Tonight, the result of the inaugural Michael Marks Awards for poetry pamphlet publishing will be announced. For obvious reasons, I hope HappenStance win, but the shortlist (Oystercatcher, Templar, and tall-lighthouse) is very strong. Any of them would make deserving winners.
It is good to see a Scottish-based publishing house on a UK shortlist (another barren year for young Scottish poets at the Eric Gregory Awards, I’m afraid). It’s a shame HappenStance hasn’t been given more recognition within Scotland in this kind of way – by shortlists and awards, by the SAC, and so on. Isn’t it slightly ironic that a new UK-wide award with a prize-giving ceremony in London has immediately picked up on the worth of what HappenStance has been doing?
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Early this morning I drafted an article asking where power lies in the Scottish poetry world, but it’s not quite right yet, especially given how controversial such a subject might prove to be. However, I will post it when it’s ready, which might not be until mid-July.
1 comment:
Congratulations to the winners - Elizabeth Burns's 'The Shortest Days' won the Best Individual Pamphlet Award, and Peter Hughes's Oystercatcher Press won Best UK Pamphlet Publisher.
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