely because I didn’t see a single kangaroo and hardly too any pictures except this triumphant one at the Sydney Opera House. It will be a hard trip to beat since I got to travel, thanks to the Edinburgh International Book Festival, with the superb Emily Ballou and Ewan Morrison, play a Golden Hour style gig at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival with the legendary Christos Tsalkis and watch old friends Andy Hazel and Rapskallion rock the stage. This time, I’m flying solo, and getting out of Melbourne and Sydney. I’m really excited to be appearing at the National Poetry Festival in Darwin and am especially excited about the gig in Canberra (which, I’m told, starts at ‘wine o’clock’!), not to mention the thrill of being at the Clunes Booktown Festival with thousands of other book-lovers, events and talks. So, please, come or tell your friends / family to come if you can’t. Here’s my schedule but I want say sincere thanks to Australian Poetry for inviting me and setting up all these great gigs, Creative Scotland for the funding assistance, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival for introducing to the deep, deep south the first time around.

If you are NOT interested in me being in Australia (and who could blame you) perhaps you’ll enjoy Hugh Jackman crashing into the Sydney Opera House in a zip-line catastrophe….. Wolverine!

Australia

10 – 13 May – Wordstorm & National Poetry Festival 2012: A Festival of Australasian Poetry –

Monday, 7 May – The Manning Clark House, Canberra — 19.30

a lovely informal space where I’ll read as many of your poems as I like with room for questions, jokes, heckling, and wine sipping. I expect an enthusiastic evening.

Saturday 5 May – Clunes Booktown Festival — Writer’s Workshop — 11am:

in which I’ll be hosting an informal writer’s group. We’ll be looking at Scottish poetry and creating our own poems.

My appearances in Australia have been partly funded by the generous support of Creative Scotland. Myself and the Wordstorm / National Poetry Festival gratefully acknowledge this integral support.

10 Red Reading: 4 April 

I know this: Ten Red is a night of poetry. It happens in the beautiful Victorian Lounge of the Persevere Bar, Easter Road. It is hosted by our friend and poet: Kevin Cadwallender. I suspect it features 10 poets, some of whom are: Kevin Williamson, Young Dawkins, Katherine McMahon, Chris Lindores, Gerry Cambridge, Rachel McCrum, Matt MacDonald, Mira Knoche, Nancy Somerville, Sally Evans, Jenny Lindsay. And me. That’s 12. 10 Red, 2 Blue. Come on down and decide who the blue are. I suspect the evening will be jubilant, poingnant, funny and, on occasion, dirty. I hope you will come along. It will be nice to see you.

10-RED, Wednesday 4 April, 19.00, The Persevere Function Room, Edinburgh. £3.00 entry.

Angus Reid is a painter, poet, film and theatre maker, architectural critic, composer and he has a stunning exhibit at Axolotl gallery on Dundas Street, Edinburgh. I’ll be reading some poems with Reid and Henry Marsh to celebrate the exhibit composed of six funky sonnets mirroring the six summits Reid walked  in the Pentlands — an emotional, evocative, windy, journey. When I was asked to read some poems along with him and Mash, I was happy to accept. The space is very beautiful, the poems good. Come, sit on the floor with us, have some wine, talk about the walk, the cold, the wind. Hope to see you there:

Thursday, 29 March — 19.00:  Journey: Poetry and Landscape with Angus Reid and Henry Marsh – Axolotl Gallery, 35 Dundas Street. We’ll be reading, walking in our minds, drinking, maybe singing, talking and – of course – enjoying the fantastic artwork in the gallery. This is the final show for Axolotl on Dundas, so do come and enjoy the space one more time. You’ll like it.

Henry Marsh was born in Broughty Ferry, Dundee in 1944.  He now lives in Midlothian.  His working life has been spent teaching English, with a bit of philosophy.  Henry began writing poetry in 2000 following the death of a friend, a Gaelic Bard, Donald MacDonald of South Lochboisdale.  Four collections of his work have been published to date: A First Sighting, A Turbulent Wake, The Guidman’s Daughter and The Hammer And The Fire.  He was invited to read at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2008.

Ryan Goes Reekie

Friday, 30 March — Neu Reekie 15 — Scottish Book Trust, 19.00: join myself, Jenny Lindsay, a featured animator, Raffle of the Absurd, two pound drinks and house band Emelle for another round of Reekie fun. Also, it pleases me to be appearing with our old friend — Mr. Withered Hand. We’ll talk, read poems, sing. All of us, we will.

I’m excited to reprise my role in this great poetry / jazz project. I’ll be reading Brian Johnstone’s poem, music will be playing and I will be enjoying myself immensely. Join us in St: Andrews! Details below, tickets here. RVW

Richard Ingham and poet Brian Johnstone have been working together since 2007 when they formed, with bass player Louise Major, the poetry & jazz group Trio Verso whose performances have included the Big Tent Festival, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre and the Ted Hughes Festival in Yorkshire.

2011 saw an altogether larger collaboration: a setting for 20 piece jazz orchestra of the narrative poem Robinson. The evening features a set from Trio Verso and a full performance of Robinson featuring soloists Colin Steele (trumpet) and John Kenny (trombone).

Expect an evening of “bizarre clarinet-play, blasphemous saxophony” and “dark primeval sonorities” in a “living tapestry of sound”.

Time(s) of Event: 7.30pm
Start Date: 07/03/2012 End Date: 07/03/2012
Ticket Prices: £9
Location of Event:AB Paterson Auditorium

I’ll be doing a little poetry talking at the very nice Poetry Association of Scotland reading. It will be my first Edinburgh reading in something like 6 months and in the very wonderful Scottish Poetry Library, with the very amazing Andrew Forster who I last saw on a train. That last detail was pretty irrelevant. Anyway, Andrew is a very good poet. But don’t take my word for it. Our friend, poet, critic and fan-boy crush Vicki Feaver says his poems have ‘the visual power of paintings’ and the ‘depth and narrative structure of novels’. I will try not to embarrass myself in front of Andrew. You should come too, if only to see me fail.

Photo: Chris Scott

Date

The Poetry Association of Scotland presents two poets who write about desire, regret and loss but with a life-affirming warmth and perception. Telling stories full of people and places, exploring  moments of significance and discovery.

Andrew Forster: Territory (Flambard)
Ryan Van Winkle: Tomorrow We will Live Here (Salt)

I’ve been invited to Dundee as a guest reader / talker / discusser-of-things for their Salon. It sounds like good fun and a way to meet some new folks in a casual kind of way. If you find yourself in Dundee and want to come along, it would be great to see you there. RVW

“The Salons are like no other ‘Reading’ or ‘Lecture’ or ‘talk’ on offer anywhere else – in Scotland or beyond – breaking down the barriers that all too often inhibit the growth and expression of cultural life for ordinary people.

Instead here is a forum in which everyone’s ideas matter, irrespective of professional background, taste or experience.

1 March
Seasoned poet and performer, Ryan Van Winkle, is the poet in residence for the Scottish Poetry Library. Just returned from a year’s travelling around his homeland of America, Ryan will read some of his exciting work, talk about his journeys and discuss how he has managed to make a career from poems. Join us for an exciting night that is sure to make you think differently about the world of poetry.”

A long time ago, when I was on live radio with Jed Milroy, I accidentally let the f-word slip about 3 minutes into the conversation. Let’s assume that will not happen when I appear on Brian Taylor’s Big Debate on Friday 24, February. Myself and the illustrious panel will discuss the issues of the day (or the day before) with young people from local schools and colleges and they’ll be asking the questions. I don’t know what the questions will be but I do know the panel. They include: Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale, Rae Cahill (member of the Scottish Youth Parliament), and Conservative MSP Gavin Brown. Tune in at 12:15 to hear me not curse. Definitely not.

SATURDAY JANUARY 14TH AT PLACEBO SPACE. 9pm.

THIS EVENT IS PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN.

Edinburgh’s Lit&Music Cabaret Comes to Toronto

Poets read. Musicians play. The audience is incited to revolution—or a stiff drink.

DAMIAN ROGERS: Electrifying. Damian’s poetry is rock’n’roll. Sample: “I say let’s keep wasting our lives and burn/our trash as we go.”

RYAN VAN WINKLE: Award-winning, Edinburgh-dwelling bearded poet. He’ll make you swoon. Sample: “We were fucking/our way up the tower and God saw us coming.”

MATTHEW J. TRAFFORD: Crafter of surreal short stories featuring Jesus clones & mermaids. Sample: “I was born library, where my parents read from opening until closing every day, where they met, where I assume they first coupled.”

TRAPLINESA: banjo. Some poems. Do we need to say more?Sample: “I got so fat they called a crane. Everyone was nice about it, but I was too fat to care.”

NEIL QUIN: The guitarist from Zeus will blow you away with his shiny solo act.

PHANTOM SHORES: Ottawa-based folk rockers with lush harmonies and blazing lyrics. Violin, sex & rock’n’roll.

CHLOE CHARLES: This hypnotizing songstress will leave you spellbound – just try to resist.

PLUS SPECIAL MUSICAL GUEST.
THIS EVENT IS PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN.

AT PLACEBO SPACE. 1409 Bloor Street West, Apt A