This week our poetry news round up takes a look at a PhD project that will help build the first National Poetry Library of Wales, the restoration work that will take place on an old inn linked to Robert Burns and an exhibition dedicated to the poet Hugh MacDiarmid.
PhD Project to Build First National Poetry Library of Wales Announced
The University of South Wales (USW) is creating a ground-breaking new PhD studentship with the aim of creating the first National Poetry Library of Wales.
The project, which is to be funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), is an ambitious one which hopes to make poetry more accessible by creating a ‘digital-first, multi-site’ library that will make use of an innovative digital infrastructure.
This new programme will be a part of the Celtic Crescent Doctoral Fund Award, a multilingual consortium made up of seven HE institutions from Wales, Scotland and Cornwall.
The project will be led by a PhD candidate, who will help to establish the library to address the socio-economic and geographic barriers that exist in cultural engagement. The programme will take four years to complete.
Restoring Old Robert Burns Inn – First Steps Granted Approval
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The first steps in the challenge to bring one of the favourite pubs of the poet Robert Burns back into use have been approved, with the stipulation that work begins within 3 years.
Whigham’s Inn in Sanquhar, which was immortalised by Burns in verse, is to be restored by the local community. Over the last couple of decades, the town centre property has fallen into disrepairs, but consent has now been given for the removal of dry ice that is currently on the façade of the property. This work will help to get the building ready for a wider programme of repairs. This cleaning work needs to be done so that an assessment can be completed on the condition of the brickwork below. Some of the peeling paint particles which are to be removed from the building are to be placed in storage for archaeological records.
It has been estimated that a complete overhaul of the property could cost in the region of £3m.
Here we reproduce a part of the poem inspired by the building:
Major Exhibition of Poet Hugh MacDiarmid to Open
A new exhibition which will explore the Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid and his connection to Whalsay will be taking place at the Shetland Museum and Archives.
The exhibition will focus on the nine years that MacDiarmid and his wife Valda lived in Whalsay and will include personal letters and rare manuscripts that are on loan from the National Library of Scotland.
There will also be art, artefacts that capture the lives of the couple and previously unseen photographs.
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