StAnza, Scotland’s International Poetry Festival, is thrilled to be participating in Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022. StAnza 2022’s festival title, Stories like Starting Points was chosen with the Year of Stories specifically in mind, and the festival set out to explore the wide range of ways in which stories can be told, re-told and contested in contemporary poetry. The funding we have received from EventScotland to participate in 2022’s themed year has enabled us to programme a strong and exciting Scottish strand to our programme, and to deliver the pilot project of Scotland’s Young Makars.
At the latest count, StAnza 2022 featured at least 50 poets and other artists who are either Scottish by birth, or resident in Scotland. Our barnstorming festival launch featured the best in Scottish poetry, including Scotland’s new Makar (and local Fife resident) Kathleen Jamie, Roseanne Watt from Shetland, Peter Mackay from Lewis, Hannah Lavery from Dunbar, Don Paterson from Perthshire, and words from new Festival Director (and Gallovidian) Lucy Burnett. Other Scottish highlights include readings from Billy Letford and Robin Robertson, new performance adaptations of recent work by Georgi Gill, talks by Vahni Capildeo and Robert Crawford, with music from leading Scottish folk musician Kim Edgar during our festival finale. Meanwhile, our Scotland’s Young Makars project offered young people across Scotland the opportunity to learn from leading poetry tutors, including Scotland’s Jen Hadfield and Janette Ayachi, through online workshops, and culminated in a launch event at StAnza 2022.
Stories are vital to every part of Scotland
Scotland’s stories reflect who we are and shape how others see us.
Scotland’s Year of Stories spotlights, celebrates and promotes the wealth of stories inspired, written or created in Scotland. Stories are vital to every part of Scotland. Every community has its own tales to tell, places to highlight as inspiration for well-known books and films, visitor attractions that showcase our literature, poetry and storytelling heritage and all kinds of places and spaces where stories, old and new, can be enjoyed. From icons of literature to local tales, Scotland’s Year of Stories encourages locals and visitors to experience a diversity of voices, take part in events and explore the places, people and cultures connected to all forms of our stories, past and present.
Join the conversation #YS2022 and #TalesOfScotland
