APRIL2017
PROLOGUE Scotland's ultimate guide to the written word.
Gayle McNicol interview with poet and networker
Chris McQueer exclusive interview with homegrown poet
Deborah Serravalle exclusive interview with debut author about her new book, How We Danced
ISSUE NO. 01
PAGE 2
Editor's Note I'd like to wish you a very warm welcome to the debut issue of Prologue. Through the pages of our magazine, we wish to take you on an exploration of Scottish literary culture to reveal the stories behind the stories. In this issue, we will speak to some of the nation's best talents and fill you in on what has been going on in the literary scene in the past few months as well as what you have to look forward to. P.S. We apologise in advance for how long your book wish list will get after reading the magazine - ours certainly got a lot larger after making it!-
Hannah Moore Editor
PAGE 3
Contents Gale McNicol pg. 7 Deborah Serravalle pg.10 Moniack Mhor pg. 14 Jennifer Niven pg. 17 Sam Small pg. 21 Chris McQueer pg. 24 Watch This Space pg. 28 PAGE 4
Sonnets Exchange pg. 29 Christine De Luca pg. 32 What's In A Name? pg. 34 Writer's Opportunities pg. 35 Clair Gibson pg. 38 404 Ink pg. 42 After The Sleep pg. 45
PAGE 5
"We accept the love we think we deserve." The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
PAGE 6
Gayle McNicol
Olivia Armstrong PAGE 7
“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.” - T. S. Eliot
I
n this current political climate, words can be our greatest weapon. Throughout history, the power of language has brought together like-minded individuals and blasted through prejudice. Gayle McNicol is a graphic artist and freelance poet from Glasgow and her poetry manifested itself through her love of the creative arts. “I used to do artwork, that was my big thing. But I find that my poetry’s a lot easier and less stressful and I can write about how I’m feeling or make people laugh. So, it evolved out of my previous interest in graphic art.”
A short while ago, she set up a Facebook poetry group in order to showcase her work, which currently has over 150 members. “The point of the group was basically to get feedback. It’s a group for people to read my poems before I decide to publish them. It’s to find out how they feel, to get ideas, to inspire and just basically to get it out there. Once it’s in the group, it’s out of my head.”
However, her inspiration for her writing comes from connections to her own experiences.
She states that her work is political in nature and has had her work recognised by several famous names.
“I’ve had lifelong Asperger’s and depression so a lot of my inspiration comes from real life and feelings. I usually write about things that people are scared or shy away from to write about. I just like being brutally honest and talking about experiences that are difficult. It’s mostly about my own experiences so someone can hear it and know they are not alone.”
"I need to write from the heart and it's not something I can churn out."
PAGE 8
“I had a comedy poem collection called ‘Nursery Rhymes for Punks’ and it’s rather anti-fascist. I have other nursery rhymes as well, I have one called 'The Tory Zombies' which is a comedy poem. So, I quite often write comedy or political stuff from a left-wing perspective. One of my poems was for a band called Conflict and it’s called 'Ode to Conflict', talking about how the music has inspired me and kept me going. The singer, Colin Jerwood, wanted me to copy it onto his page. But that went on further when their drummer died. I wrote a poem in memory of him and his sister read out my poem at his funeral in front of 300 people.” In response to whether she intends to publish her work, Gayle replied that it was a possibility but it would have to be her own decision. “I put my poems on the group for people to read before they get published. Once I have a good number of poems then I’ll consider publishing them. I know someone who could write about a hundred poems a day but I find I can’t do that, I need to write from the heart and it’s not something I can just churn out because I believe my poems have a special touch and I don’t want to get into that mentality. But if I do publish them, I’ll probably put in my own illustrations as well.” You can read Gayle’s work from her poetry group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/523391801193738/
"A friendship so rare and sweet and kind, And kindred trust so hard to find. It seemed that others a reunion never to fail But it was unstable on unbalanced scales." G.mcnicol©2017
PAGE 9
Deborah Serravalle
Laura Maxwell PAGE 10
L
ying to your kids starts at the beginning. Santa comes down the chimney, too much TV will make you go blind, a tree will grow inside you if you eat the seeds in your apple, etc. Canadian author, Deborah Serravalle’s debut novel, How We Danced, takes secrets in the family into adulthood in this tale of a woman discovering her parent’s past. “The idea of a marriage where you can love someone but not really know them. Also, the mother/daughter relationship which is just beautifully complicated.”
Through various characters’ eyes, How We Danced slowly peels away at memories distorted by age until it gets to the core of this unorthodox marriage. It’s a little bit of Memento with its distrustful and warped account of memories, a little Pulp Fiction with its various viewpoints on one story and a whole lot of August: Osage County with its exploration of mother/daughter dynamics and family secrets. Serravalle’s own mother shared a lot of traits with How We Danced’s Lily.
Serravalle’s protagonist, Jennifer, returns home to help aid her dying father and, over time, is forced to re-address childhood memories which add a new theory to her parents’ distance. The character’s of Alastair and Lily take some influence from Serravalle’s own parents who were from Scotland. “My parents also had a complicated marriage. They were great friends but not great lovers. It’s not something I like to talk about because then people start to think that the book is a biography or a memoir and it’s not. It truly is fiction, but it was based on their love for each other but incompatibility.”
"Her mother's eyes, once burnished walnut, had lost their lustre." How We Danced, Deborah Serravalle
PAGE 11
“[Serravalle’s grandfather] was a very hard man. [He was] of his era, hard drinking, rather abusive man, physically. So my mother was a very meek person, I think, had been traumatised at childhood. But I found her frustrating at times and when you do read the novel, Jennifer I found the hardest to write because often times I was channelling my relationship with my own mother. At times I wasn’t as compassionate as I should have been. She frustrated me when she would just be that quiet way and not respond or argue.” Whereas, Alastair’s influence came from the story of a gay sting operation. “It was disgraceful. This goes back to the late 70’s, early 80’s and I just felt that what happened to him was so incredibly cruel. So he was the inspiration for the character of Alastair.” “Because Alastair is confused about his sexual orientation, when it came for me to be writing about him falling in love with another man I was like “Oh god, how am I going to do this?” and then I just realised I don’t have to really think about it, I just write about it as if I was falling in love with a man.”
"'Writers write to understand.' I think there’s a lot of validity in that."
Despite dealing with an LGBTQ character, Serravalle, surprisingly, has received little backlash... “No I haven’t received any [backlash] nor have I received any poor feedback from the LGBTQ community. That was a worry for me. What if I have, unwittingly, misrepresented? That’s always a challenge. But I did have a woman in my community who is active in the gay community, I had her review the novel and she found one thing that was a double-entendre but I decided to leave it in simply because it is a double-entendre.” How We Danced’s central theme of secrets hidden in time is best expressed in a watch given to Alastair as a gift from his secret lover, which is hidden and forgotten by Lily inside a grandfather clock. “It just sort of evolved. These things come about organically, or they don’t.”
PAGE 12
How We Danced was an eye-watering ten years in the making before publication and a few re-writes. “I had someone in my life, from my past, die. It was a friendship that had ended poorly and never been resolved. It was one of those things where you let it go and you try to get a hold of them and you can’t find them and then I found out that that individual passed away. So I was grieving and in my grief, I started to write poetry. Really bad poetry. And then I thought, ‘Well if I’m going to do this I should do it properly’ and I started taking courses and the grief passed, but the writing stayed.” Next, Serravalle is taking her themes of mother/daughter dynamics and LGBTQ struggles to the American Civil War. Mockingbird Diaries follows abolitionists and historic figures, Laura Towne and Ellen Murray while they set up a school in South Carolina with the goal of proving to society that the newly abandoned slaves can contribute to civilisation. “St Helena Island was captured by the Union Army, the North, and all the plantation owners fled and left their slaves behind. “The story is told in the present day when a mother and daughter inherit a farmhouse in New Brunswick, they discover these hidden diaries. ... Laura and Ellen, I believe, were lovers. We’ll never know for sure but I’m exploring that. “ And for all those budding writers, Serravalle says... “Whatever you do explore it has to hold your attention for a long time - years. So it has to be intriguing to you. I read somewhere that writers write to understand, and I think there’s a lot of validity in that.”
PAGE 13
Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre
Amy McGhee PAGE 14
F
or writers to become inspired many feel the need to travel and explore out with their usual surroundings, this has led to many places being set up across the world to allow budding authors to isolate themselves and focus on their creative work. Although, there are many the world over there are also a few situated right here in Scotland. One of these writing retreats is The Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre, which is located in the Scottish Highlands near the town of Beauly, close to Inverness. “Moniack Mhor has a past steeped in stories. Built on the site of a baron’s house, surrounded by fields rich in the remains of Bronze Age civilizations, the centre once served as a croft. Its restoration came about in 1992, supported by funds raised through a 24-hour poetry recital. In 1993, its founders Kit and Sophia Fraser opened the doors to its first course in partnership with Arvon (formerly the Arvon Foundation).” The surrounding areas of the centre are ideal for any writers who wish to be dazzled by breath-taking scenery and tranquility. The rich history of the neighbouring land can offer fresh ideas and allow a writer’s imagination to run wild. Richard Clements, who works at the centre said:
“We ran our first courses way back in 1993. Our first tutors were poets Liz Lochhead and Roger McGough.” PAGE 15
The centre boasts high-profile guests such as, Carol Ann Duffy, Liz Lochhead, Jackie Kay, Val McDermid, Mairi Hedderwick and James Robertson. At the Moniack Mhor Centre there are workshops held throughout the year which are so well received and busy, it even has a waiting list. “We have courses and retreats from January through to December. Our retreats always prove very popular – in fact, the one for this coming December is already fully booked. We also hire out the centre to private retreats such as schools and writing groups. We find that the most popular retreats will have a waiting list.” The centre boasts an impressive timetable of writing workshops and tutorials. These workshops and tutorials are held throughout the grounds of the centre. One of the newest additions to the Moniack Mhor is The Straw Bale Studio, which is an eco-friendly tutorial space. “The eco-friendly studio is for one-toone tutorials, workshops and readings. Out with these times, the studio is often used as quiet writing space or for any other purpose. The project has environmental sustainability at its very heart, utilising a passive solar heating system, solar/wind powered electricity system, turf roofing and straw bale insulation.”
There are also a few other areas which the centre offers, one of these areas is their community garden project. “In 2013, Moniack Mhor’s garden underwent a transformation. At the start of the project, the acre of land that surrounds the buildings of Moniack Mhor was untouched, a blank canvas waiting to be discovered by the local community and visiting writers. As well as the various garden features and the inspirational views overlooking the mountains of Strathfarrar and the table plateau of Ben Wyvis, the garden creates space for discussion, workshops, tutorials, and encourages activities including writing, reading, listening, and reciting.” The centre which has been open for 23 years was founded by Kit and Sophia Fraser. “They had a crazy idea of building a writer’s centre in the middle of nowhere, 1,000 feet up a hillside near Loch Ness. A place for writers to come and be fully immersed in their work without the usual distractions of television and the like.” For any readers interested in attending but are worried that only people of a prominent level of writing can visit, Richard explains that’s not the case. “This is something we hear a lot for folks as they are enquiring about a retreat – that they fear they may not be good enough. But of course, the point of attending a retreat is to make you a better writer.” With regard to people who may wish to visit but are not too sure, Richard said: “If you’re a writer, the best place for you to be is in the company of other writers. You can also have the opportunity to be taught the craft by some of the very best writers around. This year, for example, we have poetry courses being taught by the likes of Jo Bell, Lemn Sissay and Hollie McNish. We have fiction courses with tutoring from Joanne Harris and Louis De Bernieres too. And apart from all that, you’ll have time to write in a nurturing and supportive environment. Oh, and you can have some of the best food you’ll ever have while enjoying one of the best views you’ll ever see.” The Moniack Mhor offers lots of inspiration and help for future/ current writers to hone their skills and practice their craft in a secluded area away from distractions. The courses and other workshops mentioned above are available for a price. For courses which run from Monday to Saturday the prices range from £540-£595. There are also three-day courses available which cost between £325-£390. You can also visit and stay at the centre without having to take part in workshops which costs £300. For more information about The Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre visit: www.moniackmhor.org.uk. PAGE 16
Jennifer Niven
Natalie Miller PAGE 17
A
s a young girl growing up in Richmnd, Indiana, Jennifer knew that she loved writing more than anything else and now she is a New York Times/International best seller and the achievements just keep growing. She deals with subjects from mental health, depression, romance and life in all of her books. Her mother was a writer as well, and she made sure Jennifer had writing time in her childhood routine. “Because of her work, I grew up seeing how stressful and demanding a career in writing could be, but also how fulfilling. There was never a doubt that this is what I would try to do one day.” She included Indiana as the place her two characters Violet and Finch were from in her YA debut novel All the Bright Places and says it was such a lovely place to grow up for her. Her parents always supported her career choice and gave her the confidence to go after what she wants. Her parents taught her as a little girl that she could be anything she wanted to be and do anything she put her mind to which she done. “My mum especially told me never to limit myself or my dreams. Even though both my parents are gone now, I continue to get inspiration from both of them. You can find them, to some degree or another, in almost everything I write.” She wrote her personal memoir titled The Aqua Net Diaries, and it had stories from her time in high school that she wanted to share with her readers. On a trip where she was in Russia, in the high Siberian Arctic, she met a high school girl who was her guide. She was talking about what high school was like, and she was saying, “I wish that these girls were not so mean, and I wish that this boy knew I existed, and I really can’t wait to get out one day and go to the big city. I guess high school is very different where you come from.” PAGE 18
“I said, not really. So I started thinking about the universality of high school, and I thought, what if, and I had a reunion coming up.” Jennifer’s first novel titled The Ice Master was released seventeen years ago, and she said it was an exhilarating, overwhelming, and very surreal experience. She wanted to run into every bookstore and scoop up the copies of her books and take them home with her, where no one could see them. “I remember the first time I saw my book in a store; I was overcome with that feeling-- of wanting to protect my book and shield it from people and run away with all the copies. As I was standing there, a man walked up and started reading the jacket copy, and then set the book down and walked away. At that moment, I immediately switched to being indignant that he did not want to read it!” These are the opportunities Jennifer has got from being an author and being able to travel the world which she thoroughly enjoys. “I have been to countries I would never have been able to visit. I have been a passenger on a Russian icebreaker and travelled by helicopter to a remote Arctic island. I have received awards and done events with celebrities and writers I have admired for years. I have been in a B-29 bomber and been in a submarine and seen the Amazon.”
Most of all she appreciates that she has the time to get to meet her readers and speak with them or cry with them as they mean so much to her. She never anticipated all these things when she was a little girl, dreaming of being an author. In her spare time, Jennifer loves to read and watch TV, especially Supernatural which she included character names from it in her second YA novel Holding Up the Universe. She is a big fan of films and loves all things Hollywood. Her favourite authors are Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Nick Hornby, Flannery O'Connor, and Neil Gaiman - who she is specifically into right now. Most recently she read the novel Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng and said she thought it was fantastic. Her first book was certainly far from what she is doing now in the YA genre she is writing for. She has written for adults, both nonfiction and fiction, and is currently writing for young adults. She has enjoyed every genre she has written in, but she credits her young adult readers as her favourite readers of all.
“They are so passionate and honest and discerning and smart, and they embrace the books with the most enthusiasm and love I have ever seen. They are a joy to write for.”
PAGE 19
Her first YA novel All the Bright Places has some major topics that the media and her readers have praised her for writing about so openly. Depression, anxiety, suicide – mental health can be such a taboo subject, but with more authors expressing these in their novels it is spreading awareness and helping their readers. “Is today a good day to die?” wonders Theodore Finch in the very first line of the book, opening it wide for readers to wonder where this book will take us. Jennifer has struggled with depression and knew someone that was going through the same subjects her character Finch faced in the novel, so she had first-hand knowledge of what it was like and reflected it very well in her story. She says that she does struggle with writer's block as do all writers when they are constantly writing. Jennifer will take it almost always as something she should not be doing with what she is trying to do. Either the characters do not want to go where she is trying to send them, or they do not want to do what she is trying to make them do, or she does not know them well enough to write them yet. “One thing that helps is creating playlists for my main characters and also a playlist for the entire book. I find that these playlists not only help me storyboard/outline the story itself, but they help me track the story and characters emotionally. So often when I am stuck I just listen to the music, and it helps unstick me. I imagine new scenes, I lose myself in the character's mind or heart and just let myself free write a little till I get where I need to go.” Jennifer is working on a new novel that she’s keeping secretive about, but she did say, “The only thing I can say is that I have not cried this much since writing All the Bright Places.” Her hope is to continue writing stories that she wants to read and that those stories will reach the readers who need them most. Jennifer would love to see all her books made into films, two of them are on their way right now, and although screenwriting is something she is overseeing for All the Bright Places, she would love to write and create her own TV show. PAGE 20
Sam Small
Hannah Moore PAGE 21
I
n recent years you may have seen a great rise in a variety of poetry events in Glasgow everywhere from the public library to the local pub. The events ran by the team behind The High Flight fanzine, are a staple of the city's live poetry scene. Their last event in the basement of Nice N Sleazy was a part of BBC 6 Music Fringe Festival and featured Chris McQueer and Josephine Sillars along with Harry & The Hendersons providing the tunes for the night. Prologue spoke to Sam Small one of the founders of the High Flight to find out more and the zine and his poetry. He told us: "The High Flight is a fanzine for poetry and short stories that was started by myself and my friend Mick Clocherty, we wanted to put something out that was fun and relatable because a lot of the poetry that's out there is presented in a really boring nothingness that's just crap. Since the zine started around 3 years ago we've started putting on live events and kept the poetry and storytelling involved but mixed it in with live bands and all sorts of other weird stuff." The zine can be read online or in physical copies which can be picked up for around the city in places like the west end pub, Inn Deep, where Sam hosts a regular open mic poetry night. If you like the sound of the zine and you are looking for a platform to get your work published, they are open to submissions. Sam said: PAGE 22
"We just publish stuff we think is good, we don't have a formula or a type of writing that always makes it in. I think hearing a voice that sounds unique to that individual is always a good start, just be yourself." Sam's own poetry is colourful and engaging on the page and read aloud at the events that he regularly performs at. The charm and personality he has when you see him in person comes across wonderfully in his words where he manages to capture his audience and fill the room with feelings and ideas he is trying to convey. Speaking about his poems, Sam says: "I tend to write narrative poems, with a beginning and end. I think storytelling is very important and the story has always been my main motivation for writing. I've always been less interested in clever word play or complex rhyming, for me it's all about the narrative."
So what's in store next? The High Flight are currently putting together their next zine after a short hiatus and Sam is gearing up to release his first book. The book will be called 'Pure Toilet' and will be a collection of the poetry he has been writing over the past four years featuring illustrations by Dario D’Alatri. Revealing a little more about the book plans, Sam said: "If we reach the funding goal on IndieGoGo then we'll be able to start up a small publishing company and start publishing small Glasgow poets. The publishing company is going to be called 'Speculative Books' so look out for that!" The crowd funding page has been put up to try and raise £2000 to cover the printing costs, pay those who contributed and set up Speculative Books as a publishing company. Only two days since the page was set up, they have already made it halfway to their goal so it's looking likely you'll be able to pick up Sam's book in the near future. If you would like to find out more about the High Flight or read their back issues, check out their website at thehighflightfanzine.co.uk. To follow Sam Small's poetry you can like his Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/poetryshower69 or support his book via the IndieGoGo page here: www.indiegogo.com/projects/pure-toilet-by-sam-small-books# PAGE 23
Chris McQueer
Shaw Rooney PAGE 24
"‘How?’ was the only word Malcolm could force his mouth to make." Scudbook, Chris McQueer
W
hether it’s smirking and grinning at a middle-aged man walking into work in a pair of grass-stained Lacoste tracksuit bottoms after a wild night with the young team or contemplating the very nature of the relationship between human beings and machines one thing is for sure, you’ll be entertained. It’s no secret that many in this world see themselves as tortured authors just waiting for that big break to lead them into stardom but what exactly does it take to stick out from the crowd and catch the eye of eager publishers? In a nutshell? Some avid followers. Chris McQueer a self-titled ‘Seller of shoes and writer of hings’ sits playing with the rim of his glass of coke trying to hide his nerves in laughter and jokes. At twenty-five years old he admits to being more a master of none than a jack of all trades having wandered down at least half a dozen different career paths since leaving school at the tender age of sixteen. Now finding himself a punter of shoes, writing in the wee hours in between shifts. McQueer admits that while writing has always been a passion of his the fear of “Looking like a pure weirdo” in front of friends and family has always made him keep his stories a dirty little secret. “I’ve been writing on and off for most of my life during flashes of inspiration and last year I decided to take it seriously and started writing a novel, which ended in disaster before I realised finishing a story even if it’s a short one feels good.” PAGE 25
Luckily for him, he was spotted by up and coming publisher 404 Ink, who have picked up his quirky and hard to pin down works and flung the best bits into an as yet untitled book of short stories due out in July. With a recent sneak peek issue of three stories selling out in record time it’s sure to be a tantalising read.
“The style really is about those in my life, my mates and my mum and how they amalgamate into how I like to write. A lot of my stories are just jazzed up versions of things that have happened to me or my pals and I’ve just embellished them a wee bit, there are that many weird goings on in Glasgow that you just pick up on.”
Yet to say that his style would be hard to categorise would be an understatement and that is meant in no disparaging way whatsoever, the marauding style of McQueer's short stories are what give them the charm people are so accustomed to. His use of the unique vibe that Glasgow oozes meshed together with the warped and curious Sci-Fi undertones give his short stories a flavour like no other.
He says this as a wry smile comes across his face no doubt reminiscing about the foundations of some of his stories before adding:
“The book has a real mixture of raw Glaswegian stories and then more out there Sci-Fi stuff with readers going from Easterhouse to space and everywhere in between."
“It's pure class really.” The question still has to be asked, what with all the budding authors clamouring for a space in the limelight how exactly did a sales assistant from the East end of Glasgow raise his head above mediocrity and glance at the sweet sight of success?
While citing the writing style of Irvine Welsh and the comedic humour of famous Glasgow comedy sketch artist Limmy (Brian Limond) as influences to how he weaves his pen, McQueer explains that the people around him are his main inspiration those chosen few friends, family and strangers that litter Glasgow, all be it in a far more exaggerated tone.
PAGE 26
“Twitter's got me to where I am.” A simple but honest answer, unusual maybe but the truth is McQueer's wide popularity with 4,850 followers has garnered him to a whole new market of readers who for the most part haven’t been tapped into. “I think because I had a platform before I started writing, which is different from a lot of authors, it meant I was quite lucky and it really helped it all come together.” Looking up from his now slowly depleting pint of coke he clears his throat and gives out a small laugh, more out of nerves than out of anything that was said. “It felt like bearing my soul, to be honest, I showed my first story ‘The Moth’ to my girlfriend and Mum and of course they loved it but then it just sat in my draft on Twitter for a week while I built up the courage to send it out again worrying that I would freak people out.” This constant worry of freaking people soon evaporated as the story proved a hit with his followers and reached out into the ether of the internet and pulled more and more readers into his audience. Yet despite the ever expanding nature of his fanbase McQueer didn’t deviate from his predominately Glasgow based backdrop for each story, something that he feels is not only an untapped market but that’s the true essences of his storytelling.
"It's pure class really." “Scottish humour is quite relatable, it's self-deprecating which I think everybody appreciates. I’m quite happy to write about the Glasgow/Scottish based humour, I mean that’s my people, it’s what I know best and it works.” Despite it often being the case that dialect humour often narrows the audience that it reaches this is not the case for Chris’s woven words as he excitedly speaks about a little old man halfway across the world he might just be his biggest fan. “There’s this wee guy from Puerto Rico who reads all my stories and he loves them! After reading them he’ll send me a list of words he doesn’t understand so that I can translate them for him.” If the story of Chris McQueer the odd job man handing you over your fresh pair of Adidas Samba’s for your big night out tells you anything it’s that dreams do come true, they come in all shapes and sizes and more importantly that if you have the talent and patience to persevere, someone out there will spot you. It might help to have over 4,000 followers in your back pocket as well mind you.
PAGE 27
Watch This Space... Hold Back The Stars, Katie Khan For the sweethearts, young love already feels like just the two of you floating through space, but Carys and Max are adrift with no choice but to keep a hold of each other until their 90 minutes of oxygen runs out. With the blue planet and the rules they rebelled against floating beneath them, they are forced to readdress their issues in a series of flashbacks about the world that banned love. The simple premise makes for a complex and confusing read of love and sacrifice.
Ragdoll, Daniel Cole
For those who like a crime thriller, Ragdoll is a warped version of Frankenstein, in which a body made up of six dismembered parts of various victims is discovered, making for a dark and twisted case. It is a disturbing tale of the criminal psyche told through a fast and twisting journey that leaves you breathless. The high-concept plot begs a second reading with its deranged characters and impossible to see coming twists that leaves a chill down your spine.
Mussolini's Island, Sarah Day
Based on the true story, Mussolini’s Island sees a group of gay and bisexual men gathered and transported to a small island out of society’s sight and mind. The culprit of the capture is somewhere on the island, turning comrades into accusers. The Italian island shines a bright light on the grim 20th Century history in an absorbing tale of what men will resort to in their fight for survival. It is a seductive story of sexuality and desire around the idea that your love is a crime.
PAGE 28
Olivia Armstrong
“Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.” - Carl Sandburg
Sonnets Exchange PAGE 29
I n September 2016, Scottish poets Christine De Luca, Jen Hadfield
and Stewart Sanderson visited Russia to work with poets Marina
Boroditskaya, Grigory Kruzhkov, and Lev Oborin. Drawing inspiration from the use of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets, they attended a residential workshop and through an exploration of the linguistic and cultural contexts of their poetry, the poets translated the work of their counterparts into Russian, English and Shetlandic respectively. In March 2017, the poets were reunited for various events in Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh, to share their collaboration with Scottish audiences for the very first time. One such venue for this experience was the Glasgow Mitchell library on the 16th March 2017. Among the selection of talent from Russia was Marina Boroditskaya (born in Moscow in 1954). She is a renowned translator of the English verse along with her own poetry work. She has won multiple poetry diplomas and runs her own programme on Radio Russia Literacy Pharmacy, which has been running since 1996. Lev Oborin (born in 1987) is a poet, translator and critic. He has produced two poetry collections and was awarded one of the Tadeusz Różewicz Translation contest prizes in 2011. Grigory Kruzhkov is a poet and translator, who has been teaching English and American poetry at the Russian State University for the Humanities. In 2016, he was awarded the Solzhenitsyn prize for “the energy of the poetic word, the ability to grasp the Shakespearean world and make English lyrics a part of Russian poetry, heritage and the philological thinking capable of revealing the cultural importance of interlinguistics and transculturality.”
PAGE 30
The translation work done by these three talents was spellbinding to hear. The way they were able to accentuate and keep the original tone and spirit of the work was nothing short of commendable. Of note was the excellent translation of Jen Hadfield’s The Plinky Boat by Lev Oborin, which he mentioned gave him quite a bit of trouble finding the Russian equivalent of boating terms. Marina Boroditskaya’s Ode to Short-Sightedness (translated into English by the aforementioned Jen Hadfield) also perfectly set the tone for the evening in an amusing and visually vibrant tribute to her own short-sightedness. Our Scottish poets included Christine De Luca, Jen Hadfield and Stewart Sanderson. I was able to acquire a full interview with Christine (see page ??) about the nature of her work. At present, she has published six collections of poetry both in English and her native Shetlandic. She has had collaborations with many talents, most recently jazz musician Tommy Smith and fiddle player Catriona MacDonald. Jen Hadfield was born in Cheshire in 1978 and is the author of a total of three poetry collections (Almanacs (2005), Nigh-No-Place (2008) and Byssus (2014). Nigh-No-Place, in particular, was shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize and won the 2008 T.S Elliot prize. Stewart Sanderson is a Glaswegian-born poet. His PhD thesis from the University of Glasgow in 2016 addressed the element of full translation in twentieth-century Scottish poetry. He has won multiple awards and is currently working on his first full-length poetry collection. The evening covered a range of styles stemming from both the poetry and the translations, ranging from comedic to historic to abstract. Each poem was accompanied by a translation into either English or Russian from its respective translator. Despite the different rhythm in both languages, the feeling and emotion of each piece were communicated to the truest form of the text, making it a night of both culture and unity through the simplicity of the spoken word which has bound us together since time began.
PAGE 31
OLIVIA ARMSTRONG
interview with Christine De Luca Among those who made an
"All these strange little things come in and you start to put it together. "
PAGE 32
appearance at the Sonnets Exchange was Christine De Luca. She was born and raised in Shetland and now currently lives in Edinburgh. What made her contribution to the evening unique was her consistent use of the Shetland dialect, both in her translations and original work. Shetland dialect is derived from the various Scottish dialects brought to Shetland from the end of the fifteenth century and even now, it still has a strong place in the Shetland community and in Christine’s work.
“It’s mother tongue,” she says “and I think it has a very special place in your linguistic armoury. I have English and a little bit of French but not beyond that, no Russian at all. But when I am writing, especially where there’s feelings involved, I often find that I can be more direct in my mother tongue. It’s a much less abstract way of speaking.” A large part of the evening was directed through the use of translation, both from Russian into English and vice versa. When asked how long or difficult this process was, she told me “Sometimes I do a first draft reasonably quickly but then I go over it many times trying to improve it all the time. So, while the first bit of it may come quite quickly, other bits take time. The thing about Russian is that it’s quite a long language compared to English or the Shetland tongue. I think it went quite well, considering translation events are quite difficult to attract people.” Christine has published a total of six poetry collections in both English and Shetlandic and is an active member of Shore poets in Edinburgh. Her first two collections won her the Shetland Literary prize (currently discontinued) and her work has been translated into multiple languages. She told me about how her sense of experience in her life fuelled her inspiration and encouraged her to express her vibrant love of the world around her but smaller instances were the points that struck a chord with her creativity.
“Sometimes it’s just the oddest experience. For example, the other day for some reason I was thinking about the fact that I’m frightened of mice. And it made me think of when I was a child, I wasn’t frightened of mice and it reminded me of the time I took my son to the zoo and he tried to rid me of my phobia by getting me to handle a rat. All these little strange things come in and you start to put it together. The absolute wonder of nature never ceases to get me and the links between the physical world and the mental world and the cultural world, all those areas right across the globe fascinate me.” Christine was appointed Edinburgh's poet laureate (Makar) from 2014-2017, making this her final year as such. “I’ve really enjoyed it,” she says “I was pretty terrified when I started because being from Shetland, I’ve lived in Edinburgh for a long time but I’m a Shetlander at heart. To begin with, they ask you to write commissioned poems and things like that and that was daunting in a way because you’re trying to write a poem for somebody or about something that you wouldn’t normally write about so you have to start from a completely different place in your head.” More information about Christine and her upcoming events can be found on her official website: http://www.christinedeluca.co.uk/ pages/index.
PAGE 33
What's in a Name? if and when I have mislaid my name and stare at you disconcertingly let me spend a day parked by Suilven perplexed by broken water. Turn my calendar to the mountain's season, and set my watch by the shadows of the loch Forgive me if I lose the reason we came or my gaze clouds in a cod-fish kind of way or if the name I choose for you eludes me I'll still sense mountain, water, love.
- Christine De Luca
PAGE 34
Writer's Opportunities
Amy McGhee PAGE 35
F or any fan of reading or writing there
Another paid for workshop is the are a variety of events and opportunities Orkneys Writers Course which is very successful and has run for six years. The throughout Scotland. course which runs from the 17th to 21st In the upcoming months there are many June costs £550 for the full four days. It arranged throughout the whole country, is run by Pamela Beasant, an Orkney based author. beyond the central belt. In April, there is an event in St Andrews called MUSA Poetry Writing Workshop. The workshop is being held in the Bell Pettigrew Museum and is open to writers of all levels - beginner or expert. For those interested the event will be held on Thursday 6th April from 6:00pm till 10pm and is completely free. Although there are free events such as the one previously mentioned there are also workshops more personal paid workshops. Dark Angels are running a starter day workshop in Edinburgh on the 28th April for £395 for a full day’s course. In the workshop attendees will discover how to use language in different ways.
Another such workshop located in Scotland is The Writers Room which is held in Aberdeen every Tuesday from May-June 2017. The workshop will aim “to provide a space for emerging and established professional writers to connect with each other, develop new skills and give focused time to work on creative projects”. For many writers who want to be inspired they travel to different parts of the country to distance themselves. For these types of writers there is a popular writing retreat in the highlands called Moniack Mhor. The retreat is located near to Loch Ness and “offers residential creative writing courses, tutored by
PAGE 36
some of the UK’s finest writers”. The Moniack Mhor “runs residential creative writing courses and partnership courses throughout the year for adults and young people at all stages of their writing careers”. Any writers wanting to be inspired by nature then Moniack Mhor could be the perfect place for you. It is described as “an inspirational and nurturing setting for writers to spend an intensive period focusing on their work”. The highlands are a popular place for writing retreats. Another retreat situated among the rolling hills is The Cromarty Writing Retreat which is being run by the Highland Literary Salon in the town of Cromarty. It will run from the Friday 28th April to Sunday 30th April with a cost of £275. During the retreat there will “be a mixture of workshops and free writing time”. There are many ways for writers in Scotland to get inspired, not just by workshops or retreats. Another way is by attending live book readings. These allow people to interact with other authors and gain more understanding into the world of writing. As the examples of the events and workshops available in Scotland show there are many different kinds of events for all kinds of writing and if you look around there will be an event or retreat that's right for you. PAGE 37
Clair Gibson Natalie Miller PAGE 38
S tarting out as an author can be a
difficult process but also extremely exciting if it is something you have worked so hard for. Glasgow-based author, Clair Gibson started writing books on her own then went on to selfpublishing them as well, I spoke with her about the starting process and what it is like to become an author independently. As an avid reader, from an early age, she had released two books on the go at the same time, through her iPad and by her bed. 18 years ago her friend gave her the motivational step to start by saying ‘You should write your own books’ and at first it was it seemed like nothing to take too serious. After 11 years ago and going through a rough time she started writing things down, and that simple practice on its own turned into a story. “Truthfully, it can be very hard. Writing a book is wonderfully creative. When you are in the groove, taking each step with your characters, it can be a wonderful thing. Editing is a whole other skill set, attention to detail, grammar rules and so on. Some writers who exclusively self-publish use something called Beta readers. A group of readers who read the nearly finished book and they report on anything that doesn’t look right, read well, plot holes and so on, all for the promise of an autographed copy when the book goes into print and the excitement of being a part of the project.” PAGE 39
"Writing a book is wonderfully creative. When you are in the groove, taking each step with your characters, it can be a wonderful thing."
The beginning of her journey as a writer was simply an experience. Although it can be a daunting thought to start out when you first start typing or putting that pen to paper, there is bound to be certain flaws with your writing as it is your first time. “It was the first I wrote but the fourth that I actually published. The first book went through thirty drafts, two major rewrites, and a complete deconstruct and rewrite, with the story being told in essentially a different way. I was lucky in that I was in an online writing group, and we reviewed each other’s books, giving constructive criticism and helpful pointers. They ripped the first book to pieces, literally. The main complaint that it covered too much ground, too many years leaving them complaining it felt like a historical drama when it was not.�
As there was a sense of confusion where to go, Clair decided to take a break from the story and start on her other projects moving forward with her career. She would still go back in case any more ideas came up, and after a while, this did happen and she was able to go on to publish it. The biggest challenge starting out and still to this day for her is time management.
PAGE 40
“For most self-published authors writing is their passion, not their job. Fitting writing around a full-time job and a family can be very tricky. It is difficult to start, what is your second job, later at night or in stolen minutes of a weekend. Professional writers can embed themselves in an office or corner of a room, and concentrate on nothing else but the story for hours on end. To a self-published author that is a luxury we all dream off, instead, we grab whatever time we can. I am often found typing 600 words in my twenty-minute lunch on an iPad, to transfer to my main document later that night.” As for getting her books out to get much bigger and get companies to notice her, Clair has just said she just loves what she does, and maybe that will come in the future. “It is nice to hear that someone has enjoyed the read and connected with a character but everyone dreams of being discovered and being able to give up the day job and write for a living. That is the ultimate aim.” An important part of being an author is, of course, your readership and paying attention to staying interactive with them to keep them updated on events and books coming out. Social Media has a great hold on this and also blogging to have that huge traffic coming in will helps a lot. Clair added; “Being a self-published author, we employ other tricks, like free books for a certain period, or forever depending on what websites you use, as some don’t allow it. Also, use a section at the end of every book called “More from the author” where we list our works along with the blurb of each book. Every time a new book is released each older eBook is updated with the new blurb.” A little advice she gave me about anybody wanting to become an author was, “Carry a notebook, or keep somewhere on your smart phone or device and use it. Ideas, plot lines, characters pop into your head in all manner of places. Write them down. You may not use this in the book you are writing, maybe the next. If you do this and you are serious about being an author, you will end up with an encyclopaedia of information and ideas to fall back on.” Clair’s next upcoming projects include; for 2017 and on into 2018, “I will bring out a new romance novel in late April early May 2017 called “Stifado for two.” A love story set in Cyprus. After that, I will carry on working on four more books that are at various stages of completion. They cover a variety of romance, woman’s fiction and chick lit genres, as I do not like to stick to one."
PAGE 41
404 INK Shaw Rooney PAGE 42
Publishing For The People Pays Off: Â Two Women, A Dog and A Spare Room 404 Ink - aptly named after the not found error that pops up when you've forgotten that pesky second slash in a link - is the publishing brainchild of freelance writers Heather McDaid and Laura Jones. The alternative publisher that prides itself on a sense of community on the web, with their name spawning the idea that they see themselves as the type of business that helps you to find what you're looking for even when you told it can't be done. Built on the basis of finding those writers overlooked by the more traditional business. Speaking to Heather we get a sense of how it all came about, what is at the core of the company and what the future might well hold for them. "Both Laura Jones and I met on a previous project and while working on programming a literary festival (Scot Lit Fest), we got talking about how we both wanted to set up our own publishers separately. We realised our goals and ethos aligned so it made sense to join forces." She goes on to further emphasise what exactly those goals are and how 404 Ink has gone about achieving them. "We put the power of our publications in the readers' hands, and that's allowed us to become a somewhat sustainable publisher in our first few months. We also have found that we're making a different kind of impact with each publication."
PAGE 43
Where Heather and Laura's new look and somewhat Robin Hood styled publisher has flourished is in the book sector, with unprecedented success of their flagship book Nasty Women, a series of essays and accounts of the plight of the modern 21st Century women and a beehive of buzz around new kid on the block Chris McQueer's debut book of short stories it's fair to say the ladies know their stuff when it comes to literature. "The launch of Nasty Women has been incredible. The book was spawned as an idea the day after Donald Trump was elected and it came to life so quickly. Heather says, before adding: "Especially as a publisher that's two-women-and-a-dog operating from a spare room. We've been able to work with a host of incredible women and start a real community, and that's been really exciting." I think that overall Heather comes up best what 404 Ink are all about and why it has worked so well for them in a constant battle with bigger brands with full pockets. "There's absolutely no set way of finding talent, but that erraticism seems to fit 404 perfectly." The relative and sudden success for these Edinburgh-based upstarts is nothing if deserved, with a new dynamic approach to an old profession only time will tell if the unorthodox practices will pay off. So, pick up your phone and start dream weaving. You never know who's on the lookout.
PAGE 44
after the sleep Like seeing the sunshine for the first time, Stir from grim sleep from the dead... Echoes of emotions that were present before Eyes are glazed and limbs heavy as lead. You were far away on the crest of a wave And sinking deep within the watery fold Awaken from the darkest slumber to a new surfacing, a beginning, behold! Peace and calmness restored, Awaken to a glorious day! Blue sky and warmth upon your skin, the ice at the edges will fray... Breathe like it is your first breath And see with eyes and vision renewed Leave the past behind you In this time so mellow and subdued
McNicol 2015Š
PAGE 45
Hannah Moore Editor/Writer Laura Maxwell Designer/Writer Olivia Armstrong Designer/Writer Amy McGhee Writer Shaw Rooney Writer/Social Media Natalie Miller Writer