Welcome to the very first PIG Update. I’m glad you could join me.
To be honest, I was pretty blown away by the interest this little project has garnered – particularly over at Instagram. So thank you for your support!
A bit of housekeeping to start with: I am still unsure about the frequency of the PIG Updates (PIGdates? UpPIGs?!) going forward. My initial idea involved monthly updates; now I am thinking, an update every other week might be nicer. Tell me what you think and expect to get the next one on Sunday 2nd March. My followers on Instagram, Bluesky and Substack will get a relevant alert. Soon you will also be able to sign up for the PIG Newsletter via the website and get the Updates delivered straight to your inbox (let’s cut out the middle-men making money off our data!). I am currently still fighting with the code on that front – but will be sure to let you know when the newsletter function is launching.
Right, that’s the boring stuff out of the way. On to the main course!
Events (17 February to 2 March 2025)
It’s all happening in the West End on Monday 17 February. Take your pick between Curler’s Cosy Corner, the monthly open mic at Curler’s Rest on Byres Road, and the weekly Poet’s Corner open mic at Hillhead Bookclub just around the corner. Remember to reach out to Ross Wilcock ahead of time if you want to read at the Curler’s.
On Wednesday 19 February, you have the choice between attending the Glasgow Launch of the latest issue of Gutter (at the Alchemy Experiment on Byres Road) or pop down to Sweeney’s on the Park on the southside for the Time for One Poem open mic. The Gutter celebration will be hosted by Sean Wai Keung and Cal Bannerman and include readings from Kate Wallace Fry, Rachelle Atalla, Gabriel Levine Brislin and Niamh Gordon.
If you missed the Glasgow launch (or just cannot get enough of Gutter), there will be a second launch event at Portobello Bookshop in Edinburgh on Thursday 20 February, which will also be streamed online. Join for readings by Mattea Gernentz, Harry Josephine Giles Ioannis Kalkounos and Rebecca Smith.
The following Monday (24 February), Big Red Cat zine will be hosting their first event of the new year. The showcase will be vaguely Valentine’s themed with some open mic slots and a cheeky session of poem speed dating. Keep an eye on their Instagram to book your ticket (£5).
On Wednesday 26 February, the Poetry Experiment Open Mic returns to Byres Road. The event is ticketed (for both audience and performers), so check the listing to book before you head over.
Get the impression the world is going to hell in a handbasket? You’re not alone. Writers’ HQ decided to address the topic in a free online workshop on Thursday night (27 February). Under the headline ‘Writing through the Apocalypse‘, the workshop tries to answer the question “How to keep writing, prepare for the future, and stop yourself from losing your goddamn mind?”
Need something light-hearted after that? I have just the thing for you: Join the fabulous Pink Pony Hub for their “reading and horse cultural symposium” at Mount Florida Books on the Southside on Friday 28 February. It’s a BYOB event with poets, writers, artists and scholars such as Maya Uppal, Calr Gent, Jordan Hell and Francis Whorrall-Campbell.
Opportunities
I swear, when I first started this project, I did not realise just HOW MUCH is going on in the world of poetry across the UK and beyond. At the moment, the PIG website lists a whooping 24 opportunities including calls for submissions, a commission and a residency. I am picking out five of the particularly exciting ones below:
You have two more days to submit to From Glasgow to Saturn – the University of Glasgow’s literary journal. You have to be a present or past student or staff member of the UofG or GSA to submit though. The theme of the next issue is ‘Disrupted States’.
Linen Press are creating a new anthology of poetry and short-form prose that reflects on the various crises we are currently facing. The publication’s focus is on feminist perspectives and responses. Submissions are still open until 23 February, so if this topic speaks to you, better hurry!
The Glasgow-based, independent publisher Thi Wurd is looking for fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction for the next edition of its pamphlet series. The theme of the call is ‘The City’. Deadline is 28 February.
Writing from people living in or inspired by the Highlands and Islands is currently sought by Northwords Now, a journal for new writing from Scotland and the wider North. Northwords Now publishes work in Gaelic, English, Scots and any local variants used in Scotland. The submission window closes on 8 March.
Tenebrae, the journal published by Fathomsum poetry press in the East Midlands is still accepting submissions of up to four poems until 15 March.
PIG Spotlight
This section is designed to shine a spotlight on a particular website, organisation or feature. For each Update, I’ll pick something new – either because it is plain awesome or because it’s new or really topical.
Today’s spotlight is on the National Poetry Library (NPL). Nestled within London’s Southbank Centre, the NPL is home to the world’s largest public collection of modern poetry. It has been around since 1953 when TS Eliot and Herbert Read were part of the official opening. The NPL is free to join for anyone living in the UK. In addition to its physical collection in London, the library also has a large catalogue of ebooks and audiobooks which are available for members via the Libby app. Particularly cool is also that members get access to digital copies of current and back issues of some really high-profile poetry journals such as Magma, PBS Bulletin, PN Review, Poetry London, The Poetry Review, Poetry Wales, and Stand via Exact Editions – which can save you a chunk of money.
For poets specifically, the NPL website offers an impressive list of current poetry magazines with convenient short profiles and links. I would also recommend checking out the ‘Write & Publish‘ section of the website for some brilliant resources for poets. Finally, the website includes a lovely collection of free online poems that is searchable by topic.
PIG’s Poetry Pick
Any good poetry-related newsletter should end with some actual poetry, right?!
Here is Annie’s pick for today (courtesy of Gutter Magazine)
The Armchair Monologues
by Michael Pedersen
The writer sits here, sometimes, though mainly
it’s the bums of visitants–crisps crunching
tongue-flappers–the odd dog with
Its belly full of sun. Cheek of them,
leaving litter braising in my fissures, the body’s
party-bag of skin shavings, crushed
eyelashes, & the rest. To those gawking
at my tatty bits, smirking sanctimoniously,
I tell it straight: I took a bit
of all of them. A tad tatterdemalion for it, sure,
but anatomically sound: flush walnut,
emerald velvet, floral propellors & gold
studs–hammered home like rivets in a ship.
I am an island, a rock, a pucker fainting
couch. YesYes, the tear in my stocking,
but you’re dead wrong, it’s not
early on-set entropy, it’s sweeter than that
–same as when words liquify to laughter.
A piece of advice, if you ask him
& he doesn’t rejoinder, don’t repeat
the damn question. He heard you fine–
it’s not a shun, just not to his, albeit queer,
taste. One final musing
from this seventies kid, naebody’s bairn,
found begging by the roadside:
when possible, do simple things
to make other’s happy, even when it’s easier
not to–it helps the crowded hearted ones
in their great uncluttering. That way when,
bumfuzzled or weary pegged, they come
to rest here, I can feel a heat in them,
the sound of distance underfoot
peacefully dissolve.
Be sure to check out the beautiful video animation of the poem by Ben Woodcock via YouTube.
That’s it from me today. See you in two weeks!
Love x
Annie