Amy Jo Philip
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I’ll be reading a 20-minute set at the this collection showcase in the University of Edinburgh’s McEwan Hall on Friday 26th. The event is free and runs from 7 pm to 9 pm. McEwan hall is a rather grand place to be reading. I danced in there at many a ceilidh as a student and…
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I stumbled* recently over McShandy’s the rather excellent blog of Stuart Kelly, literary editor of the Scotland on Sunday and have been meaning to link to it since. I’ve even more reason to do so now, as Stuart features on the latest Scottish Poetry Library podcast, discussing Berryman’s Dream Songs, the potential of the internet for…
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It’s great not only to see a Salt book on the shortlist for the inaugural Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry* but that the book in question is Chris Agee’s powerful, heartbreaking, profound Next to Nothing. The book records the years following the death of Agee’s daughter in poems of great honesty and…
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Hard to believe The Ambulance Box was officially published a year ago today. A lot has happened in that time, personally and professionally. I’ve met some great people virtually and face to face, outsold Keats, been shortlisted for a significant poetry book prize, reviewed here and there and delighted to have seen the collection chosen…
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Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Crashaw prize. Here at Tonguefire, the biggest whoop of all — and I tell, you readers, it is a decibelicious whoop indeed — is for the fact that Ryan Van Winkle is among their number.
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I’ve just watched one of the most quietly beautiful films I’ve seen: “Basil Bunting”, Peter Bell’s 1982 film portrait of the Northumbrian modernist master, which comes bundled along with the new Bloodaxe edition of Briggflatts. The tone reminded me in some ways of “Into Great Silence” for the way it concentrates the mind on the…
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As part of Salt’s continuing Just One Book campaign, you can currently avail yourself of some eye-popping, knock-me-down-with-a-feather discounts on 12 titles while stocks last. Details below: No. 1 Full Colour HB anthology “Poets in View” on offer at 70% off — Buy it now for £3.90! http://bit.ly/JsInF No. 2 “Sister Morphine” Crime Fiction HB…
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And to prove it, here they are: Are they no bonnie? I like ’em every bit as much as the hardbacks. Chris and Jen do a great job on their books, regardless of what format they’re in. And, for all my professed reservations about prizes, it does feel good to have Shortlisted for the 2009…
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Geri Loup-Nolan and I had a really productive meeting yesterday to start pinning down the form of our radial poem participation project for Hidden Door. It’s beginning to come together in exciting ways. I’ve collaborated with artists before, but this is the first time the form of the work has been quite so collaborative. In…
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Hidden Door is a brand new mini-festival of the arts that takes place at the end of this month. On 30 and 31 January, 30 bands, 40 artists, 10 poets and 10 film makers will take over the Roxy Art House in Edinburgh and transform the space with an art maze, hidden stages and innovative…
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To celebrate the fact that The Ambulance Box is now available in paperback (£9.99, but there’s 20% off at the Salt online shop, of course), here’s that wonderful track from The Beatles. The harmonies! The guitar riff! Is there a more exemplary pop song?
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And the first blogly act of 2010 is to congratulate all those shortlisted for Salt’s 2009 Crashaw Prize, not least Ryan Van Winkle, the reader in residence at the Scottish Poetry Library and one of those forces for the good of (Scottish) poetry hid away in the Forest. It is much deserved and I have…
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Warmest Christmas wishes to you all and heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me this year by reading the blog, visiting the website, coming to a reading or workshop, buying The Ambulance Box and spreading the word. Peace and joy to you and yours at this time.
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Congratulations to Robert Crawford on winning the Saltire Society’s book of the year award and commiserations to my friend Alison Lang on not winning the first book award. News of the results is surprisingly hard to come by, with rather scant information in the BBC online report and naething ava on the Saltire Society’s own…
Amy Jo Philip 