Scottish Poetry Library Podcast

Who is Eddie Linden? A poet, an editor, and a man with an extraordinary range of contacts, friends who ranged from Tom Leonard to Harold Pinter. Linden is a person who has achieved much considering his incredibly tough childhood. Born illegitimate, he was passed from pillar to post as a boy in Glasgow. Later, he suffered much anguish when his Roman Catholicism conflicted with his sexuality. In the 1960s, after moving to London, he began an extraordinary literary magazine Aquarius, which over 30 years became a veritable Who’s Who of contemporary poets. In the SPL's latest podcast, he discusses his life and verse from his home in Maida Vale.

Image by Mazengarb

Erín Moure discusses her recent book The Unmemntioable, an exploration of her complex family history and subsequent travel to western Ukraine. In conversation with Ryan Van Winkle at the StAnza poetry festival, where she was the poet in residence, they discuss "how you can identify who you are and where you come from when your mother says you come from nowhere." And nowhere, she discovered, was western Ukraine.

Presented by Ryan Van Winkle http://www.ryanvanwinkle.com @rvwable Produced by Colin Fraser of Culture Laser Productions htto://www.culturelaser.com @culturelaser. Music by Ewen Maclean.

On 15 February 2013, Jennifer Williams, SPL Programme Manager, and poet/author Tracey S. Rosenberg (http://tsrosenberg.wordpress.com/) had a chat about that dreaded and unavoidable demon that every publishing writer must do battle with: rejection. We hope this podcast will be of interest to all writers who have to deal with inevitable rejection, and especially to young and emerging writers who are starting down the challenging path towards publication. We’re grateful to Inky Fingers (http://inkyfingersedinburgh.wordpress.com/), that marvellous Edinburgh creative writing organisation, for creating the Rejection Workshop that inspired this conversation.

Find Tracey’s pamphlet here: Lipstick is Always a Plus http://stewedrhubarb.org/post/34371009207/lipstickisalwaysaplus.

Music by James Iremonger www.jamesiremonger.co.uk.

On a dull and rain-soaked day in March of this year, the SPL travelled to St Andrews to interview the National Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke. Despite the weather, Gillian was in fine form after a magnificent turn at St Andrews poetry festival,StAnza. Then again, Gillian has a way of spinning grey days into poetic gold. Her latest collection Ice (Carcanet) is inspired by the terrible winter of 2009. Here, she explains how the snow took her back to childhood memories, which in turned inspired an entire suite of winter-set poems. Photo courtesy of Poetry Live

Ryan Van Winkle discusses language identity, Singapore literature and poetic practice with Alvin Pang at the StAnza 2013 poetry festival. We get a chance to hear a few of Alvin's poems and a selection from his anthology TUMASIK: Contemporary Writing from Singapore. Alvin talks to Ryan about how Seamus Heaney has influenced his work, his grandmother's deadly Cantonese aphorisms and he reads a poem of his written in the distinctive unofficial language of Singapore, Singlish. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle @rvwable. Produced by Colin Fraser of Culture Laser Productions @culturelaser. Music by Ewen Maclean.

The SPL caught up with George Szirtes at the StAnza poetry festival in March, 2013. In town to read from his new collection Bad Machine (Bloodaxe), George Szirtes spoke to Colin Waters about memory, photography, Twitter and 1960s garage pop. Photo by Caroline Forbes.

Former Poet Laureate of the United States Robert Pinsky discusses poems, poetry readers, jazz and his curious family history with Ryan Van Winkle. He talks about his enthusiasm for his Favorite Poem Project - "For me a poem is a work of art that's so intimate and so internal that its medium is any reader's voice." In a wide ranging interview, he speaks about his formative years - "I grew up among very verbal, eloquent, skilful joke tellers and complainers and arguers and liars" - and the way he tries to capture music in language. He also reads a number of his poems and talks about his passion for poetry. "I never defended poetry. I don't believe in commercials for poetry. It is so fundamental, so large, so central... It's an insult to poetry to advocate for it or defend it." Photo by Jared C. Benedict under a Creative Commons on Wikimedia. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle @rvwable. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean.

Programme Manager Jennifer Williams discusses constructivist poetry and more with award-winning poet, fiction writer, critic and professor Tony Lopez at a rather noisy 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Tony reads from his book ‘Only More So’ (Shearsman) and talks about upcoming projects.

Music by James Iremonger.

Aonghas MacNeacail has been a leading voice in Gaelic poetry for decades, as poet, and as a regular literary commentator in print and on Gaelic radio. He celebrated his seventieth birthday last year with a new selected poems, Laughing at the Clock / Déanamh Gáire Ris A' Chloc. MacNeacail came into the SPL to talk about his life and career, from his childhood on the island of Uig to his membership of Philip Hobsbaum's legendary writing group. He also talks about his struggles as a Gaelic speaker in an English language-dominated culture, including an oddly strenuous struggle with the telephone directory people. Image by Roddy Simpson.

Dael Allison takes us on an adventure in this episode as she discusses itinerant painter Ian Fairweather and reads a selection of poems from her collection Fairweather's Raft. Fairweather's story is a fascinating one - he travelled through Asia and Australia in the 30s and 40s and embarked on an epic raft journey at the age of 60 from Darwin to Timor. Recorded in Darwin at the WordStorm Festival. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle @rvwable. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean.

Fiona Sampson, former editor of Poetry Review and author of several collections including 2010's Rough Music and soon-to-be-published Collehill, took time out during her appearance at 2012's Edinburgh International Book Festival to talk to Jennifer Williams ahead of the publication of her latest collection and Poem, the new magazine she has begun.

Music by James Iremonger (www.jamesiremonger.co.uk).

Good poetry gets beneath the skin of readers. This episode features a poet who, for a short period, literally got 'under the skin'. In the autumn of 2008, poet and essayist Marianne Boruch was awarded a 'Faculty Fellowship in a Second Discipline', permitting her to study something new for a semester. Her choice? Anatomy classes. 'Speak Cadaver', a long poem, was her response to her time dissecting bodies, and in the SPL's latest podcast, she talks about her experiences in an interview conducted in Edinburgh University's Medical School's historical lecture theatre.

Ryan chatted with SJ Fowler and Tomasz Rozycki during the Sofia Poetics Festival with Literature Across Frontiers. We get a chance to hear them reading from their work and they discuss their individual approaches to their work. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean.

It's the end of the year. Time to put your feet up and reflect on what has been - and what is to come. The last SPL podcast of the year talks to the members of staff who keep the SPL going and asks them what their poetic highlights of the year are. We also broadcast clips from events held at the SPL over the year, including our explosive What I Love - What I Hate About Poetry debate! The show features Aonghas MacNeacail, John Burnside, Ryan Van Winkle, Allison Funk and Gerry Cambridge. Image: christmas bells tockholes 2009 by jack berry, under a Creative Commons licence

In November 2012, we staged the first in a new series of My Life in Poetry events at the Scottish Poetry Library. My Life in Poetry invites guests to reflect upon their lives through the lens of their favourite poems. Award-wnning novelist Candia McWilliam did the SPL the great honour of accepting its invitation to take part in My Life in Poetry. For 30 minutes, she discusses with enviable lucidity her favourite poems, which includes verse by Shakespeare, George Herbert, Robert Browning and Emily Dickinson.

We’ve all heard the arguments in favour of Scotland’s best poet or favourite poem, but what about its greatest collection?

The SPL invited two guests - James Robertson, poet, publisher and author of the novels And the Land Lay Still and The Testament of Gideon Mack, and Dorothy McMillan, editor of Modern Scottish Women Poets and former Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Glasgow - to join SPL director Robyn Marsack to discuss what might be Scotland’s best collections of poetry in an extended podcast.

Rozalie Hirs, poet and composer of chamber, vocal and electroacoustic works, discusses her work with Ryan at the StAnza poetry festival. We also include snippets from her pieces In LA and Bridging Babel. Find out more about Rozalie and her work at http://www.rozalie.com/ Presented by Ryan Van Winkle @rvwable. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean.

We met up with Sean Borodale at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August 2012, where he was reading from his debut collection Bee Journal.

Bee Journal has since been shortlisted for the 2012 T S Eliot prize.

Here Sean reads poems from Bee Journal and talks about his interests in time, bees, Virgil and much more with our Programme Manager, Jennifer Williams.

Music by James Iremonger (www.jamesiremonger.co.uk).

Possessing a friendship that spans the Atlantic, Scotland's John Burnside and America's Allison Funk are captured in conversation, speaking about what they enjoy about each other's country, from poetry and music to the mutability of the landscape and people.

Allison Funk is the author of four volumes of verse, the most recent of which is The Tumbling Box (2009). John Burnside's latest, Black Cat Bone (2011), is one of only two titles to have won both the Forward Prize and the TS Eliot Prize for Poetry.

In a conversation that runs from delta blues to Virginia Woolf, Funk and Allison explain the way in which they've influenced each other's work while still being 'opposite sides of the same coin'.

Ryan Van Winkle chats to poets Ken Arkind and Jon Sands during their recent UK tour. They discuss their poetry workshops, what they think about slam poetry and we get a chance to hear them read.
Ken is a National Poetry Slam Champion, and full time touring artist who has performed across the US, been published in numerous anthologies. Jon is a full-time teaching & performing artist. His first full collection of poems, The New Clean, was released in 2011 from Write Bloody Publishing. He is currently the Director of Poetry Education at the Positive Health Project. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean.

“I feel poets have saved my life. The poets are our companions. They have found words for states all of us have experienced.” So says Marie Howe on a recent visit to Scotland, where she was appearing as a guest of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Howe’s first collection, The Good Thief (1988), was chosen for the National Poetry Series by Margaret Atwood, who praised Howe’s ‘poems of obsession that transcend their own dark roots’. Jennifer Williams, Programme Manager at the Scottish Poetry Library, interviews Howe about the craft of writing poetry, focussing on her poems ‘The Star Market’ and ‘The Snow Storm’.

Music by James Iremonger.

The Written World is the Scottish Poetry Library's London 2012 project. To mark the Olympics, we launched a scheme to find a poem for each of the 204 countries taking part, which were then broadcast on BBC Radio. With the project over now, we take the chance to look back on The Written World with its project manager Sarah Stewart. We also talk to Richard Price, whose poem 'Hedge Sparrows' was chosen to represent Team GB, and William Letford, who the SPL asked to write a poem marking the end of the tournament. A trio of poets is rounded out by Mariama Khan, a poet representing Gambia at Poetry Parnassus, another international event linked to the Olympics.

Photo of Richard Price performing at the Written World closing party courtesy of Chris Scott.

Music by William Campbell.

Ryan chats with Ghanian-born, Jamaican-raised Kwame Dawes. He is a poet of great strength, generosity and kindness, and takes the reader to places very few writers in English are capable of going. His work on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica (http://livehopelove.com/) won him an Emmy award for New Approaches to News and Documentary Programming, and drew much needed attention to a situation that had yet to be fully articulated to a large audience. In this podcast Kwame talks about his life in Jamaica, the country's transition away from its socialist years and its slow struggle to cope with its sufferers of HIV/AIDS, the responsibility of poets in times of political and social difficulty, and his experiences as a self-assessed 'bad journalist'.Presented by Ryan Van Winkle @rvwable. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Photo: Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Judy Brown's first book, Loudness (Seren, 2011) was shortlisted for the 2011 Forward Felix Dennis prize for best first collection. Jennifer Williams meets her to discuss how she approaches poetry, using her poem 'Spontaneous Combustion' as a way into her work and methods of composition.

The image of Judy Brown was taken by Chloe Barter.

In 1972, Liz Lochhead published her debut collection, Memo For Spring, a landmark in Scottish literature. In an extended interview with Colin Waters, the National Poet of Scotland discusses what the early 1970s poetry scene she emerged into was like, one in which women poets were few and far between. She recalls early meetings with the elder generation - Norman MacCaig, Edwin Morgan, Robert Garioch - and with contemporaries such as Tom Leonard, James Kelman and Alasdair Gray. The future Makar also speaks about life during the era of the three-day week and compares it with an economically troubled present-day that, in some respects, mirrors 1972. And she reads several poems from Memo For Spring. The image of Liz Lochhead is provided by Norman McBeath.

Exciting news! The SPL is changing the way it does its podcasts. Join regular host Ryan Van Winkle and new SPL podcasters, poet JL (Jennifer) Williams and Colin Waters, as they talk you through the new set-up. Plus Ryan and Jennifer read their own work.

Ryan chats with Vermont poet Mary Ruefle about craft, visual poetry and her approach to writing. She also reads a number of her poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle @rvwable. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean.

Ryan recently visited the Clunes Booktown Festival in Australia, where he met multitalented poet, novelist, screenwriter, librettist, songwriter and doctor Peter Goldsworthy. They discuss his thoughts on narrative compression and his preferred modes of writing, his love of eastern European poetry, inventing translations, achieving your voice through imitation, Australian identity and why he doesn't want to work full time as a writer. Peter also reads a number of his poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean.

Gregory O'Brien recently visited the Scottish Poetry Library and we took the opportunity to have a chat about his remarkable journey to the Kermadec islands. He talks about how he got involved in the project, which was organised by PEW Environment Group and reads some of the work which came out of his involvement. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Links: http://www.thekermadecs.org/ and http://vimeo.com/33871056

In the last of our StAnza 2012 triptych we sit down with Michael Symmons Roberts. In a wide ranging discussion, he talks about poetry as a process of discovery and connection making, poetic license, genomics, the ethics of drugs companies, collaboration, hotels, civil war and being asked to write a poem for a 9/11 anniversary. Michael also reads from a number of his poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Photo: Martin Bence

We chatted with Hilary Menos, winner of the Forward Prize for First Collection, at the StAnza 2012 poetry festival in St Andrews. She discusses, among other things, people reading personal things into poems, farming, her editing process and the gestation process of her poems. She also reads a number of her poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan talks with Lavinia Greenlaw at the StAnza 2012 festival in St Andrews. They discuss landscape, distance, fruitful misreading, the relationship of image and self, being labelled a particular kind of writer, finding the right fit for a collection and the long gestation involved in writing some poems. She reads a selection of poems including some from her recent Casual Perfect. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In the last of our podcasts recorded in San Francisco, we meet up with Greg Wrenn, winner of Brittingham Prize in Poetry and Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Greg talks about how his method of writing relies very much on not being prescriptive and talks us through how he approaches his work. A refreshing insight into the work of a young poet, Greg also reads a selection of his poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean.

Matthew Siegel, a poet and essay writer from New York living in San Francisco, chats with Ryan Van Winkle. They discuss how his poetry is informed by the body and how, for him, "real life is poems". He discusses how drawing from his own life informs his work and reads a number of poems from a forthcoming collection. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Photo: Karl Orvik. Visit Matthew's website: http://www.matthewsiegel.us/

Martin Figura's Whistle, which centres on his mother’s death at the hands of his father when he was nine years old, is a remarkable fusion of theatre and spoken word. We caught up with Martin at the StAnza 2012 festival in St Andrews. He reads some of his poems and discusses his approach to the show with Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan talks with Robyn Creswell, poetry editor of The Paris Review. They discuss his interest in modernism in Arabic poetry, his thoughts on editing and how rap songs were his nursery rhymes. Robyn also reads some poems from recent issues of The Paris Review. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

CD Wright - recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award - talks with Ryan about her award winning One With Others, which explores the civil rights movement in the US. As well as reading excerpts from One With Others and other work, Ryan chats with CD about poetry and politics, her method of working and the influence of her Arkansas upbringing. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Photograph: David Shankbone http://blog.shankbone.org/about/

Adam Zagajewski - recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature - talks to Ryan at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival about poetry and success, including how long you can feel pleased about prizes and reviews. According to Adam, it is a surprisingly short period of time. We also get the chance to hear a few of his poems and his thoughts on creative writing, melancholy and craft. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com Photo from Wikimedia user Slawek's http://www.flickr.com/photos/znani/

Ryan seeks out the peace and quiet of Cecilia Woloch's pick-up truck in LA. They discuss how travel affects her work and how her attitude to insects changed after living in the Carpathian mountains with the author of The Worm Eater's Handbook: A Guide to the Edible Insects of Poland. As well as reading a number of her poems, Cecilia also talks about the novel which inspired her to become a poet, her community work and the writers which have inspired her. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Jane Hirshfield reads some of her poems and chats with Ryan at her home in California, where she has often been influenced by whatever is at hand. In a wide ranging discussion, Jane discusses what inspires her to write, her thoughts on occupy writers, politics, solitude, spirituality, strangeness in poetry and translation, among other things. Jane will appear at the Scottish Poetry Library on 13th April. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Find our more about Jane on the SPL website http://bit.ly/I4OTdo Photo: Nick Rosza

Gabrielle Calvocoressi reads from and discusses poems from her first collection The Last Time I saw Amelia Earhart which includes a series of persona poems, as well as her response to a rejection letter which formed the impetus for excluding pronouns from her second collection Apocalyptic Swing. She also talks about, among other things, her interest in small towns and how poems can function like small communities and how this this affects the ethics and politics of poetry. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean.

We talk with San Francisco based writer Joseph Lease who reads and talks about a number of his poems. He chats to Ryan about elegy, his rediscovery of the Beat poets in his 30s, his interest in Renaissance poetry and how one of his poems was written with the aid of a tape recorder. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In the second of our podcasts from poets who took part in the Creer translation workshop, we chat with Isle of Lewis born poet Ian Stephen about the sea, translation, narrative and the challenge of working in different mediums. We also get to hear a few of Ian's poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Every year the SPL teams up with Literature Across Frontiers to bring poets from different countries together to participate in a week of translation workshops in Crear. We chat with one of the 2011 participants, Maltese poet Adrian Grima, who is co-ordinator of Mediterranean cultural organisation Inizjamed which he co-founded in 1998 and which organises the annual Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival. We get to hear him reading poems in Maltese with translations from Miriam Gamble (read by Ryan) and Ian Stephen and he discusses poetry, language and place. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Young Dawkins, winner of the 2011 Scottish Slam Championship, chats with Ryan about the trajectory of his work, his views on the Beat poets, love, life and his approach to writing. We also get to hear a few of Young's poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Collaborative projects involving poetry with other art forms provides the focus of this week's episode. We chat with filmmaker and artist Alastair Cook about his fascinating filmpoem project, which produces beautiful films that arise out of a unique meditation between film, poetry and music. Check out his http://www.filmpoem.com. We also chat with Ken Cockburn who discusses his artistic collaboration with Alec 'Eck' Finlay, The Road North, which exhibited at the library last year. For more information head to: http://www.theroadnorth.co.uk/ Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Poet, musician, editor and broadcaster Donny O'Rourke talks about Scottish poetry, Scottish identity and Scottish nationalism with Ryan Van Winkle. Editor of the prominent 1994 Scottish poetry anthology Dream State, Donny discusses it and his views on politics, poetry and how the 1970s referendum on devolution influenced his generation of poets and what he thinks of the contemporary poetry scene. Including poems and songs read and sung by Donny. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats with the Poet Laureate of New Zealand, Ian Wedde. They discuss his book, Commonplace Odes, inspired by Horace and he reads a couple of poems from it as well as a few from other collections. He also talks about why he gave up writing for a prolonged period and his plan as Poet Laureate to offer a platform for writers to explore collective memory based on material in the National Library of New Zealand. Find out more on the Poet Laureate website, http://nzpoetlaureate.natlib.govt.nz/ We also include a new track from Small Feet Little Toes called 'I Like You'. Check out her Soundcloud http://soundcloud.com/small-feet/ Presented by Ryan Van Winkle from the Poets House in New York City. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In May this year the Scottish Poetry Library teamed up with Reel Festivals to produce a series of events centred around writers and artists from Lebanon, Syria and Scotland. This podcast features snippets in Arabic and English from readings, interviews and panels that took place in Edinburgh and Beirut during the festival. You'll hear Golan Haji and Rasha Omran from Syria, Yehya Jaber and Mazen Maarouf from Lebanon and Scottish writers Tom Pow, Emily Ballou, William (Billy) Letford and Ryan Van Winkle. A free eBook in English and Arabic is available of all the poems read on this podcast from http://www.reelfestivals.org Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com. SPL Twitter: @byleaveswelive

We chatted with the editor of Anything, Anymore, Anywhere and author of too ok, Colin Herd. He tells us what he looks for in submissions and how his own changing aesthetic preferences influence his choices and how the process of editing affects him as a writer. Colin also reads a number of his poems and tells us a little about his own poetry influences. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @byleaveswelive

The poet and translator Matthew Zapruder reads a few of his poems and discusses his views on poetry, including his own response to the Occupy Wall Street movement, 'Poem for Plutocrats'. Find the updated version here: http://occupywriters.com/works/by-matthew-zapruder They discuss Matthew's editorial work with Wave Books, including his anthology of political poetry and muse poets writing about being poets. We also get to find out the story behind his deceptively non-haiku poem, 'Haiku'. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Twitter: @anonpoetry and @byleaveswelive. Music by Ewen Maclean.

Ryan caught up with New Zealand poet Sarah Broom in Auckland recently. She reads from and discusses her first collection, Tigers at Awhitu, including how it was put together and how her diagnosis with lung cancer affected the tone of the last part of the collection. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com. Twitter @anonpoetry and @byleaveswelive.

We bring you three interviews on this bumper episode, recorded at the StAnza poetry festival in St Andrews in March 2011. We chat with Durs Grünbein, one of Don Paterson's favourite living poets, the Melbourne Mathematics professor, novelist and poet Tom Petsinis and sound poetry troupe Krikri from Belgium. Presented and produced by Colin Fraser with interviews by Ryan Van Winkle. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com. Twitter: @anonpoetry & @byleaveswelive. Photo by @jo_bell

Ryan chats to the author of All American Poem, Matthew Dickman, in a noisy cafe across the road from the New York Public Library. They discuss pop culture and poetry, love, favourite poets and Dickman's development as a writer, among other things. Ryan also gives a short preview of who to expect from on the podcast in the next few months. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle from Flagstaff, Arizona. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean.

Ryan Van Winkle chats with the author of Banana Me Beautiful, a 3 part collection by local Edinburgh writer Emily Dodd. They discuss the genesis of the project, its unique construction and we also get the chance to hear Emily reading from the book. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine. Twitter: @anonpoetry & @byleaveswelive. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com Music by Ewen Maclean. Photograph by Chris Scott @chrisdonia.

Ryan chats with Rachael Boast at the Edinburgh International Book Festival just before the two of them were due to read. Rachael talks through some of the ideas behind her Forward Best First Collection prize winning Sidereal, discusses her interest in time, why astrology shouldn't really be used to predict things and how writing poetry is like playing a piano with your eyes shut. Interview by Ryan Van Winkle. Presented and Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @anonpoetry and @byleaveswelive

Ryan chats with the wonderful Degna Stone at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. They discuss feminism, rejecting poetry, rediscovering poetry, the relationship between a poet and her poetry, performance and developing as a writer. We also get the chance to hear a number of Degna's poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @anonpoetry

Ryan chats with translator and poet Anna Crowe about her award winning pamphlet 'Figure in Landscape'. Anna reads from the collection, discusses the need for distance in writing about place, the influence of art in poetry (especially Catalan artist Andreu Maimó) and the process of self-translation. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @anonpoetry

We feature two upcoming poets on this week's podcast. The first is Richie McCaffery, whose first pamphlet will be published by Happenstance Press next year. The second is Henk Rossouw, who featured on our Emily Dickinson podcast - this time we have the opportunity to listen to him read his own work. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Award winning poet and translator Marilyn Hacker talks to Ryan about her love of and fascination for formal verse and how it can often be a stimulus for creativity. She chats about Muriel Rukeyser, how poets change over the years and how she believes poetry is a dialogue between other readers and writers. We also get the chance to hear her reading a few of her poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

We chat with the illuminating Brian Holton at the StAnza poetry festival in St Andrews. He gives us the chance to hear some of his superb translations into English and Scots of the Chinese poet Yang Lian and he discusses translation, ideas of exile and the evolution of modern Chinese poetry with Reader in Residence Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk @anonpoetry Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats to Bristol based poet David Briggs about selling his blood, new age travellers, owning his own bar and the intricacies of assembling a poetry collection. Featuring readings from David's book The Method Men published by Salt. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Syrian poet Golan Haji joins Ryan in Beirut as part of the cultural collaboration festival of poetry, film and music Reel Festivals. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. mail: splpodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @anonpoetry and @reelfestivals

Ryan chats with Dumfries poet Hugh McMillan, history teacher, National Trust for Scotland agitator and master of the entertaining poetry reading. We get the chance to hear Hugh read a number of his poems, which range from the hilarious to the touching. Ryan also previews Reel Festivals, the film and poetry festival he has been organising in Lebanon and Scotland - check out http://www.reelfestivals.org. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats with multi-talented American poet Kevin Young about fatherhood, the blues, his most recent poetry collection, Ardency, and his role as the curator of a very special poetry library in Atlanta, Georgia. Featuring a number of great readings from Kevin. Recorded at the StAnza 2011 International Poetry Festival in St Andrews. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @anonpoetry Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

To celebrate the Genomics Forum Poetry Prize event at the Scottish Poetry Library, we chat with Sophie Cooke, novelist, poet and winner of the ESRC Genomics Poetry Prize. We get the chance to hear her read her poem and she muses with Ryan about why she is drawn to science fiction as a literary form. We also chat with the runner-up of the Genomics Prize, Russell Jones, who chats about his own fascination with the sci-fi poetry of Edwin Morgan. We also get to hear a few of Russell's poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk @anonpoetry. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

To celebrate the Edinburgh International Science Festival, we chat with two Edinburgh based writers who both talk about their involvement with the ESRC Genomics Forum. We start off with lovely science fiction novelist Ken MacLeod who chats about his Human Genre Project and Scottish science fiction poetry and finish with the amazing Tracey S Rosenberg, a novelist and poet currently concerned with medicine and poetry. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats with the playful TS Eliot Prize award winning Philip Gross. They discuss poet's notebooks, the writing process, what it is like to write for all ages and pepper their discussion with great poems from Philip's recent collections. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

At this year's StAnza poetry festival we caught up with "ringmaster of the spoken word", Bob Holman, founder of the legendary Bowery Poetry Club in New York City. Bob talks about his latest project on endangered languages as well as sharing his thoughts on sound poetry, hip hop and we get the chance to hear one of his poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Music by Ewen Maclean. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk @anonpoetry Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Andy reads from his first collection The Assassination Museum (Red Squirrel Press), which he read from at the SPL on Wednesday. Peppered in between the poems Andy discusses giving advice, political poetry, disco, writers groups and much more with our Reader in Residence, Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Twitter: @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In our final lyrically themed podcast, we feature excerpts from our amazing event for Let's Get Lyrical with multi award winning poet Robin Robertson and the splendid musician Alasdair Roberts who is currently working with Robin on a new collection of songs. We also hear Ryan's poem 'Gasoline' turned into a song by novelist and musician Rodge Glass. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

This is a recording from our event on Art Song with novelist Janice Galloway and music writer and academic Simon Firth. We also feature a track from White Heath which is their own interpretation of a well known Art Song. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan Van Winkle chats with novelist, biographer, creative writing teacher, editor and musician Rodge Glass about lyrics, songwriting and how music is different from writing novels. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser.

As part of our month long celebration of song lyrics, we've been chatting to some exciting musicians and songwriters about their lyrics, poetry and songwriting. Folk punk musician Billy Liar is an excellent example of the breed - smart, thoughtful and a connoisseur of fine words in music. He chats with Ryan about what he looks for in good music and we get a chance to listen to some of his latest tracks. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle of the Scottish Poetry Library. Produced by Colin Fraser for Lets Get Lyrical, http://www.letsgetlyrical.com and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature.

We present a bonus podcast featuring a great friend of the podcast, singer songwriter Hailey Beavis whose track 'Snow' was on our Holiday Season episode. We chat to her about lyrics, songwriting and you'll get the opportunity to hear her new track 'Jennifer' with the band Wax featuring Jed Milroy, Jenny Hill and Cammy Sinclair. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle of the Scottish Poetry Library. Produced by Colin Fraser for Lets Get Lyrical, http://www.letsgetlyrical.com and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature.

We speak with the amazing Dan Willson aka Withered Hand about song lyrics, poetry, songwriting and how his writing is informed by his own life. Including numerous tracks by one of music's brightest new talents. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle of the Scottish Poetry Library. Produced by Colin Fraser for Lets Get Lyrical, http://www.letsgetlyrical.com and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature.

Ryan chats with writer, musician and former nuclear physicist Doug Johnstone about lyrics, writing, poetry and the art of being creative. Part of the Let's Get Lyrical campaign, a celebration of words in music running all through February. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle of the Scottish Poetry Library. Produced by Colin Fraser for Lets Get Lyrical, http://www.letsgetlyrical.com and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys chats song lyrics and poetry with Ryan Van Winkle. They discuss Mike's new project, An Appointment With Mr Yeats, where he has created rock songs from the work of WB Yeats and muse on the relationship lyrics and words have to music. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle of the Scottish Poetry Library. Produced by Colin Fraser for Let's Get Lyrical, http://www.letsgetlyrical.com and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature.

We visit Amherst, Massachusetts, home of Emily Dickinson, where Ryan talks with Dickinson experts Tevis Kimball, curator of special collections at the Jones Library, Emily Dickinson House director Jane Wald as well as the charming poet and tour guide Henk Rossouw. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In a bumper packed edition of the podcast, we present the wonderful Elizabeth Burns reading from her recent collection Held which was launched at the SPL last year. We also chat to legendary publisher, poet, cosmologist, editor Kevin Williamson and poet, script doctor, ex-exile Michael Pedersen, organisers of new Edinburgh poetry night, Neu Reekie. Also featuring a track from Michael Pedersen and Craig Finnie. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Award winning Scottish poet Tom Pow takes us on a tour of his remarkable Dying Villages poetry project which was exhibited at the Scottish Poetry Library last year. The project is aimed at responding in poetry and prose to the social, ecological and cultural effects of demographic changes on villages in Europe. Check out http://www.dyingvillages.com or Tom's own site http://www.tompow.co.uk Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In our holiday season podcast we have a bumper stocking of poetry goodies for you. We start off with the marvellous Hailey Beavis and Jed Milroy with their track "Snow". For mains we present Paul Muldoon and Norman McBeath talking about their poetry and photography project Plan B. And there might be a special something at the end. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

We chat with Rob A Mackenzie, author of The Opposite Of Cabbage, associate editor at Magma magazine and organiser of the monthly Poetry At... series. Rob discusses what he's working on at the moment, his views on criticism and the poetry industry and we get to hear a few of his recent poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In part two of our interview with Scottish Poetry Library founder Tessa Ransford about the early days of the library, she discusses the opening event in 1984 and its role in the invention of Vegetarian Haggis, the Iain Crichton Smith poem which inspired the new building and we get to hear a few of her poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats with the founder of the Scottish Poetry Library, Tessa Ransford, and they discuss the founding of the Library and Tessa's own memories of the Edinburgh poetry scene including Norman MacCaig. Part two follows next week. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Presenter Ryan Van Winkle turns the spotlight on himself for a change and recreates the reading he gave in Edinburgh this week for the launch of his first book, Tomorrow We Will Live Here. Includes themes and language of an adult nature. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In the second of our Norman MacCaig themed podcasts, we chat with Mandy Haggith about her relationship with the Assynt loving poet and how his concerns about land ownership and respect for the landscape inform her own work and activism. Recorded at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

As part of the centenary celebrations for Scottish poet Norman MacCaig, Ryan chats to poet and novelist Andrew Greig about his recent book, At the Loch of the Green Corrie, which is about his quest to find MacCaig's favourite fishing spot. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In our anniversary edition we look back on the podcasts we've produced over 52 episodes. Featuring a few excerpts from the past year including the Itinerant Poetry Librarian at StAnza, Kim Edgar's musical response to John Glenday, Owen Sheers, Kei Miller, Kapka Kassabova and David O'Docherty. We also feature a brand new Halloween track - the Erlking - by a great friend of the Forest and the podcast, White Heath. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

This week we feature a special treat in the guise of storyteller Judy Paterson who Ryan chatted to at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival. She chats about the relationship between storytelling and poetry, her own experiences as a child with Shakespeare and lets you know where you can find storytellers in Edinburgh. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

On this week's podcast, we have the great pleasure to chat with acclaimed poet Vicki Feaver. She delights Ryan with her refreshing outlook on the poetry world, her fantastic work and her very infectious sense of humour. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle aka @forpub. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk aka @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In the final part of our Black Isle trilogy we feature storyteller and poet Margot Henderson who works in Findhorn. She chats to Ryan about her preoccupation with nature, traditional folk stories from the area and dialect. We also get to hear a few poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In the second of our Black Isle trilogy, Chris Powici, editor of Northwards Now, discusses his magazine with our intrepid Ryan in Residence while they were both up in the Black Isle last month. We get to hear a poem from the latest issue and hear Chris's views on the literary magazine culture in Scotland as well as get an insight into his editorial musings. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

We're up in the Black Isle this week with poet, novelist and short-story writer Angus Dunn, one of the founders of the Black Isle Words Festival. He talks about how his work comes from a sense of feeling at home in the Black Isle, why he eschews publishing a poetry collection and we also get to hear a few of his poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In another podcast recorded at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival, Ryan speaks with poet Kate Fox about her Fringe show Kate Fox News, the trials of standup comedy and her literary work in the North East of England including the marvellous Durham book festival. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats to Donald S Murray while he was at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. They discuss his non-fiction book on St Kilda, The Guga Hunters, the importance of place in poetry, the difference between island and mainland poetry and Donald's new book which focuses on the Italian Chapel in Orkney. We also get to hear a few of Donald's poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Music by Ewen Maclean. Contact: @byleaveswelive or mail splpodcast@gmail.com

Scottish literary powerhouse Ewan Morrison - filmmaker, novelist and short-story writer - talks to Ryan at the Edinburgh International Book Festival about the poetry of the shopping mall, his latest multimedia project. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle at @forpub. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com and tweet @byleaveswelive

We've been at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this past week, and caught up with two very different poets who have been involved with the events strand the SPL has curated together with Don Paterson. The first is Lorraine Mariner, who we caught up with after her event in the Spiegeltent. The second is award winning poet Kathleen Jamie, who reads some of her remarkable new work. We also mark the passing of Scotland's Makar, Edwin Morgan, and his former editor at Carcanet, SPL director Robyn Marsack, shares a few words about Eddie. Edwin Morgan was the top trend on Twitter last Thursday - something we think he'd have been very chuffed by. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @anonpoetry & @byleaveswelive. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

Musician and journalist Chris King, co-ordinator of the amazing Poetry Scores project - http://poetryscores.blogspot.com - was kind enough to chat with Ryan over Skype to talk about his inspirational music and poetry project. They discuss his work popularising Turkish poetry, working with Australian poet Les Murray and the difficulties of producing large creative projects. We also include the track "The City Standing on its Haze" from the poetry score to The Sydney Highrise Variation by Les Murray with Three Fried Men. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry Mail: @splpodcast@gmail.com

Mario Petrucci - scientist, thinker and poet - unravels an engaging discussion with Ryan on poetry, poetics, science, the challenges of pushing the boundaries in poetry and much else. They discuss Mario's fantastic Heavy Water collection as well as his most recent, i tulips, and we pepper things with a few choice readings. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @anonpoetry and @byleaveswelive.

Brian Johnstone, poet and former director of the StAnza poetry festival, discusses the highlights of his StAnza career, what he thinks makes a good poetry festival, his own work and his creative improvisations as part of jazz-poetry combo Trio Verso. Featuring the tracks "Storm Chaser" and "The Sound of Breaking Glass". Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Author and comedian David O'Doherty, past winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Award, chinwags with Ryan about jazz, literature, comedy, the pressures of working in the creative industries, good stand-up, his favourite poetry and much else. Including comedy excerpts from David's new CD, "Let's David O'Doherty". Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Poet, playwright, bicyclist and novelist Kevin MacNeil chats to Ryan about why he's glad he started off life as a poet, the challenges of performance and why he describes himself as a "writer" rather than a "poet turned novelist". He also tells the amazing tale of his journey cycling along the Danube on possibly the first fixed gear bike trek in that part of the world. Including a track from Kevin's band and some readings from his excellent "Love and Zen in the Outer Hebrides". Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

A few months ago we travelled to Glasgow to interview The Dark Horse magazine editor and poet Gerry Cambridge. In an interview that focuses more on Gerry's role as editor rather than as poet, Ryan and Gerry talk about how the magazine got started, whether it is possible to say what an editor is looking for in a magazine and muse the general state of literary magazine culture in the UK and the US. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

This week our producer Colin Fraser comes from behind the microphone and takes the podcast reigns to introduce the SPL poet of month, Kei Miller, who appeared at last week's West Port Book Festival. We took a recording of his special event in Edinburgh Books where a captive audience was dazzled by Kei's breathtaking performance of his work. Kei is reading from his astounding new book "A Light Song of Light" which will be available to buy sometime later this month. Produced and presented by Colin Fraser. Special Guest Star: Ryan Van Winkle. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

As Ryan is away in Italy at the moment, our very own Peggy Hughes takes over the podcast reins for this week. She selects her poetry picks from last year's West Port Book Festival - Jack Underwood, Robert Alan Jamieson and Mike Stocks - and previews this year's poetry line-up at the West Port, which features some top quality free events from 24th - 27th June. More info at http://www.westportbookfestival.org Presented by Peggy Hughes. Special Guest Star: Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats with American poet and publisher Chase Twichell during her recent visit to the SPL. They discuss her ecological views, the intricacies of the poetry publishing world in the US and what it's like to release a collected works. We also get a chance to hear Chase read a few of her poems. Look out for a special telephoned-in easter egg from Paris with living legend Jim Haynes. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats with Scots poet Rab Wilson. They discuss mining, Pablo Neruda, Scots poetry, Arabic translation and we get to hear a few poems from Rab himself. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In a slight change to our usual programme, we include a simulcast from WSPL Radio: Real Poetry Radio featuring their presenter Ryan "the Wolf" van Winkle interviewing Scottish folk music sensation Jed Milroy. Jed has recently become involved with creating memorable tracks from classic and modern poetry and we include three of his excellent poetry tracks - "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death", inspired by the Yeats' poem, "Love Never Dies" inspired by the poem by Portobello poet Don Huggins and "The Storm Cone" from the poem by Rudyard Kipling. Presented by Ryan "the Wolf" van Winkle. Produced by Colin "Copter" Fraser. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats to poet, editor, publisher and beekeeper Sally Evans about her work with magazine Poetry Scotland, the exciting poetry festival in Callander which Sally organises and we get a chance to hear a few poems from Sally herself. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In a special podcast from the Ullapool Book Festival, we have the great pleasure to include a reading from celebrated Guatemalan Maya Indian poet Humberto Ak’abal together with his Scots translator James Robertson and English translator Rosemary Burnett. Their new book "Drum of Stone" is now out from Kettillonia. Website for this remarkable trilingual book is: http://www.drumofstone.co.uk/ Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In an eclectic episode, we talk to exciting new poet William Letford, recent winner of the Edwin Morgan Travel Bursary, about memorising your work and the art of roofing. We also catch up with SPL podcast favourite Jim Carruth, who tells us about his 1959 jazz project. And we speak to My Kappa Roots and discuss poetry and music, as well as get the chance to listen to his track "Fleeting Like Etain". Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Scotland's Poet Laureate, Edwin Morgan, turned 90 this week and we headed over to Glasgow's Mitchell Library to celebrate his birthday with friends in the poetry world, as well as launch his latest collection of poems "Dreams and Other Nightmares". We include a few poems from this collection and chat to Alasdair Gray, Gerry Cambridge, Hamish Whyte, James McGonigal, Valerie Thornton, Gerda Stevenson, Aonghas MacNeacail, Donnie O'Rourke, JL Williams, David Kinloch and Robyn Marsack. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan visits the Southbank Centre in London for a meeting of the Global Poetry System. He chats with GPS co-ordinator and folk musician Chris Kreinczes, librarian Chris McCabe, writer Dzifa Benson, radio co-ordinator Claire McDermott and Southbank participation producer Lucy Macnab. We've got music from folk outfit Dear Winesburg and an excerpt of the amazing Bellowhead's folk opera version of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner featuring Lemn Sissay as the Mariner. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Poetry's answer to Clark Gable- Tim Turnbull- muses with our Ryan in Residence on performance poetry, comic books and the highlights of his previous career in music. As well as getting to hear some of Tim's poetry, we have a world exclusive in having the pleasure to include the 1993 track "Family" from Tim's former band The Dog Conspiracy. Thanks to Dave, Keith, Kelly, Kerry, Paul and Mick for permission to use this recording. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In our second podcast from the vibrant StAnza 2010 festival we talk to two outstanding poets- Dennis O'Driscoll and Penelope Shuttle - who tell us about their experience of StAnza and poetry festivals, how poetry has reacted to the increased popularity of readings, Cornish ice-cream and what it's like to publish a first collection. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

Award winning Scottish poet Tom Pow discusses his richly evocative Dying Villages project as well as his various other projects, including the recent Dear Alice, and we get the opportunity to hear a few Scottish Chastushkas. Tom will be bringing the project to the Library from 22nd - 24th April during a unique residency, unpacking the suitcase of poems, stories, images and sounds he has gathered while exploring the dying villages of Europe, from Spain to Russia. He will also be presenting a range of artefacts from the Dying Villages Museum. For more info, http://www.dyingvillages.com

Ryan heads to Scotland's International Poetry Festival StAnza to lap up the atmosphere and managed to grab poets Jim Carruth, Karen Solie and Jay Bernard to share their thoughts and feelings on poetry in general and StAnza in particular. We also have the very great pleasure to include the wonderful Itinerant Librarian who has been travelling the world for the past four years with her portable poetry library.

Poets Guide to Britain presenter Owen Sheers visited the Scottish Poetry Library recently to talk about his critically acclaimed TV series and its accompanying book. In the first of our two acts we feature an excerpt from the event where Owen discusses landscape poetry, verse on film and the problems of the poetic persona. In act two, Ryan manages to extract some unusual facts from Owen's past. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Follow us on Twitter: @anonpoetry & @byleaveswelive. Mail us: splpodcast@gmail.com

Recent creative writing poetry graduates Aiko Harman and Dave Coates (who also moonlights as the SPL's occasional receptionist) talk with the ever effervescent Ryan about poetry, the challenges of getting into the poetry scene and what it means to be "a Poet". We're also very happy to include the track "Two Inches Tall" from Sheila K Cameron featuring the voice of Scottish acting legend Tom Conti. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Follow us on Twitter: @anonpoetry & @byleaveswelive. Mail us: splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan chats with editor and author Stuart Kelly about the poet John Berryman and they muse the current state of modern poetry, its future, the purpose of the critic and chew the literary cud. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Follow us on Twitter: @anonpoetry & @byleaveswelive. Mail us: splpodcast@gmail.com

Alastair White and Sean Watson from Edinburgh based band White Heath chat music, metal, poetry and their Carry A Poem picks with our very own Ryan and we get a chance to hear their track "Election Day". And if that's not enough, we treat you to a sample of this week's Poetry Pub Quiz and offer a special prize - email splpodcast@gmail.com to enter. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Follow us on Twitter: @byleaveswelive, @carryapoem & @anonpoetry

Ryan sits down with Edinburgh's Makar (poet laureate), Ron Butlin, during a recent visit to a slightly noiser than usual Library (apologies for the melody of the office stapler) and discusses where his poems come from and what it's like to write for musicians - of the popular and operatic variety. We also get the chance to hear a few poems from Ron and listen to an excerpt from the short opera "The Voice Inside" by composer Lyell Cresswell for which Ron wrote the libretto. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @byleaveswelive, @anonpoetry and @carryapoem

Colin heads down to the launch of the 2010 One City One Edinburgh literature campaign, which this year is focusing on the poems we carry with us and includes a free collection of poems given out all across the city called "Carry A Poem". Including snippets from Ken Cockburn, Ron Butlin, Stuart Kelly, Sara Grady and charming couple Mark and Elena Fraser. Ryan also asks Colin what his Carry A Poem choices would be. Find out more at http://www.carryapoem.com and follow them on Twitter @carryapoem Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean.

In the final part of our Highland trilogy, Ryan chats with John Glenday about what it's like to be a drug counsellor and a poet, which poem he carries with him and we get an opportunity to hear John read from new collection, "Grain", from Picador. We also have the track "Nothing to Hold Onto" by Kim Edgar, which was a response to a work by John during the 7 Short Sails project- more info on that may found at http://tinyurl.com/johnglenday and Kim's website is http://kimedgar.com Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com

In the second of our Scottish Highland trilogy of podcasts, Ryan is up in Portree chatting to Gaelic poet Maoilios Caimbeul (Myles Campbell) and English poet Mark O. Goodwin about their new book, "The Two Sides of the Pass", a conversation in poems across two languages and the landscape of the Isle of Skye. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean.

In our first podcast of the year Ryan presents the first of his interviews from a recent trip to the Scottish Highlands, and he starts the ball rolling with poet, novelist and playwright Hamish MacDonald, director of the beautiful creative writing centre Moniack Mhor. We also have a haunting track from Shelia K Cameron, "Last NIght I Dreamed About Doris Lessing". Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean.

In this Festivus podcast we feature a specially commissioned interpretation of the classic Christmas poem "A Visit from St Nicholas" aka "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from the amazing Toby Mottershead and some of Black Diamond Express. And as home is something many of us return to at this time of year, we've also a discussion on poetry and homecoming between New Zealand born Robyn Marsack, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library, and Connecticut bred Ryan van Winkle, Reader in Residence at the SPL and Edinburgh City Libraries. They talk about their respective journeys to Scotland from their native lands and explore the influence of the poems they have brought with them from their homes and a few they have picked up along the way.

We ask the fine people of the Scottish Poetry Library which poetry books they'd recommend for seasonal gifts, and Ryan catches up with multi-talented writer Kapka Kassabova for an scintillating interview. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean.

Ryan chats with Francis Bickmore, senior editor at Canongate Books, and Toby Mottershead of Black Diamond Express about their favourite poem, Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Their discussion covers Nick Cave, Iron Maiden, what we expect from literature and how poetry can fit neatly into a busy schedule, among other things. Also features the track "Jack" by Black Diamond Express. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. For feedback, mail splpodcast@gmail.com

In this bumper packed edition of the SPL Podcast, Ryan chats with actors Gilchrist Muir and Jamie Gordon about reciting poetry to all and sundry at the Poetry Garden in St Andrews Square. He also discusses poetry and hip-hop with multi-talented poet and performer Alasdair Maloney whose track "Thunder and Sun" with his band Sileni rounds off this week's episode. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. For feedback, mail splpodcast@gmail.com

Ryan catches up with American/Australian poet Emily Ballou just before her event at the SPL. They discuss what it's like to be a poet abroad, the influences on her work and her recent collection, "The Darwin Poems". We're also treated to "Bluegrass", a poem by Ryan, with musical accompaniment by Jed Milroy. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. For feedback, mail splpodcast@gmail.com

In this week's episode Ryan tells us about the Global Poetry System project he's been helping organise and how you can take part in it. He also catches up with poet Andrew Philip who discusses the poem that he carries with him, his views on poetry and reads us a poem from his recent collection "The Ambulance Box." Making his debut in front of the microphone, Colin speaks with another Salt Publishing poet, Julia Bird who discusses her live literature tour "You Are Here" that takes poetry into theatres in England. Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. For feedback, mail splpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, we feature an interview with TS Eliot award winning poet, Jen Hadfield, as well as a track from Fair Isle/Shetland musician Lise Sinclair. Our Reader in Residence Ryan van Winkle also discusses the new SPL campaign, Carry A Poem, and invites you to submit your's to splpodcast@gmail.com Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Produced by Colin Fraser.

Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Featuring an interview with poet Kona MacPhee, who discusses her Poem of the Week project and reads a Halloween themed poem from her new collection "Perfect Blue", which is out in February from Bloodaxe. We've also got a scary treat from Kim Tebble, who performs his "The Raven, the Knight and the Queen of the Birds". If you'd like to send us your favourite scary poem and why you like it, mail splpodcast@gmail.com Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Produced by Colin Fraser.

Presented by Ryan van Winkle. Featuring an interview with Iraqi-born poet Sinaan Antoon and a track from Mammoth. Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean.

Reader in Residence Ryan van Winkle discusses Blake's The Sick Rose with sculptor Michael Bowdidge, musing on the relationship of poetry to art and how this informs his practice, and touches upon what it means to be a donkey. Poet Robert Alan Jamieson reflects on his recent collection of poems and photographs, Nort Atlantik Drift, and shares an audio excerpt from his DVD of the same name. And Edinburgh band Saint Jude's Infirmary share their views on poetry, music and Scotland, as well as the track 'Tacoma Radar' from their recently released album This Has Been The Death Of Us. Incidental music by Ewen Maclean. Produced by Colin Fraser.

The third Scottish Poetry Library Podcast is full to bursting with the multitude of events which happen at the Scottish Poetry Library. Starting off with two interviews with young people in Edinburgh about the poems they love. The first is with the multitalented Ishbel McFarlane and her love of Burns and the second involves the up-and-coming poet Claire Askew discussing "Jabberwocky". We also include some snippets from our second noisy day and you'll have the chance to hear selected highlights from the event "Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect" featuring Robyn Marsack, Robert Crawford and Douglas Dunn. Presented by Ryan van Winkle and produced by Colin Fraser.

In a music and poetry themed podcast, Scottish Poetry Library Reader in Residence Ryan van Winkle discusses some memorable lines from poems which he loves; an interview with Edinburgh based poet and musician JL Williams; a track from Laertes Why Are You Crying; followed by Canadian spoken word artist Myra Davies and a track from the Berlin-based Moabit label - "Goodbye Belfast". Presented by Ryan van Winkle and produced by Colin Fraser.

The first podcast from the Scottish Poetry Library, with Reader in Residence Ryan Van Winkle. Ryan’s talking to songwriter Billy Liar about Stevenson, recommending books by Sam Meekings and Sharon Olds, and reading some Hart Crane. Find out more at The Reading Room - http://www.readingroom.spl.org.uk/