Featuring poetry in English, Gaelic, and Arabic, our latest Summer 2017 Scottish Issue of The Café Review continues our mission to bring Maine poetry to the world and poetry from around the world to Maine. Special thanks to our guest editor Christine De Luca, our latest issue contains poetry by Patricia Ace, Henry Bell, Ron Butlin, Gerry Cambridge, Angus Peter Campbell, Niall Campbell, Jim Carruth, Ken Cockburn, Stewart Conn, Anna Crowe, Douglas Dunn, Vicki Feaver, Anne Frater, Miriam Gamble, Valerie Gillies, Alan Gillis, John Glenday, Pippa Goldschmidt, Yvonne Gray, Simon W. Hall, Iyad Hayatleh, Diana Hendry, Andy Jackson, Rachel McCrum, Ian McDonough, James McGonigal, Jane McKie, Liz Niven, Michael Pedersen, Tom Pow, Chrys Salt, Christie Williamson and Rab Wilson, with artwork by June August, Alex Boyd and Robert Powell. Join us for one of our issue release parties. The first will be on July 20 at Grittys Pub in Portland, Maine and the next will be at Blackwell Books in Edinburgh on July 28.
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Poetry Excerpts from this Issue
þögnin
Dandy
by Gerry Cambridge Dandy for my father and grandfather As he got older he grew increasingly more flamboyant in dress, out of a youth of
An Old Story
by Gerry Cambridge After a long absence my uncle arrived one night across the sea from Ireland. Some terrible thing had happened. Frost had
Iris
by Jane McKie When I get to the hot country I fling my sunhat down, letting my forehead bake to the gold of gooseberry piecrust. My arms will
Esso
by Jane McKie I dash from the pump: unseasonable hail has begun to javelin on the forecourt, perfume of petrol turned to freezing junk. Not far,
Visitors
by Yvonne Gray You edged through darkness, tracing the lines of longitude north. The engine droned and wing lights pulsed as you followed the
Return of the Erne
by Yvonne Gray You are ancient bones drawn into the light from a stone–lined tomb. You are golden shafts that beam from the eyrie above the
Glass Bangle
by Valerie Gillies We discover by chance how time can flow — in the broken glass bangle lost by a tribesgirl within the ramparts of the fort
Bowers Knowe
by Valerie Gillies Bowers Knowe, we’ll never know now. In the north side of a natural mound a group of bronze age cists are found close together.
The Reading
by Tom Pow The Reading Granada, Nicaragua i.m. Derek Walcott The old master swivels his prize– winning head round the audience
Glenkiln
by Tom Pow One deer, then another, flushed out by my presence, before I can even spot what they were doing before me, cross half a field in four
The Ornithologist to His Love
by Stewart Conn I cannot contemplate your taking ill, say, any more than I can the prospect of no dawn, no morning patter of fine rain against
The Arc
by Stewart Conn Today’s workshop was on the arc of the poem, its variance in accord with structure and length. Compare for instance the hundred
Dverg Mal
Simon W. Hall Dverg Mal Orcadian, Scots of Orkney ‘The echo comes from the hammars, or cliffs, on the side of the hill. Dr Marwick decided
Poor Peedie Gaelic
by Simon W. Hall Poor Peedie Gaelic Orcadian, Scots of Orkney Poor peedie Gaelic. Peedie tottie grottie buckie. Atlantic o pressure bearan
Prayer
by Ron Butlin When I reach the centre of the earth let there be someone with me. Each of us must bear the world’s weight, but not alone. So
Nice Has Become a Suburb of Edinburgh
by Ron Butlin I was having a last drink with a friend at the very moment a truck was being driven down a faraway hillside. I left the bar to find
Girvan
by Rachel McCrum Girvan Whit’s yer hurry ? That great big sea turtle of Ailsa Craig waiting to finally lumber up evill scattering barnacles and
Unbuilding a house
by Rachel McCrum I am unbuilding a house. Across the living room floor, bricks lie rubbled. Without fail, each morning, I carefully stub my toes,
What’s This You’re Writing?
by Rab Wilson What’s This You’re Writing? English Version There’s none care now about the poet’s work Least of all, not round here anyway.
Hedgehog Girl
by Vicki Feaver I was born bristling with prickles. My mother shaved me with a razor. When my prickles grew back: longer, thicker, sharper, she
The Surgeon’s Widow
by Vicki Feaver I dug all night in the company of moths — drawn from the dark to the bright beam of my torch — recovering first his skull, last,
On the latest discovery of an exoplanet.
by Pippa Goldschmidt Stutter–dots of light break up the sky, a bright Morse code that we love to crack. But even after we receive the
The (indirect) evidence for dark matter as inferred from the higher-than-predicted speed of galaxy rotations
by Pippa Goldschmidt The (indirect) evidence for dark matter as inferred from the higher-than-predicted speed of galaxy rotations i.m. Vera Rubin
A Course in Miracles
by Patricia Ace My cousin is taking a course in miracles. She rises at five to the cries of the birds, the tropical light bleaching the room
The Best Day of Your Life
by Patricia Ace The Best Day of Your Life 4th August 1962 You envied the girls who’d had to get married: their hasty ceremonies, their
Split
by Niall Campbell One night I was sitting by my inner life and it was such a little fire and, here and here, the snow was coming down. Doesn’t
Moth and Mother
by Niall Campbell The night he cried himself into our bed, I couldn’t find the clear road back to sleep so went for water — filling the glass
Midas
by Miriam Gamble Later he will dress for dinner, though for now he is embarrassed that the only thing he has to offer is the Lucozade we brought,
The Landing Window is Unspeakable
by Miriam Gamble There’s a turn in the stairs beyond which, in the darkness, you are terrified to go — the realm of the creaking life which
Oyster
by Michael Pedersen Bums to seats down at the table like a book with a fresh new ending — in every direction universes beyond this this room
Visitation
by Liz Niven Visitation Galloway Scots Yesterday, A seen an angel. He came richt intae the kitchen when A was makin the tea. His wings
sky
by Liz Niven lift Galloway Scots twa wrens are thrang, howkin oot moss fae ma gairden dyke wee mooths pull green fronds twice as lang’s
The Solitary Reaper
by Ken Cockburn was composed for an exhibition linking Wordsworth and Basho at Kamikoro Bunko, Osaka, Japan, in autumn 2016. It draws on
Think of it this Way
by John Glenday Late May. Rapefields in open blossom. You pull into a layby to savour that heady fullness of yellow, staining the air an
Think of it this Way
by John Glenday You find yourself awake, in a bed that is not your own, in a room you do not recognise, in a city where you are a stranger and
Ratman
by Jim Carruth This was the nickname for him that stuck though the rat survived barely a few months after he trapped it in a sack at the harvest,
Faking It
by Jim Carruth Faking It (Odontochile spinifera, Barrande 1846, trilobite, Eifelian Devonian, Morocco) “Faking
A Scottish Suite
by James McGonigal Ramón Gómez de la Serna (1888 –1963): A Scottish Suite Spanish with Glasgow Scots God the Faither hauds the keys
The Lost Glen
by James McGonigal One of these years he might miss not only her birthday but the date of her death. Waking
Return
by Iyad Hayatleh Return English Version It’s four am my heart sneaks towards alleys of Damascus like a Sufi deer in love with a white dove
Mornings
by Iyad Hayatleh Mornings English Version Thousands of splendid mornings and kisses I send to those who have no mornings To my mum whose
North Highland Village
by Ian McDonough We’re born to see round corners, but struggle sometimes with panoramic vistas. Broken decorations from last Xmas hang from
In Sutherland
by Ian McDonough The North Westerly is a martyr shrieking, broken on the wheel. Years are tentacles of giant squid grasping all we hold so dear
Greater and Lesser Winter
by Henry Bell That full ripe Glasgow sun is warming up the courgettes and smashed TVs in my Back Court The sky is black to my left bright blue to
The Borders
by Henry Bell The borders lie deep in maroon, cimarron Jamaica, Freetown, and Jericho. Men made from tar ten thousand years ago who walked for
Fire Watch
by Diana Hendry One year, dressed in his suit, father marched me across the road to the sandhills. All week they’d been building a bonfire there.
The Pot of Rouge
by Diana Hendry Sometimes I still use it, scrubbing the flattened puff into the hardened stuff then rubbing it on my cheeks as she did on hers.
The Scottish Cemetery, Kolkata
The Scottish Cemetery, Kolkata by Chrys Salt At first none of us would go there. The kids were frightened of the snakes, the tortured idols of
Strange Genesis
by Christie Williamson Unkan Genesis Shetlandic Scots I da beginneen dey wir a
Prosbaig
by Anne Frater Telescope English Version It was one thing at Trafalgar for Nelson, deliberately to raise the
Immersion
by Anne Frater Immersion English Version If it had come in a downpour we would have noticed; we would have prepared: oilskin trousers and a
Common Rush
by Anna Crowe Common Rush for Swithun The flowers, by August, brownish withered knots; but something about the way they sprout —
A Shepherd’s Voice
by Anna Crowe A Shepherd’s Voice after 2 pictographic clay tablets from Tell Brak, Syria, c. 4000 BCE The river the clay was
At Hallan Cemetery
by Angus Peter Campbell ( Aonghas Phàdraig Caimbeul ) At Hallan Cemetery English Version I call by to see my mother and father and they
Alasdair
by Angus Peter Campbell ( Aonghas Phàdraig Caimbeul ) Alasdair English Version Some things were public. How carefully you thatched,
The Ascension of St Christina the Astonishing
by Andy Jackson The Ascension of St Christina the Astonishing Patron saint of millers Above you all I loved my three–fold God;
In a Green Wood
by Alan Gillis Under cover of the sycamore wood anemone blooms. The sycamore’s seeds, wee samaras, twizzle–twirl through the air. You trace
Tollymore Forest Park
by Alan Gillis Grumbulous midges would hover still in a galaxy of minor rage by the riverside, the river relaxed from a distance but
The Historian
by Douglas Dunn Where Shug MacFarlane burned his midnight oil In that cramped attic room of his, upstairs From where his granny took ten years to
Artists
Poet Biographies
Rab Wilson
Rab Wilson: was born in Ayrshire and has worked in engineering, coal mining, and psychiatric nursing. His first major work as a poet, bringing
Christie Williamson
Christie Williamson: is a poet originally from Yell, Shetland who now lives in Glasgow. His poems have appeared in the New Shetlander, Gutter,
Chrys Salt
Chrys Salt: has performed at festivals across the UK, Europe, the USA, Canada, Finland, and India and won numerous awards. In 2012 The Burning
Tom Pow
Tom Pow: has written across a range of genres, including fiction, non–fiction, drama, and works for children. But he is primarily a poet.
Michael Pedersen
Michael Pedersen: is an Edinburgh born poet, writer, babbler, etc. He won the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship and John Mather’s Trust Rising
Liz Niven
Liz Niven: is a Scottish poet. Her collections include Stravaigin, Burning Whins, and The Shard Box (Luath Press, Edinburgh). Public art
Jane McKie
Jane McKie: her first two collections of poetry were Morocco Rococo (Cinnamon Press) which won the Sundial /Scottish Arts Council award for best
James McGonigal
James McGonigal: is a poet, biographer, and critic, formerly a teacher and teacher educator. He has co–edited anthologies of Scottish
Ian McDonough
Ian McDonough: was brought up in Brora on the East Coast of Sutherland. He has published four collections of poetry, most recently A Witch Among
Rachel McCrum
Rachel McCrum: is a poet and performer who has worked across Scotland, Montreal, Haiti, South Africa, Greece, and Northern Ireland. She won the
Andy Jackson
Andy Jackson: is from Salford but has lived in Scotland for 25 years. He has published two collections of poetry via Red Squirrel Press, The
Diana Hendry
Diana Hendry: has published six poetry collections, including The Seed–Box Lantern: New & Selected Poems (Mariscat Press). She’s
Iyad Hayatleh
Iyad Hayatleh: is a Palestinian poet and translator who was born and grew up in Syria. He has lived in Glasgow since 2000, and has taken part in
Simon W. Hall
Simon W. Hall: is the author of The History of Orkney Literature (Birlinn), which was joint winner of the Saltire Society Prize for Scottish
Yvonne Gray
Yvonne Gray: is a writer and musician who lives in Orkney. Her poems have been widely published and she has collaborated with visual artists,
Pippa Goldschmidt
Pippa Goldschmidt: is the author of the novel The Falling Sky and the short story collection The Need for Better Regulation of Outer Space (both
John Glenday
John Glenday: is the author of four poetry collections. The Apple Ghost (Peterloo Poets 1989) won a Scottish Arts Council Book Award and Undark
Alan Gillis
Alan Gillis: has published four poetry books with The Gallery Press: Scapegoat (2014), Here Comes the Night (2010), Hawks and Doves (2007) and
Valerie Gillies
Valerie Gillies: is the author of eight books of poetry. She received the Creative Scotland Award in 2005; she was the Edinburgh Makar from 2005
Miriam Gamble
Miriam Gamble: originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland, has been living in Scotland since 2010; she lectures in Creative Writing at the
Anne Frater
Anne Frater: is a poet from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. She chooses to write in Scottish Gaelic, her first language and the language of the
Vicki Feaver
Vicki Feaver: lives in Dunsyre, South Lanarkshire. Her most recent collection, The Book of Blood (Cape 2006) was shortlisted for the Forward and
Douglas Dunn
Douglas Dunn: was born in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, in 1942. After working as a librarian in Scotland and Akron, Ohio, he studied English at Hull
Anna Crowe
Anna Crowe: was co–founder and former Artistic Director of StAnza, Scotland’s Poetry Festival. Her work has been translated into several
Stewart Conn
Stewart Conn: was Edinburgh’s inaugural Makar (Poet Laureate) from 2002 to 2005. Latest collections: The Breakfast Room (2011 SMIT Scottish
Ken Cockburn
Ken Cockburn: is a poet and translator based in Edinburgh, where he runs Edinburgh Poetry Tours, guided walks in the city’s Old Town. He has
Jim Carruth
Jim Carruth: is the current Glasgow Poet Laureate and his first full collection, Killochries, published in 2015, was shortlisted for the Saltire
Niall Campbell
Niall Campbell: is a poet from Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. His first UK book, Moontide, won the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award and Saltire First Book
Angus Peter Campbell
Angus Peter Campbell: (Aonghas Phàdraig Caimbeul) is from the island of South Uist. His first collection of poetry, The Greatest Gift, was
Gerry Cambridge
Gerry Cambridge: is a poet, essayist, editor, and harmonica player with substantial interest in print design and typography as well as a
Ron Butlin
Ron Butlin: as well as being a poet, has an international reputation as a prize–winning novelist. He is a former Edinburgh Makar /
Henry Bell
Henry Bell: is a writer and editor from Bristol, working in poetry and theatre. He lives on the Southside of Glasgow and edits Gutter Magazine.
Patricia Ace
Patricia Ace: has published First Blood (HappenStance Press, 2006) and Fabulous Beast (Freight Books, 2013). Recent work appears in the