Today in our poetry news round-up we look at pebbles, virtual celebrations of Burns Night and the celebrations commemorating the life of the poet who penned the Turkish National Anthem.

The Power of Pebbles

A retired poet in Withernsea has proved to be something of a hit on social media during the month of December.

Dean Wilson, who recently moved to the seaside location, has been visiting the beach on a daily basis and came up with the idea of “pebble of the day” taki

ng pictures of strange and unusual pebbles that appealed to him and sharing them with his Twitter followers.

Wilson is a published poet with several volumes to his name, and he often uses Twitter to share new poems with his followers. The beach, his walks and his strange finds have provided him with plenty of inspiration at a time when he is unable to do the thing, he loves the most, perform his poetry in front of an audience.

Pebble of the Day has inspired others as well with a local textile artist being inspired to make a quilt for Wilson, featuring embroidery of some of the pebbles.

Virtual Burns Night

As we near the end of 2020, plans are being made to hold a number of events in at least the first part of 2021 virtually, as case numbers for the coronavirus pandemic continue to climb. Whilst scientists might be suggesting that the end may just be coming into sight, it isn”t here yet.

An Edinburgh firm who make Haggis are planning to bring a very special night in the Scottish calendar to the world using virtual means. The event is, of course, Burns night, named for the famous son of Scotland the poet Robert Burns. The event is celebrated every year on 25^th January not just in Scotland but all over the world.

Macsween, the Edinburgh firm with a long history of making haggis, will be creating a virtual Burns night supper with the help of one of Scotland’s best-loved comedy actors. It is hoped that the event will be attended by people all over the globe who would normally have attended in person Burns suppers, but this year will not be able to.

2021 will mark the 262^nd anniversary of the poet’s birthday. Burns died in 1796, aged just 37.

Turkish National Anthem Writer Commemorated

Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the Turkish poet and author who wrote the Turkish National anthem died 84 years ago. He is however considered by many to have been the “National Poet” of Turkey, as the writer of the words that now form the national anthem of the country which was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly in 1921.

The poem was written at the special request of the education minister of the time and immortalises the battle that Turkey faced for survival at the time.

Several ceremonies took place all over the country, with the majority being online, to pay tribute to Ersoy for the occasion which marks the anniversary of the death of the poet.