Tag: Scotland's Makar

First Minster thanks Makar as tenure comes to an end

First Minister John Swinney has thanked Scotland’s national poet, Makar Kathleen Jamie, for her contribution to public life as her three year tenure comes to an end.

The Makar’s work was celebrated at an Edinburgh International Book Festival event, attended by the First Minister, which saw award-winning composer David Paul Jones take Kathleen Jamie’s back catalogue of poems and set them to music.

Mr Swinney said: “I want to thank Kathleen Jamie and pay tribute to the stellar work she has done over the last three years as Scotland’s fourth modern Makar, and as a national ambassador for poetry in Scotland and overseas.

“Her term as Makar will leave a powerful legacy. She encouraged the public to become engaged with the role by writing a series of collective poems curated from individual lines of poetry submitted by the people of Scotland. This allowed a large number of people to contribute to the important role of Makar.

“Kathleen has also recently completed a collective poem using lines from prisoners throughout Scotland on the theme of hope, which I am very much looking forward to reading when it is published shortly.”

Kathleen Jamie said: “It’s been a huge honour to be Scotland’s fourth modern Makar and I have greatly enjoyed this role.

“I have performed at the opening of Parliament, written poems to commemorate the COP26 Summit and the life of the late Queen and I have toured libraries from Kirkwall to Coatbridge, tapping into the rich seam of grassroots poetry activities taking place across Scotland.

“In 3 ‘collective poems’ I curated pieces from lines provided by hundreds of members of the public. We wrote a National Nature Poem, a Letter to the People of Ukraine, and a Letter to World Leaders. I was happy to be asked to extend this to the prison population and develop a poem on the theme of hope.

“The role of the Makar is vital in engaging a vast audience with poetry. Rather than speaking to or for the nation, I am most proud of enabling the nation to speak for itself, and keep poetry at its heart.”

Kathleen Jamie is new Makar

Poet and essayist Kathleen Jamie has been appointed as Scotland’s next Makar. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon formally welcomed her to the role at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh yesterday.

The role of Makar involves taking a leadership role in promoting poetry nationally, as well as producing work relating to significant national events.

Ms Jamie was appointed by the First Minister for a three-year term on the recommendation of an expert panel representing Scotland’s literary sector.

She is the fourth person to hold the role since it was established by the Scottish Parliament in 2004, following in the footsteps of Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead, and Edwin Morgan.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I am delighted to confirm Kathleen Jamie as our national poet.

“Poetry is integral to Scotland’s culture and history. The Makar has a central role in celebrating that legacy, and preserving its future by encouraging the next generation of young writers to leave their mark.

“Kathleen is a highly accomplished poet who is known for her works in English and Scots, and the meaningful connections her writing draws between our lives and the landscape around us. I have no doubt she will continue to build on the exceptional work of her predecessors to promote Scottish poetry both here and abroad.”

Kathleen Jamie said: “I am honoured and delighted to be appointed as Scotland’s new Makar. The post confirms a weel-kent truth: that poetry abides at the heart of Scottish culture, in all our languages, old and new. It’s mysterious, undefinable and bold. It runs deep and sparkles at once.

“Liz Lochhead, Jackie Kay and the late Edwin Morgan have held this post before me, a trio of major poets. If I can achieve half of their outreach, humour and wisdom, not to mention their wonderful verse, I’ll be doing well. I am grateful to the selection panel for such a vote of confidence in my work, and to the First Minister for her endorsement and support.

“My task as I see it is to meet folk, to support and encourage poetry, to laugh and lament and witness, and occasionally speak to our national life. I’m excited to begin.” 

Asif Khan, Director at Scottish Poetry Library said: “Kathleen Jamie is a generational talent – an exceptional Scottish writer of any era. Jamie’s poetry and prose sits with the best writing in English anywhere in the world.

“The poetry library looks forward to supporting the new Makar’s programme of engagement at a time when poetry is treasured as an art form that can heal and unite communities, as well as inspire our young people, including New Scots, to see the world differently and reflect on their role in it.”

Alan Bett, Head of Literature & Publishing at Creative Scotland said: “Kathleen Jamie is an excellent choice for The Makar, Scotland’s national poet. The quality of her work speaks for itself, and that work can and will speak to so many people across Scotland and beyond.

“The work can also speak to and challenge the current environmental context, with a strong focus on place and nature. I would like to offer my warm congratulations to Kathleen on this announcement and look forward to the creative projects that will connect her poetry with the nation.”

Celebrating Scotland’s Makar

Enriching lives through poetry

Jackie Kay’s tenure as Scotland’s national poet has come to an end after five years. Scotland’s third Makar – Jackie succeeded Edwin Morgan and Liz Lochhead – described her time in the role as an “incredible journey”.

Ms Kay’s time as Makar saw her read Threshold at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 2016, take up residency at Young Scot during the Year of Young People in 2018 and develop a digital project bringing poets and musicians to the public during lockdown.

Other highlights include a collaboration in 2020 called Fare Well which formed the centrepiece of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations and the lullaby Welcome Wee One which has featured in every Baby Box, more than 167,000, since the scheme launched in 2017.

Ms Kay also wrote The Long View partly in Gaelic, partly sung and partly in sign language, which was performed for the 20th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament.

Her replacement will be announced in the coming months.

Jackie Kay said: “It has been an extraordinary journey these last five years and I’ve gained so much in terms of peoples’ love and interest in poetry.

“I’ve found out so many things about my country.

“I wanted to take poetry to unexpected places and I feel that I have achieved that. Up until the lockdown I was on and off boats, on and off trains, in and out of cars and  buses, travelling north, south, east and west, going to all sorts of different places I hadn’t been to before.

“It’s been a glorious, joyous, interesting ride to have been to every major city and to have been to so much of the Highlands and Islands, rural parts of Scotland. It gave me a real sense of the country and its changing attitudes to politics, to race to diversity and to poetry.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Jackie has made an outstanding contribution as Makar and helped widen the appeal of poetry to a broad and diverse audience both here in Scotland and internationally.

“The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought unique challenges, but Jackie’s vitality, warmth and tremendous talent has helped to keep the role of Makar relevant.

“Her Fare Well Hogmanay collaboration was a memorable event which shows the universal appeal of poetry and her lullaby Welcome Wee One has been the first introduction to poetry for thousands of children.

“The legacy of Jackie’s tenure as Makar will be the enduring and positive impact she has had on so many, particularly the younger generation from her period in residence at Young Scot. She takes our best wishes for the future.”

The role of Makar involves taking a leadership role in promoting poetry nationally, as well as producing work relating  to significant national events.

During her time in the role, Ms Kay has attended hundreds of events across Scotland. The national commissions she undertook were Threshold, Sasine, the Long View, Queensferry Crossing and Fare Well.

To commemorate Jackie Kay’s term, a scroll which will include lines from the work of each Makar is being created which can be passed from one Makar to the next.

Work is underway to appoint a new Makar to succeed Ms Kay, which will be overseen by the new administration. Current planning is for the new Makar to be in place for the opening of Parliament.