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A Kist of Scots: New book inspired by Declaration showcases talent of Angus writers

Award-winning novelist Gillian Duff reading from A Kist of Scots. Picture and video clips by Rikki Craig. 
Award-winning novelist Gillian Duff reading from A Kist of Scots. Picture and video clips by Rikki Craig. 

Angus Writers Circle are releasing a “kist” full of literary treasures at their Zoom book launch this Friday.

The group’s new anthology, A Kist of Scots, is a collection of poems and prose inspired by Scotland’s land, language and culture.

And according to AWC member Ann Craig, the book offers something for everybody.

“We wanted it to be inspired by Scotland,” she explains. “But any aspect of Scotland, of life here – it didn’t have to be, you know, describing a loch!”

Margaret Bowman, Angus Writers Circle member, reading from A Kist Of Scots at Arbroath Abbey. Picture by Rikki Craig. 

The collection was originally intended to mark the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath.

Sadly lockdown delayed celebrations of that milestone, but now A Kist of Scots is being released as part of the Arbroath 2020+1 programme this year.

Ann, who served as part of the sub-committee which put the book together, says: “We were able to give that project wings and let it fly, because we got some of the funding from the 2020 Festival Fund.

“We’re not a rich group. We hold a lot of talent, and a lot of know-how, but not a lot of cash – so we thought, ‘Yes, let’s do it!’.”

Locked down – not got down

When the pandemic took hold last year, it slowed the 46-strong group’s momentum – but did not stop them. Ann puts this down to the close-knit group’s resilience.

She says: “It was a huge group effort to get this done, and to keep going when things in our own lives were difficult. We are 40-odd people who, like everybody else, have been going through this hellish time.

“I think it’s important that we’ve actually managed to create something, in a time when you could easily just shut the door and pull down the blinds.”

The members did everything from scratch, from the cover to the copyright.

“It’s hard enough to do this kind of thing when you can all sit around a table,” Ann laughs. “It’s much harder digitally.”

But the group came out triumphant, with Ann “really chuffed” to have picked up the finished anthologies yesterday, April 6 – the exact date of the 701st anniversary of the Declaration.

AWC member Victoria Lothian is ‘delighted’ to be a contributor to the anthology.

“We just battled through it,” she says. “We realised this book would probably be launched at a time when there were no bookshops open.”

‘Zoom’-ing in on scenic Angus

And, truly a piece of lockdown literature, A Kist of Scots is having a Zoom launch with a difference. For starters, the event will feature an appearance by special guest Asif Khan, director of the Scottish Poetry Library.

But that’s not all.

Ann says that as well as Zoom readings from AWC members, the group have produced a film for the event, showcasing the beauty and history of the local landscape.

“We’ve tried to make it a bit more interesting than just 21 people reading,” she explains.

“So we’ve also read in situ – at Arbroath Abbey, Forfar Loch and on someone’s land overlooking Strathmore Valley.”

The anthology is made up of work from professional writers and hobbyists alike, meaning there is a variety of content and styles on offer.

A treasure chest of Scottish writing

“Kist” is a Scots word meaning trunk or chest – an apt word for this collection’s title. Ann says: “The title really describes it, because you’re unpacking a treasure chest.

“Some people have written about the oil rigs as you come out of Angus and into Dundee. Some have written about their granny’s false teeth!”

Angus Writers Circle member Brian Stewert with A Kist of Scots at Arbroath Abbey. Picture by Rikki Craig. 

She goes on: “It contains poems about the beauty of Scotland, as well as very homey stories, like how someone met their husband on a train from north to south.

“It’s a real mixture of homegrown life-writing, and things which are a bit more abstract.

“There’s a haiku, for instance, about Iona, which is three lines – and,” she jokes, “that’s all you really need to say about Iona!”

A bothy for the mind

It’s clear that this is a project with heart and soul poured into it. Poet and recent Dundee University graduate Victoria Lothian says is “delighted” to have her piece ‘The Bothy’ included in A Kist of Scots.

“I’m in good company,” she says. “To be a part of such a quality collaboration, particularly during this past year when we’ve all really missed spending time with other creatives, makes it all the more special.”

‘The Bothy’ poet Victoria Lothian escaping the lockdown madness in her very own back-garden ‘bothy’.

Her poem is based on Corrour Bothy in the Cairngorms. Victoria feels that in those rugged landscapes, a bothy can “provide a place to rest and recuperate body and mind“.

And it seems A Kist of Scots has acted as a sort of mental bothy for the writers this year.

Victoria says: “The opportunity to contribute to something tangible and exciting has given us all a boost of optimism.”

Ann agrees, adding: “We were in a position where we were all having to deal with quite extreme things in life, so we were able to push through this as a diversion.

“It gave us a kind of purpose.”