Don Paterson

We now have page up over at the NSP place for Douglas. Many friends, colleagues, fellow poets and former students have contributed. Do share. northseapoets.substack.com/p/douglas-du...

Very sorry to report that Douglas Dunn has passed away. He was the finest Scottish poet of the post-war period. Dougie was also someone we knew and loved as a dear friend, mentor and teacher, and he will be deeply missed.

I’ve slapped two new webinars up the NSP site: a long-requested class on ‘Beginnings and Endings’, and the first of an ‘Art of …’ series looking at two key poems and their influence, starting with ‘The Art of Indecision: Prufrock and The Road not Taken’ - link: www.northseapoets.com/online-events

northseapoets.substack.com/p/off-the-cu...

1. The general evisceration of culture at University of Edinburgh is appalling; how can a centre of learning in Scotland justify cutting these courses? Religious Studies and Scottish Literature (UG) History of Art and Scottish Literature (UG) Celtic and Scottish Lit (UG), conts.

A little sketch on the subject of accidentally biting off more than you can chew … also comes with some fascinating notes on translating Italian libretti into singable English, because you know that’ll come up at some point open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

The new autumn course is now up at north sea poets - we’ll be looking at all things lunar, hibernal, arboreal, equine, mythological and some other stuff where I can’t work out the adjective. get in there quick at www.northseapoets.com/courses

Folks - I’ve posted another three-week Sunday Morning Reading Circle, starting Sept 20. We yak about great poems for two hours. That’s it. Last one was a lot of fun. Just twenty-five places - I fear most have gone, but you can grab one if you’re quick. www.northseapoets.com/events/sunda...

Frankly terrifying village notice board.

Quick reminder that on weds I’ll be chatting to Joey Connolly on the increasingly fraught business of Poetry and AI. Joey is not just a fine poet, he’s one of our very few experts on this stuff - so come with questions! www.northseapoets.com/events/ai-an...

just slapped something up at the northseapoets place on poetry, philosophy and lies … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

There’s just time to book for our annual poetry read-in at Stones Barn in Cumbria. Always great fun. As evidenced by these photos from the 1970s www.tickettailor.com/events/stone...

Looking forward to chatting with that very fine poet Joey Connolly on poetry and AI on the 1st of July. Joey strikes me as one of the few who has a sensible handle on this bewildering & increasingly critical subject, so it should be a good one. Link: www.northseapoets.com/events/ai-an...

my bairn on his grandad’s guitar … I think his bro drew that twig open.spotify.com/track/7wPatp...

So very sorry to have had to reschedule this morning’s Heaney webinar - now on the 23rd May, when I plan not to have a vestibular migraine. Today’s tickets valid, of course. www.northseapoets.com/events/resch...

you’ve still just time to sign up for a webinar on Heaney’s style this weekend … www.northseapoets.com/events/heane...

short essay on being thoroughly intimidated by Douglas Dunn’s ‘Remembering Lunch’, over at the northseapoets place … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

Just posted a webinar where I’ll take a close look Heaney’s style, and the various techniques, stratagems & quirks of which it was composed. Should be fun. If folk are up for it, I may do a few of these. www.northseapoets.com/events/heane...

wee poem in LRB this week www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Excellent guest post from Joey Connolly over at the north sea poets place, looking at what AI research can tell poets about their own art form … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

Mounting a wee experiment here www.northseapoets.com/events/sunda... to see if we can recreate the legendary druidic magic of Stones Barn reading circle (still time to book here www.tickettailor.com/events/forgo... ) online. Three sessions starting in April. Sunday mornings, like church

Wonderful piece by Karen Solie over at the north sea poets place on reverie, deadlines and escalators … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

It’s Burns night tonight … better check the haggis traps. I’ve slapped up something at the northseapoets place on Burns’ psychology and how ‘Tam O’Shanter’ is key to understanding his abandonment of poetry northseapoets.substack.com/p/the-burns-...

Our spring ‘writing with …’ course (this time: windows, beasts, Jack Gilbert, lost objects and much more - well three things more) has almost sold out: only a few tickets left for both weds and sat series ... www.northseapoets.com/courses

open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

The new North Sea Poets ‘Writing With …’ spring course has just gone live. We’re running it over seven weeks from Feb (twice, on Weds and Saturdays) – but both dates are half sold out already, so do get your skates on if you’d like to join us … www.northseapoets.com/courses

there’s still just time to join me for the last of the winter webinars tomorrow morning - on ‘symbol’. this may be my most ambitious powerpoint yet. some of these transitions are berserk www.northseapoets.com/events-1

essay on Heaney over at the northseapoets substack … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

Just a week left to sign up for a mini-series of webinars, starting with ‘The Joy of Scansion’ on the 29th Nov. In the following weeks I’ll be looking at ideas of poetic space and symbol ... Book individually or as a 3-in-1 at www.northseapoets.com/events-1

just posted some fluff on fluff, deadlines and how to kiss on the radio open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

Lesley Harrison on excellent form, writing about bird-names, birdsong and poetry over at the northseapoets place: open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

A frog poem from Reflector - my limited edition art book collaboration with #Dundee artist Stephen French: stephenfrench.art

New mini-series of winter webinars, starting with ‘The Joy of Scansion’ on the 29th Nov. Come along and we’ll erm learn to demote that strong stress! etc. We’ll look at poetic space and symbol in the following weeks ... Book individually or as a 3-in-1 at www.northseapoets.com/events-1

Wrote something on Harrison & class. Also scansion. But remember the first rule of Foot Club. open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

As for many poets uneasy in their class consciousness, Tony Harrison’s brilliant controversial long poem V. (1985) blew me away when I first read it. But his short lyrics were sharp, wise, and deeply moving, too, cut from lived life. Saddened to hear the great man has passed. RIP.

open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

me banging on about Woodman, Plath and spirit photography … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

Great piece from Lesley Harrison on Inger Christensen and writing under the shadow of the Bomb … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

Niall C on winkles, animism, and a frequent topic of conversation round here – Jack Gilbert. substack.com/@northseapoe...

Repost, now with added silence. Occurred to me belatedly that some folk did not read ‘great’ as ‘elder statespersons of international standing’ as per the author’s intentions, but ‘dead good’. I think we can still all agree there are plenty of those. open.substack.com/pub/northseapo…

“A poetry of self-conscious listening, of placing sound carefully. Like the plover, here I am, sitting on this stone, testing out sounds and patterns in order to record how it is to be here in this now.” —Lesley Harrison, “Do Birds Sing?”, in @pnreview.bsky.social www.pnreview.co.uk/archive/do-b...

Just posted a thing on misreadings, facepalms, iron, milk and spiders, and my most brutal encounter with Robert Frost yet … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

Wonderful piece by Karen Solie on Fanny Howe, over at the northseapoets place … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

There’s still time to join me in some rather strange poetic territory this saturday morning … www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...

There’s still time to join me in some rather strange poetic territory this saturday morning … www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...