The Edwin Morgan Trust

A description of North Sea Poetry Studios against a light teal background. The North Sea Poets logo is in the bottom left corner.

A description of North Sea Poetry Studios against a light teal background. The North Sea Poets logo is in the bottom left corner.

Applications are still open for Studio 2 with Niall Campbell @niallpoetry.bsky.social ✍️

Get all the details: buff.ly/TBILVRi

Only eight places available!

#NorthSeaPoets #PoetryWorkshops #PoetrySky

I've written about IH Finlay, Alexander Trocchi, and George MacDonald Fraser for @booksfromscotland.bsky.social

Three centenaries, three tricky characters. An interesting commission this one....

booksfromscotland.com/2025/07/cent...

Edwin Morgan: A Legacy from Translation to Liberation From Sun 17 Aug - Edwin Morgan was many things: the first Makar of Scotland, a prolific writer (with over 60 published works), a passionate translation advocate, and a person with a kaleidoscopic rang...

Edwin Morgan: A Legacy from Translation to Liberation
17 Aug @edbookfest.bsky.social – £15.50/£10.50
The @edmorgantrust.bsky.social event

Writers including Colin Bramwell, Ellen McAteer, & Gregory Woods talk about poetry, queerness, translation, & freedom
www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...

Fringe As Scotland's Makar (national poet), Pàdraig MacAoidh (Peter Mackay) crafts verse that resonates with the landscapes and languages of his native Lewis. Blend...

#EnglishScotland
www.thestand.co.uk/fringe/2587/...

Reminded of this Edwin Morgan poem today. #edwinmorgan @carcanet.bsky.social

Colin Bramwell & Gregory Woods: Edinburgh International Book Festival - Carcanet Press Join Colin Bramwell and Gregory Woods at events across Edinburgh International Book Festival!   Our Mother Tongues Monday 11th August,

Join Colin Bramwell and Gregory Woods at events across Edinburgh International Book Festival, from 11th-20th August!

Learn more here: www.carcanet.co.uk/events/colin...

Edwin Morgan: A Legacy from Translation to Liberation From Sun 17 Aug - Edwin Morgan was many things: the first Makar of Scotland, a prolific writer (with over 60 published works), a passionate translation advocate, and a person with a kaleidoscopic rang...

Join us at Edinburgh Book Fest for a very special event, ‘Edwin Morgan: A Legacy from Translation to Liberation’, at which Colin Bramwell, Ellen McAteer, & Gregory Woods will talk about poetry, queerness, translation, & freedom 💚

www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...

Big congrats to Glasgow-based poet Michael Mullen for being shortlisted for the 2025 Forward Prizes Best First Collection with his debut Goonie.
#ForwardPrizes #BestFirstCollection #PoetryAwards

Colin Bramwell & Gregory Woods: Edinburgh International Book Festival - Carcanet Press Join Colin Bramwell and Gregory Woods at events across Edinburgh International Book Festival!   Our Mother Tongues Monday 11th August,

Join Colin Bramwell and Gregory Woods at events across Edinburgh International Book Festival, from 11th-20th August!

Learn more here: www.carcanet.co.uk/events/colin...

Strawberries Edwin Morgan There were never strawberries like the ones we had that sultry afternoon sitting on the step of the open french window facing each other your knees held in mine the blue plates in our laps the strawberries glistening in the hot sunlight we dipped them in sugar looking at each other not hurrying the feast for one to come the empty plates laid on the stone together with the two forks crossed and I bent towards you sweet in that air in my arms abandoned like a child from your eager mouth the taste of strawberries in my memory lean back again let me love you let the sun beat on our forgetfulness one hour of all the heat intense and summer lightning on the Kilpatrick hills let the storm wash the plates

There were never strawberries
like the ones we had
that sultry afternoon
sitting on the step
of the open french window…

—Edwin Morgan, “Strawberries”
published in CENTENARY SELECTED POEMS, @carcanet.bsky.social 2020

Hot #poetry for a hot day 🍓🍓🍓
www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/inde...

Edwin Morgan: A Legacy from Translation to Liberation From Sun 17 Aug - Edwin Morgan was many things: the first Makar of Scotland, a prolific writer (with over 60 published works), a passionate translation advocate, and a person with a kaleidoscopic rang...

Join us at Edinburgh Book Fest for a very special event, ‘Edwin Morgan: A Legacy from Translation to Liberation’, at which Colin Bramwell, Ellen McAteer, & Gregory Woods will talk about poetry, queerness, translation, & freedom 💚

www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...

Speaking as a sweaty smorgasbord for the wee bastards, this poem makes me itch.

We are currently seeking new Trustees, as well as members to join the EMT Advisory Group. If you’re passionate about supporting the development of Scottish poetry and translation and want to help shape the future of the EMT, we would love to hear from you! ⬇️

edwinmorgantrust.com/news/

Midge The evening is perfect, my sisters, The loch lies silent, the air is still, The sun’s last rays linger over the water and there is faint smirr, almost a smudge of summer rain. Sisters, I smell supper, and what is more perfect than supper? It is emerging from the wood, in twos and threes, a dozen in all, making such a chatter and a clatter as it reaches the rocky shore, admiring the arrangements of the light. See the innocents, my sisters, the clumsy ones, the laughing ones, the rolled-up sleeves and the flapping shorts, there is even a kilt (god of the midges, you are god to us!) So gather your forces, leave your tree-trunks, forsake the rushes to the sweet flesh of face and forearm. Think of your eggs. What does the egg need? Blood, and blood. Blood is what the egg needs. Our men have done their bit, they’ve gone, it was all they were good for, poor dears. Now it is up to us. The egg is quietly screaming for supper, blood, supper, blood, supper! Attack, my little Draculas, my Amazons! look at those flailing arms and stamping feet. They’re running, swatting, swearing, oh they’re hopeless. Keep at them, ladies. This is a feast. This is a midsummer night’s dream. Soon we shall all lie down filled and rich, and lay, and lay, and lay, and lay.

Keep at them, ladies. This is a feast.
This is a midsummer night’s dream...

— ‘Midge’ by #EdwinMorgan, published here in Edwin Morgan Twenties: Menagerie (Polygon, 2020) ☀️🪰

We are currently seeking new Trustees, as well as members to join the EMT Advisory Group. If you’re passionate about supporting the development of Scottish poetry and translation and want to help shape the future of the EMT, we would love to hear from you! ⬇️

edwinmorgantrust.com/news/

Clydebuilt 18: Applications open! In partnership with St Mungo’s Mirrorball, we are excited to launch our call for emerging poets to apply for Clydebuilt 18.  Edwin Morgan was an internationalist, writing across forms, themes, and …

⏰ Applications for CLYDEBUILT 18 close tomorrow at 5 pm!

Clydebuilt offers emerging poets in Scotland the opportunity to work with an experienced mentor over the course of a year + develop a portfolio of new work.

Visit our website to find out how to apply👇
edwinmorgantrust.com/2025/04/24/c...

... It is midsummer
and till my voice broke, 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨
I loved to sing ...

☀️

Edwin Morgan on the melancholy of #midsummer, and remembering those you love.

— ‘Fires’, published in Centenary Selected Poems (Carcanet, 2020)

I couldn't miss the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt at Tate Modern And 30 years on it's time to make my late partner a panel

New from me on Substack: I couldn’t miss the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt at Tate Modern: 30 years on its time to make a panel for my late partner.
open.substack.com/pub/chriscre...

Unfortunately for Eddie, ‘For the International Poetry Incarnation’ (published in The Second Life, 1968) ended up being his only contribution to that particular revolution – the not-so-rocknroll world of university degree-marking prevented him from attending.

Described as the Woodstock of the poetry world, it was a defining event of the British countercultural movement – a moment when poetry leapt from the page to the stage. 7000+ people gathered to watch performances from the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Alexander Trocchi, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Spacebreaker! Wildship! Starman! ... take poets on your voyages! 🚀

Edwin Morgan’s poem written for the International Poetry Incarnation, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall 60 years ago today. (1/3)

The unveiling of new poetry inscribed stones at the Canongate Wall - @scotparl.bsky.social Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone MSP with former Scotland national Makars Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay and Liz Lochhead.

Poster for ALEXANDER TROCCHI AT 100 A Symposium THE ANDREW HOOK CENTRE FOR AMERICAN STUDIES AND SCOTTISH LITERATURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW REMEMBER THE NOTORIOUS SCOTTISH BEAT WRITER 10.30-17.30 KELVIN HALL G3 8AW WORKSHOP AND EXHIBITION FROM THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND KEYNOTE ADDRESS FROM DR ELEANOR BELL PAPERS, ROUNDTABLE & MORE... To kick off the symposium there will be a screening of David Mackenzie's adaptation of Trocchi's novel Young Adam at Glasgow Film Theatre on Thursday 12*h June at 8pm tickets: www.glasgowfilm.org

Alexander Trocchi at 100
12–13 June, Glasgow

To mark the centenary of ‘the Scottish Beat’, Alexander Trocchi’s birth, @uofglasgow.bsky.social will be staging a 2-day event: a screening of David Mackenzie’s adaptation of YOUNG ADAM (2003) at the GFT, & a symposium at Kelvin Hall

We’re hiring! Apply to join our team as the new Marketing & Events Manager by the end of this month.

Learn more: www.carcanet.co.uk/careers/

EDWIN MORGAN MINI-ARCHIVE

What it says on the digitial tin. An intro to the most influential Scottish poet of the post-war years. A compact and easy-to-navigate design, and a nifty wee resource, full of Morganalia.

edwinmorgan.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/index.html

The City: Art Writing Commission - The Alasdair Gray Archive OPEN CALL FOR AN UNPUBLISHED WRITER: ART WRITING COMMISSION

PLEASE SHARE 🙏
OPEN CALL FOR AN UNPUBLISHED WRITER: ART WRITING COMMISSION
Responding to Holly Rennie Brown’s new curatorial project ‘The City’, exploring Glasgow through a queer, working-class lens. For eligibility, brief & details of how to apply ⬇️

The Loch Ness Monster’s Song Visit the post for more.

Poem of the Day: The Loch Ness Monster's Song by Edwin Morgan poemsontheunderground.org/the-loch-nes...

Getting Ready for Publication: Getting the First Collection Right with Niall Campbell | North Sea Poets A 90-minute webinar for those looking to prepare a first collection for publication.

In one week, I'll be leading a class on preparing your first poetry collection. I've lined up some nice insights from publishers as well as reflections from some great poets.

Tickets available here:
www.northseapoets.com/events/getti...

Selling Watermelons is the kind of poem that would please and amuse the home crowd. It’s a gutsy celebration of the suddenly overwhelming seasonal glut of a very desirable product. There’s no moaning about scarcity, although the string-bag mentioned in the last verse is a clue. It was stowed in every shopper’s pocket, just in case a previously unavailable item had suddenly appeared. Now, in the glory of the “melon-multitudes” the bag would be stretched as wide as possible to contain the delicious import – which had probably travelled from Kherson. Edwin Morgan’s translation is alive to the breathless excitement, the counter-sensation of suddenly being able to breathe freely, and the deliciously demonstrative aspect of the whole event. Vendors with busy knives prepare sample slices: customers’ knuckles tap the surface of the uncut fruit to check for that inimitable “resonance” of ripeness. The exhilaration that fills the sharp September air has, of course, a political dimension but this is understated, subsumed in an expression of joy that unites the people and those in power over them.

Selling Watermelons, Andrei Voznesensky, translated by Edwin Morgan Moscow is milling with watermelons. Everything breathes a boundless freedom. And it blows with unbridled fierceness from the breathless melonvendors. Stalls. Din. Girls’ headscarves. They laugh. Change bangs down. Knives — and a choice sample slice. — Take one, chief, for a long life! Who’s for a melon? Freshly split! —

And just as tasty and just as juicy are the capbands of policemen and the ranks of motor-scooters. The September air is fresh and keen and resonant as a watermelon. And just as joyfully on its own tack as the city-limit melon-multitudes, the earth swings in its great string-bag of meridians and latitudes!

Fantastic to see this poem by Andrei Voznesensky, translated by Edwin Morgan and published in his Collected Translations, as Carol Rumens's Poem of the Week in The Guardian! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

Get the book here: www.carcanet.co.uk/978185754253...

YouTube video by International Choral Festival Cardiff Codetta Youth Choir: The Subway Piranhas (Thea Musgrave)

The Codetta Youth Choir performing “The Subway Piranhas” (composed by Thea Musgrave) at the International Choral Festival Wales 2019

They couldn’t sing about it if it wasn’t true
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V5k...