Scottish Poetry Library Poetry Issues

Other recommendations

Essentials

Faber Poet-to-Poet Series

This paperback series is doubly useful - each book is an excellent selection of a significant poet's work and a lovely and inexpensive way to fill gaps in your stock. But each selection has been made by a poet who feels a particular affinity for these (often modern) classics, and make for intriguing pairings in themselves: Ted Hughes on Emily Dickinson, or Alice Oswald (see above) on Thomas Wyatt.

All the books in the series are of interest, but we'd particularly recommend their insights and influences for the Scottish poets making the selections: John Burnside's pick of Wallace Stevens, Don Paterson on Robert Burns, Mick Imlah's Tennyson, and Douglas Dunn's choice of Robert Browning.

All Faber, £3.99, pbk

Children and young adults

Umpteen Pockets: new and collected poems for children

Adrian Mitchell

New poems and old favourites from the much-loved and irresistably exuberant Adrian Mitchell, who died last year. Guaranteed enjoyed by target audience (say, 8 years upwards) who instantly recognise sympathy, humour and understanding; but there's also a very high chance you'll be inspired to use it for reading aloud or trying out writing ideas with young groups.

ISBN 978-1408303634, Orchard, 2009, £14.99 hbk.

What's new...

If you've got main poetry titles covered, but want to add extra sparkle...

Identity Parade

ed Roddy Lumsden

A sample of new British and Irish poets - 'new' is defined here as those whose first poetry collections have been published in the last fifteen years (or will be published this year).

ISBN 978-1852248390, Bloodaxe 2010, £12.00 pbk.

Pamphlets and small press

Figure in a Landscape

by Anna Crowe

A sequence of poems around fig trees; but also around a sister's early death, childhood, incompletion and maturity. Anna Crowe is a Scottish poet whose quiet, elegant, readable style should not be overlooked.

ISBN 978-0-946588-52-7, Mariscat, £5 pbk

What works…? Try this!

Judy at Granton Library tried out some poetry activities using Scots poetry for children …

"I used some poems from King o' the Midden as a basis for the workshop. First of all, each of the kids (8 of them, ages 7 - 12) made their own 'Scottish' wordsearch using a grid, I gave them some words for inspiration, but they added some of their own as well. After they had finished they swapped with one of the others, and the first one to complete their wordsearch got a prize. Next I was planning to read the poems out, but they were desperate to read them out themselves! Then they tried their hands at writing poems. A couple of the girls came up with great stuff. Some of them just wanted to copy poems out of books but this was still a good sign." Judy, Granton Library, Edinburgh

• Send us your tips. What's worked for you?

Poems for display

Wouldn't it be great if not only there was a poem for every occasion - but somebody had sorted out the copyright issues, so you could just download and print as a lovely, free poster for your library, in moments?

Well, it's getting pretty close. I dream of one fantastic new Scottish poem every month, cleared by a kindly poet and generous publisher, with which you could do anything in the name of poetry and libraries and never worry about copyright (well, with proper acknowledgements of course). Until that day, here are some brilliant alternatives which offer you English-language poems, for particular purposes, all ready to print off and download:

• www.poemsfor.org
• Poetry Foundation's 'For the Fridge' posters