PIG UPDATE #11

5th of July 2025

It's July, and everywhere things are winding down for a much-needed summer break. The poetry events calendar is also a little quieter this time around, but fear not: there's still loads on. To help you overcome the summer lull, the PIG Update is having a peak at the Edinburgh Fringe and some of the poetic treasures on offer this year.

Events (7 to 20 July 2025)

Reliably, Poet's Corner Open Mic at Hillhead Bookclub is ready to ease you into another week of poetry. This week's theme is '...and I watched as it sunk into the sea'. Definitely sparks my imagination! Also happening on Monday (7 July), are two of our regular open mic nights. Take your pick between Words and Music at Milk on Cathcart Road, or Candlelight Poetry at the Old Toll Bar in Govan.

It looks like Sleazy Speakeasy Open Mic at Nice'n'Sleazy got a bit of a rebrand. The new Instagram is promising a welcoming stage of spoken word and hip-hop with full house band backing. Sounds like your cup of tea? Then be there from 20:30 on Tuesday, 8 July. Your other option for the day is the monthly Open Mic at Inn Deep.

Wednesday (9 July) is promising to be a busy night for poetry in Glasgow. The lovely monthly Flourish Open Mic night at McChuill's in Merchant City is back. The fun starts at 7pm and if you want to perform - make sure to drop the organisers a message. Simultaneously, Crisp Packet are serving their usual hot plate of poetic deliciousness. Due to the whole controversy around the CCA right now, the team has decided to relocate the event. Instead of Third Eye Bar, the event is now taking place at the Glad Cafe on the Southside. And if that's not enough for you, you could also check out the second iteration of the Marginalia event series at The Stand Comedy Club. The mixed line-up includes Edinburgh poet Iona Lee alongside novelists Alan Bissett and Carrie Marshall.

A one-off open mic event organised by the mental health charity See Me Scotland is happening on Thursday (10 July). Under the headline 'Speakin' Oor Mind', they are organising a friendly, relaxed evening of spoken word performances around the topic of mental health and wellbeing. Make sure to reach out to the organisers if you want to perform. The event starts at 6:30pm at the Glad Cafe.

The new week starts with an exciting spoken word special at the Old Toll Bar on Monday, 14 July. Ross McFarlane, the driving force behind the Candlelight Poetry events is presenting you a preview of the finest spoken word shows that will come to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. 10 poets will give you a 10-minute taster of their shows including Dean Tsang, Maron McCardle, Shannon O'Neil, Spencer Mason, India de Bono, Stephen Durkan and more! Naturally, the Monday Open Mic at Hillhead Bookclub is on as well.

Time for One Poem returns to Sweeney's on the Southside on Wednesday (16 July). Regulars will know the drill: sign-up for your own 5-minute slot from 7pm, bring a pal, make new friends. First-timers are particularly encouraged. Can't be bothered to leave the house? With weather like it's been the last few days, I can't blame you. How about a cosy Zoom poetry reading then? The Poetry Society is celebrating the launch of its summer issue with a free online reading from contributors including Kaveh Akbar, Bonnie Hancell, Jacob Polley and Martha Sprackland.

Not happening until the following week but definitely worth a shout-out: Glasgow's multilingual collective U Belong in collaboration with Chisom Okoronkwo is putting together an Afro-Scottish Poetry night on 25 July. Tickets are on a sliding scale, so make sure to get yours!

Opportunities

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

The Glasgow-based magazine Effervescent is currently accepting poetry submissions on the theme 'you and the text'. The deadline is 15 July.

Pala Press is a small publisher in Glasgow. The team creates a beautiful hard-copy magazine bringing together essays, poetry, fiction and visual art. The upcoming issue will focus on the topic of 'futurity'. Submissions are accepted until 25 July.

The same deadline applies to a new funding opportunity by the Literature Alliance Scotland (LAS). The membership network is offering a £3,000 bursary for established writers in Scotland who are currently working on a poetry collection to be published by a UK publisher. Check the fine print to see if you are eligible.

The American literary collective Wreath are looking for submissions for their summer issue which will be dedicated to the topic 'decadence & pleasure'. The editor's musical mood board: Lorde's song 'Stoned at the Nail Salon'. Sounds like something you'd be into? You have until 1 August to get your work in.

Until 11 August, you also have the chance to submit your proposals for StAnza Poetry Festival 2026. The team is looking for suggestions for workshops, performances, readings, outdoor activities and parties. The working theme for 2026 is going to be 'You Are Not Alone'.

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.

With the Edinburgh Fringe rapidly approaching, you might be wondering what poetic gems the programme has to offer. The sheer number of shows alone can be a little overwhelming. So PIG decided to include some inspiration in case you are thinking of popping over to Edinburgh in August.

Naturally, the taster menu on 14 July is highly recommended. Why not try before you buy?

  • Top of the list is Ross Wilcock's 'Gay, Disabled, Vegan'. The show is on at Whistlebinkies from 2 to 9 August. We are promised an emotional show with poetry about love, loss, self worth, mental health and more!

  • Former Young Makar, Gwenhwyfar Ferch Rhys, presents their show '(Ac)quiesonce' from 10 to 16 August at Kafe Kweer. It's their debut spoken word show and combines the topic of gender transition with Welsh history and legend.

  • Ross McFarlane's show 'Glasgow's (Unofficial) Tour Guide' is promising a fun poetic journey: filled with crazy nights out, hidden alleyways, and stories etched into the tenement sandstone. The show is on at Whistlebinkies from 2 to 12 August.

  • But Ross McFarlane isn't the only one offering a taste of Glasgow at the Fringe. Poet Oliver Robertson is offering a lyrical journey through Glasgow's East End with his show 'Wellpark Wanderer' at the Banshee Labyrinth from 2 to 12 August.

  • Edinburgh Fringe Anti-Slam Champion Ben Macpherson will hold court at Murphy's from 2 to 21 August. His show 'Ben Macpherson Does Poems at Adults' offers a poetry pick'n'mix that is playful, heartfelt and (at times) downright dumb.

  • Something rather different is offered by David John during his spoken word show 'Swimming with Social Workers'. We are promised a show that immerses the audience in the world of water. Lyrical storytelling, candid humour, and poetry are all part of the flow. On at Kafe Kweer from 17 to 24 August.

  • Equally unique is the contribution by Spencer Mason, whose show 'The Hundred Headed Song' weaves a modern Odyssey that ships the shores of modernity, the horrors and the wonders of the world. See it at Banshee Labyrinth between 2 and 24 August.

  • The Lock-In Poetry Slam is coming to the Fringe, too! Come down to the Banshee Labyrinth between 2 to 12 August to see the best poets from Scotland and The Fringe battle it out in literary combat.

And yes - all these shows are free!

PIG's Poetry Pick

Today's pick was inspired by a recent piece in the LRB Blog about the unveiling of new inscriptions on the Canongate Wall at the Scottish Parliament. The wall - made of different stones from all across Scotland - features a collection of lines from the Psalms, different proverbs and poetry. It has now been extended with quotes by the three living former Scottish Makars: Liz Lochhead, Jackie Kay and Kathleen Jamie. To celebrate this little extension which brought the number of women’s quotes from one to four (out of 29), I picked a poem by Kathleen Jamie.

Shoestring

by Kathleen Jamie

with thanks to Louis MacNeice and Liz Lochhead

It’s all go the boarding pass, it’s all go the ‘international stage’
it’s a folk band crammed in the back of a van on the low road to Mallaig.

It’s Medea in the village hall, Black Watch in Cambuslang,
it’s a lad rehearsing his couplets for the high school poetry slam,

for art’s the breath of human life, we are, therefore we create
- though we manage it all on a shoestring, or a three-way share of the gate.

We never rhyme for the bottom line, we don’t sing from a balance sheet
we’re here for that sob in the pibroch that wad gar a grown man greet,

we’re here for the gym hall aria, for the couthy fireside story,
for the Screen Machine showing Duthchas on the pier in Tobermory,

for art’s the breath of human life, we are, therefore we create
- though we manage it all on a shoestring, or a six-way share of the gate.

‘Come aa ye’ said Hamish Henderson, as founded the Embra Fringe
- let’s reach to global arts and airts saying ‘Welcome, come awa ben!’

(But it’s no go the Filmhouse, it’s no go Modern 2
the “nailed and boarded window” ’s back in the heart of our Festival Toun.)

But art’s the breath of human life, we are, therefore we create
- though we try to survive on a shoestring, or ten-way share of the gate.

There’s words that ding in a’bdy’s lugs fi a novel set in a scheme,
- but the whaups are gone from Gibbon’s Mearns, the speugs from Glasgow Green,

so the windswept shores and snow-capped bens that inspire film or ballet
need us think again what we’re daein - we need art to heal the planet,

coz art’s the breath of human life, we are, therefore we create
- though we try to survive on a shoestring, or a sixeenth share of the gate.

So gie’s a haun, ma trusty fiere, be ye Auld Scots, or First Generation –
it’s oor turn for a turn at the dizzy reel where experiment birls wi tradition,

where a culture raised this side the Tweed - a nation within a state-
dances across its boundaries, says what needs to be said:

that art’s the breath of human life, we’re alive! therefore we create.
We do it for the love of it, and a wee bit share of the gate.

Via the Scottish Poetry Library. You can also watch Kathleen perform the poem on YouTube.

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

Love,
Annie