Category Archives: Poetry

Book Review: Lemn Sissay- My Name Is Why

British Ethiopian poet and performer Lemn Sissay writes prose in the same way that he speaks: succinctly, openly and with no time for bullshit. It’s this no -nonsense approach that he brings to his devastating memoir, My Name Is Why. For the first twelve years of his life, he had lived with a Christian familyContinue reading “Book Review: Lemn Sissay- My Name Is Why”

The Arts Are Not A Luxury

I grew up in a small working- class rural town in Perthshire, Scotland. Nothing much happened there; we didn’t have much money and TV was our only dose of culture. In my house, books were shoved into cupboards, hidden away like skeletons, and theatre, with the exception of am- dram panto, wasn’t “for the likesContinue reading “The Arts Are Not A Luxury”

A Secret Worth Sharing: Meet Anna Secret Poet

Anna Secret Poet is a genderfluid singer/songwriter,musician,poet and model based in Glasgow. Their influences range from The Ramones to Doctor Who, and you can find them performing in clubs,cabaret nights and at comedy shows.With new music on the horizon,I caught up with the delightful Anna Blair to find out what’s in store for 2024. IsContinue reading “A Secret Worth Sharing: Meet Anna Secret Poet”

Happy 2024!

Happy New year to you, wherever you are reading this. May this year bring peace,joy and fulfilment to all, however and whenever it occurs. Lorna x “How happy is the vestal’s lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d…” -Alexander Pope, ‘Eloisa toContinue reading “Happy 2024!”

Preview: Women In Revolt! @ Tate Britain

This is an enormously exciting bit of news . Tate Britain has just announced a new exhibition, starting on November 8th, showing the seismic shift in female-led art, politics and culture in the UK. Because it’s not just about Thatcher, The Clash and The Sex Pistols. WOMEN IN REVOLT!ART AND ACTIVISM IN THE UK 1970-1990Continue reading “Preview: Women In Revolt! @ Tate Britain”

Album Review: PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying

There are many Polly Jean Harveys, all shedding skins, one by one. While an introspective album using her poems as songwriting templates was never going to be a sonic battering ram as so much of her previous work, there are still good things to be unearthed. This is her tenth studio album and is producedContinue reading “Album Review: PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying”

Album Review: Anna Secret Poet- Shoutin’ Into The Void

“You can learn a lot from dead things “, Anna Secret Poet sings in ‘Dead Things’, “including how to live”. This is a very Anna line: seemingly throwaway, but really profound. The canny Scots singer-songwriter, drag performer and weaver of pithy tales returns with an album that meditates on the darkest corners of our psyche,Continue reading “Album Review: Anna Secret Poet- Shoutin’ Into The Void”

“God Bless You, Mr Cutler! “

Take Scottish institution The Broons, put something in their tea, and you’re halfway to understanding the genius of Ivor Cutler. I’m a wee bit late to the table here, but January the 15th marked what would have been the great Ivor Cutler ‘s 100th birthday. Born into a Scots Jewish family, his dour, sweetly subversiveContinue reading ““God Bless You, Mr Cutler! “”