PIG UPDATE #18
12th of October 2025
The PIG Update is going international! Mostly because Annie is typing this update from Germany where she is currently staying with her sister, hoping her laptop battery will last long enough to finish the upload since she totally forgot to bring a plug converter for her laptop lead.
But enough of a preamble, let's get to the good stuff.
Events (13 to 26 October 2025)
The week starts on Monday, 13 October with a lunchtime reading and conversation at the University of Glasgow. The university's creative writing department has invited Theresa Muñoz for the weekly Creative Conversation to discuss her second collection 'Archivum'. This event will take place at the Gilbert Scott Building (not the University Chapel). But as usual, you can also attend remotely via Zoom. In the evening, Inn Deep opens its cavernous space for the monthly Open Mic night.
There's plenty of poetry on offer on Wednesday, 15 October. Poet's Corner at Hillhead Bookclub beckons for its weekly open mic event, as does Time for One Poem at Sweeney's on the Southside. But that's not all, Well Versed, the online poetry event series by StAnza Poetry Festival offers an exciting conversation with and reading by Imtiaz Dharker from midday and in the evening, Carcanet Press invites you to join their online book launch of 'Lean Against Time', a collection of poems by SuAndi. Tickets for the reading are £2 which you can then redeem against the price of the book after the event.
The monthly online poetry reading group 'Discover Poetry' is back in session on Thursday, 16 October. The session is hosted by Polly Atkin on behalf of Wordsworth Grasmere and offers opportunities to talk about poetry, learn and get inspired.
A unique poetry event is on offer on Friday, 17 October at Glasgow Zine Library. Under the headline 'Questions for my Ancestors' Meron McCardle weaves together poetry and storytelling in their show about their experience of moving to Scotland from Aotearoa New Zealand. The event is already sold out but you can still join the waiting list in case of last-minute cancellations.
Love a little trip down memory lane? On Sunday (19 October), Laurie Bolger presents a writing workshop all about 'Writing the 90s'. The organiser promises a "celebration of 90’s nostalgia, packed with writing prompts & loads of tunes you’ll fill like you’re in the CD aisle at Woolworths". Sound good? Tickets are £25 for a 1.5h session.
On Monday (20 October), Curler's Cosy Corner is celebrating its 3rd birthday! Ross Wilcock has pulled all the stops to party in style with an outstanding line-up including Stephen Watt, James Williams, Daniel Toland, Willow Heath, Issy Clare Watson, Kaci O’Meara, India de Bono and Anna Secret Poet. This is one you don't want to miss! The same night, there are also two online events to tempt you: the Poetry Review is running an online reading group to mark the publication of its autumn issue. Join this interactive session to discover the standout pieces, spark thoughtful discussions, and provide a deeper appreciation of the issue’s poems. You can join for £5 or secure the package deal of £12.95 which also gives you a copy of the journal. Under the headline 'Writing Swearing', Laurie Bolger is running an online writing workshop all about exploring the wild side of language and getting creative with foul language. Sounds fun. Tickets are £25.
On Tuesday (21 October), Kathia Huitrón, an Edinburgh-based Mexican writer celebrates her fourth poetry collection entitled 'This too I called love' with a reading at Good Press. Also happening the same night is a special evening version of UofG's Creative Conversations with novelist Chris Kraus and poet Leo Bussi. Sadly the event is already sold out though. Not yet fully booked is the Writing Group at Mount Florida Books on the Southside, the same evening. So, if you fancy a creative evening among fellow writers, get your spot booked before it's too late.
The weekly Poet's Corner returns to Hillhead Bookclub on Wednesday, 22 October. You know the drill: check the weekly theme, bring your poems, make new friends. For those less inclined to leave the comfort of their home on a Wednesday evening, Carcanet Press brings poetic delights straight to your computer/mobile screen. The online book launch celebrates the work of Daniel Huws with a volume of collected poems. As always, tickets are £2 which can be redeemed against the costs of the book.
Opportunities
Today's pick from among the long list of opportunities currently on the PIG website:
Poetry Ireland, Ireland's resource organisation for the promotion and development of poetry in Ireland is currently looking for a Poet in Residence to take office from 2025-27. The team is looking for a poet with a passion for community engagement and literary advocacy. Applications are still accepted until 22 October.
The online magazine Frazzled Lit is currently accepting submissions for its 4th issue. Check out the journals website for full details and to get a feel for the type of poetry they generally publish. The submission window will be open for all of October.
If you are interested in computer-assisted creative writing, I might have just the thing for you. Re-Mediate Lit Magazine is open for submissions for its 4th issue until 1 November. Under the theme 'machinewitness', the editors are looking for contributions that negotiate the perilous digital landscape that records, threatens, captures and witnesses our lives and our writing.
Turning Leaf Journal is a US literary journal which is dedicated to offering space for "artists and writers to come together to learn from and lean on during life’s most challenging, loneliest, and hopeless moments." The focus is on work that addresses life's entrances and exits, seasons, formations and destructions. An intriguing concept. Submissions are now open until 1 November.
Targeting LGBTQ+ writers is the new anthology by Arachne Press which will be dedicated to queer resistance. Under the title "Up//Roar", the editors are looking for poetry by LGBTQ+ poets, for LGBTQ+ readers. Again, the deadline is 1 November.
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 PIG Spotlight is dedicated to a special issue on German contemporary poetry in translation by mpT (Modern Poetry in Translation). The issue has the title 'Slap Bang' and includes work by contemporary poets such as Ulrike Almut Sandig, Özlem Özgül Dündar, Nora Gomringer and Esther Kinsky, alongside new translations of Hilde Domin, Friedrich Hölderlin, Nelly Sachs, Günter Eich and Else Lasker-Schüler. You can read a selection of the work online. Or maybe, today's international sojourn inspires you to subscribe (they also do digital subscriptions with access to the impressive archives). In any case, have a look, its well worth it.
PIG's Poetry Pick
In line with today's Germany theme, I picked a poem by Ulrike Almut Sandig, a poet who grew up in East Germany and build her career as a guerrilla poet in the city of Leipzig.
Instructions for flying
I. spread your arms out at shoulder height and behave like you can fly.
II. be like the priest in his black cassock who, unbeknown to him, lifted up off the floor in the middle of the final blessing, flew to the belfry, fell into deep sleep, and deeper.
III. keep to the stunted hedges at the edge of the village, the banks of fog, the woods.
IV. shake on the implacable tree of history, whatever the blowback.
V. don’t let yourself be hurried. and if they hurry you, take flight.
VI. don’t let yourself be harried. and if they harry you, find a way out.
VII. find hiding places. climb up trees, don’t build yourself a house.
VIII. be like the fly with a noose round its chitin neck, who flew circuits in the kitchen light, until a bored kid had enough of the game. clean your wounds.
IX. climb on top of a boundary wall and jump for joy. crawl under the wire mesh fences and find a way through.
X. trust in centrifugal force to get away.
XI. be like the bat that flew straight out of the lab window, without bumping into anything, after someone pricked out both its eyes, in order to research echolocation.
XII. employ no cunning. take no comfort. count up to thirteen and jump.
via Poetry International.
That's it for today.
Love,
Annie