The last few weeks have been rather busy for me - both in terms of work and personal life. Frustratingly, it meant I didn't actually get to attend a single local poetry event! Alanis Morissette-type ironic, right? But I am determined to get out more - so if you see me at an event, do say hello. You might be able to bag one of the coveted PIG Postcards.

In my rush today, I didn't quite have the time to find some cool artwork for the PIG Update - but considering how many times I got drenched over the last three days, this image felt fitting. It's by Min An via Pexels.

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Events (26 May to 8 June 2025)

Ease yourself into a busy poetry week on Monday, 26 May, at the Poet's Corner at Hillhead Bookclub in the West End. As always, the weekly open mic starts at 7pm. This week's theme is 'Lost Words'.

Tuesday (27 May) comes with a stellar line-up of poets: the book launch of Rosie Stockton's new book Fuel at Good Press in Merchant City starts at 6:30pm and it has a line-up you don't want to miss: Rosie Stockton, Nat Raha, Maria Sledmere and Ben Redhead. Alternatively (or maybe even additionally, if you like) you can join another Rosie for more poetry from 8:30pm. Pop to Nice'N'Sleazy on Sauchiehall for Rosie J. Hunter's weekly open mic Sleazy SpeakEasy.

My special recommendation for you on Wednesday (28 May) is this month's edition of Inside Voices. The team is collaborating with U Belong Glasgow, a multilingual community platform that features BPOC, Queer and disabled creatives. Be at King Tuts from 8pm for a night of poetry, storytelling and music that is promising to be very exciting indeed. Looking for something quieter and more intimate instead? No worries, Ross Wilcock's monthly Poetry Experiment Open Mic has got you covered. Head to the Alchemy Experiment on Byres Road for a cosy night of performances in an inclusive, safe space.

Glasgow's local scene is taking a short breather on Thursday (29 May). But, of course, you don't have to go without your daily poetry fix. You are invited to join the Welsh working-class indie publisher Broken Sleep Books for their online May Book Launch event with readings from Rhian Elizabeth, Alec Finlay, David Ball, Giles L. Turnbull, Elenia Graf, and Patrick Paridee Samuel. Tickets are pay-what-you-want.

Friday (30 May) is Bulb! day. This week's readers at the afternoon garden event are still to be announced, so keep an eye on the organiser's Instagram. Or just show up at Lilybank Gardens to harness the joy of the unexpected!

Saturday (31 May) is your last chance to see Alexandra Compton's exhibition 'In the Folds' at Glasgow Women's Library. Her work combines papercrafting, writing, and activism while reflecting on life as a queer, working-class, chronically ill woman. The exhibition is free. Just drop by during the library's usual opening hours (Tue-Sat).

The Poet's Way on Sunday (1 June) offers a slightly different approach to poetry than most other events on this list. The meeting at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre treads the line between poetry and spirituality. Bring along a poem to discuss the power of poems to compliment and enhance spiritual practice.

The new week starts with three different open mic opportunities, so you better start giving your work that final polish. Your options on Monday, 2 June are: Poet's Corner at Hillhead Bookclub, Words and Music at Milk in Govanhill, or Candlelight Poetry at the Old Toll Bar in Govan. With a selection like that, you really have no excuse. ;)

Tuesday (3 June) is equally packed with poetry opportunities. As usual, you are invited to Nice'N'Sleazy for the weekly Sleazy SpeakEasy open mic. There is also the launch event for the poetry pamphlet 'Splenectomy' by Eloise Birtwhistle at Good Press in Merchant City (with guest readings by Gentian Meikleham and Patrick Romero McCafferty). And finally, if you are free in the afternoon, make your way to Glasgow Women's Library: Kathrine Sowerby is hosting the monthly Open Book Creative Writing Session for seasoned writers and beginners alike.

If you are considering applying for Clydebuilt 18, I can recommend the St Mungo's Mirrorball showcase on Wednesday, 5 June at the CCA. The event will present the work of poets from Clydebuilt 16, including Nasim Rebecca Asl, Kim Crowder, Mattea Gernentz and Cat Macleod. You can also attend a cheeky online writing group on Wednesday afternoon. The Wordsworth Grasmere writing centre is organising a monthly informal poetry-writing group for conversation, collaboration, and friendly critique. It’s a hybrid session with the option to attend via Zoom.

The week ends with Bulb! The afternoon readings at UofG's Lilybank Gardens start at 2:30pm on Friday, 6 June. Readers are still to be confirmed.

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Opportunities

Today's pick from among the long list of opportunities currently on the PIG website:

The US-based publisher Arcana Poetry is currently seeking submissions for its 2025 anthology under the headline 'Roots and Ruin'. They are looking for poems that explore concepts such as heritage & ancestry, migration & displacement, identity & transformation, love & loss, ruin as beauty, myth & memory. Submissions close on 1 June.

Propel Magazine, a literary magazine with a focus on emerging new talent based in the UK and Ireland has extended the submission deadline for its upcoming issue. You still have until 6 June to get your poems in.

Something for the ecopoets among us: the digital press Human & Nature are looking for writings and artwork on the theme of 'seeds'. Accepted publications are paid with an honorarium of USD $500. The deadline for submissions is 15 July.

The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival has launched a writing competition for work inspired by mental health and responding to the theme ‘comfort and disturb’. Shortlisted writers will be invited to read their entry at the awards ceremony in Aberdeen during the festival and will also be published in an illustrated book. The submission window is open until 4 August.

An opportunity for Scots-language poets is available via Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre. Poets can apply until 7 August to be part of a week-long residential workshop programme in Inverness-shire. The programme usually costs £725 including accommodation but bursaries are available for students and people on low income.

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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 pick is the Poetry International Foundation. The foundation is a literary organisation based in Rotterdam who runs an English-language website all about poetry. The site offers news and articles around the topic of poetry as well as quite an extensive archive of poems in writing, video and audio. There are thousands of poems by poets from all over the world, most of which are available in the original language alongside Dutch and English. Ever wanted to explore the work of poets from Afghanistan or Zimbabwe? Here's your chance!

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PIG's Poetry Pick

One from the Poetry International archive:

Octopus

by Vanessa Kisuule

Octopus: 
There, and there again, 
lacerations of limb 
moving angsty and anxious, 
like thoughts 
missing their anchors 

Octopus: 
Unwitting victim of bad PR 
Unwilling star of many a monster myth 
And niche Japanese porn 

Octopus: 
You move how a child moves 
How a Harlem jazz band jams 
How cigarette smoke blooms 
How loneliness meanders, nomadic, 
Able to squeeze into the tiniest 
Of spaces 

Octopus: 
Fuck, you are just the coolest. 

Octopus: 
Proto-punk whip muscle. 
Hench quasi jellyfish. 
Cautionary tale. 
Misunderstood. 
Solitary. 
Unsung alien emo 
Of the ocean. 

Octopus: 
Your tentacles lace 
behind my ankles. 
I am pulled forward 
with a soft smack. 
The ocean licks 
Its salt rimmed lips. 
Did I mention I am 
not the most confident of 
swimmers? 
Did you press your fingers 
To my neck in search of a 
Pulse or gills? 

Octopus: 
You terrify me. 
I see myself in you. 

Octopus: 
I’d like to strike a friendship with you. 
We’d watch back to back episodes 
of Planet Earth, which is like 
the aquatic world’s Instagram, 
Pornographic spikes of light 
Rippling the blue into grey then green and back again 
Schools of fish glint like sweet wrappers 
Coral reefs wink, starfish splayed out like arseholes 
on a background of gorgeous turquoise 
The octopus will turn and look at me 
As if to say, what a beautiful home I have 
I barely recognise it. 

Octopus: 
The plural is actually octopuses, 
not octopi. 
The valve of the last syllable spits 
and hisses, never quite finishes, 
will not give in to crisp diction. 
It demands that you sit patient 
with its aftertaste. 

Octopus: 
They change colour 
less like chameleons 
more like mood rings. 

As they perish 
they turn white as a 
gasp.

Via Poetry International. You can also access a recording of Vanessa reading her poem on the site.

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That's it from me today. See you in two weeks!

Love,
Annie

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