Poetry Pharmacy
Whether you’re suffering from the stresses of the modern world or the pain of a broken heart, or simply need a tonic for the spirits, the Poetry Pharmacy has a poetic remedy.
As The Emergency Poet, Deborah Alma, assisted by James Sheard, has been dispensing poetry for over seven years—including at StAnza in 2015—from the back of a vintage ambulance at festivals, conferences, hospitals and care settings, libraries and schools, with a poetry pharmacy of poems-in-pills. In 2019 they opened their doors to welcome people to the world’s first walk-in Poetry Pharmacy in Bishop’s Castle. This beautiful Victorian shop with its original shelves and mahogany counter has been filled with poetry, literary and other gifts, retro and vintage stationery, as well as poetry books and pills. The Poetry Pharmacy provided a first aid kit supply of poems-in-pills for the Old Chemist Shop in the Preservation Trust Museum for StAnza 2020 and these have remained in place ever since.
Please note that live viewing of the exhibition depends on, and will be managed to comply with, Covid-19 regulations on social distancing in place in Fife in March 2021, and requires pre-booking for individuals or household groups. Please book your slot on the museum’s website by clicking here.
Please read our position on Covid-19 safety and compliance.
This installation is presented in association with the Poetry Pharmacy and in partnership with St Andrews Preservation Trust