Today saw the publication of the Scottish Poetry Library’s annual online anthology of the 20 Best Scottish Poems. Available as a podcast from iTunes, it makes for perfect lazy day listening. Image: Seaweed by Lucy Burnett
Taken from the scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk:
“Best Scottish Poems is the Scottish Poetry Library’s annual online anthology of the 20 Best Scottish Poems, edited each year by a different editor. Bookshops and libraries – with honourable exceptions – often provide a very narrow range of poetry, and Scottish poetry in particular. Best Scottish Poems offers readers in Scotland and abroad a way of sampling the range and achievement of our poets, their languages, forms, concerns.”
And offered for free in a poetry podcast! Ideal for enjoying and appreciating things when our minds are open and ready to listen. The odds of me being in the mood for whatever is on TV or Radio at that precise moment is usually nil. Sky+, torrents and the odd box set, that’s how I interact with television when it’s not showing Channel 4 news. Using podcasts to fill in the background while I work during the day is another lifehacker move.
As little as I know about poetry, the wordsmith in me takes delight in listening to a piece of work where the writer has put so much effort into every single word. The Scottish Poetry Library goes on to say:
It is in no sense a competition but a personal choice, and this year’s editors, the novelists Louise Welsh and Zoë Strachan, checked and balanced each other’s predilections. Their introduction demonstrates how widely they read, and how intensely. The preceding years’ selections are still available on this site. This special podcast features readings by established voices and emerging talent. With readings by Kathleen Jamie, Liz Lochhead, Robin Robertson, John Burnside, and many more.
If the internet linkbait headlines are polluting your online life a little too much, there’s always unsubscribe, unlike, unfollow, and unfriend.
Until next time, enjoy!
For more info and podcasts visit Scottish Poetry Library
