Today in our poetry news round-up we take a look at the fund helping the Doric language, the third Arabic poetry dictionary and Pam Ayres new book.
£10,000 Funding From Doric Board to Help Spread Language
A round of funding ranging from £250 to £1000 has been awarded to varying groups that are involved in boosting Doric through culture, history and the arts.
Created to energise the perception amongst the public of the exceptional heritage of the region the Doric Board – North-East Tradition and Language (NETAL) have a total fund of £10,000 to award to deserving projects in their inaugural year. The scheme which was created in collaboration with the Scottish Government hopes to develop a dynamic and sustainable future for the Doric Language.
The projects that have received finding are rather diverse in nature, and include an illustrated biography of James Macpherson the legendary outlaw, a play and a poetry book.
The Two of Us Ltd Creations who are based in Aboyne have been awarded the money that will allow them to publish a poetry collection that contains the work of 11 writers groups from all over the region.
In total, the fund received 29 applications for funds this year, which shows that Doric is more alive and well than people imagine.
Poetic Dictionary
The Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation in Kuwait has completed work on its third dictionary of Arabic poets.
The dictionary, which contains around 10,000 poets from the period 1258 to 1800 is contained in 25 volumes. The years covered by the dictionary are believed to be some of the most important in terms of the major changes that took place in the Arabic world. Social, political and cultural changes played a significant role in both the type of poetry that was produced and the development that poetry made.
The previous two dictionaries covered the more modern period of history and also the poetry of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The aim of the dictionaries is to assist those who are interested in poetry and researchers to be able to chronicle poets and their works.
Pam Ayres – New Poetry Collection
With her distinct accent and humorous verses, Pam Ayres is well known as a poet who can make people smile and her newest book is no exception.
Known somewhat affectionately as the “peoples poet”, this latest book “Up In The Attic” takes a look at what Ayres refers to as the “agony of ageing” and offers a comic look on weight gain, snoring partners and getting older.
In total, Ayres has now published 18 books of poetry and hold a rather unusual title as one of the few writers to have had a place in the bestseller charts published by the Sunday times every decade since 1970.
At the age of 72, Ayres declares that she is certainly not finished with poetry, or performing and is only likely to give up if her memory were to go. She currently learns all of her stage shows off by heart before performing so that she can really engage with the audience.
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