Best Scottish Poetry Library Podcasts (2025)

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From the Archive: Marie Howe. October 2012 31:45

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5h ago31:45

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“I feel poets have saved my life. The poets are our companions. They have found words for states all of us have experienced.” So said Marie Howe on a 2012 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 Ma…

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A Tea Clipper, Sail Training and The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 1:24:28

19h ago1:24:28

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It’s anchors aweigh for Out of Doors as we are live from the Tall Ships Races in Aberdeen.By BBC Radio Scotland

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Veteran Cattle Breeder and Author, Harold Murray 18:08

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Mark Stephen meets Harold Murray, veteran cattle breeder and author from North East Scotland. Now in his nineties, Harold has spent his life working with cattle and more recently has turned his hand to writing and poetryBy BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archive: Robert Wrigley. December 2013 55:38

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In this podcast Jennifer Williams talks to Robert Wrigley about his collection and first book to be published in the UK, The Church of Omnivorous Light: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe). They also touch on narrative in poetry, the infinite capacity of poetry to talk about love and, wild horses on the southern plains of Idaho. Robert was at the SPL in Nove…

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Screaming Swifts, Flapperskate and a Pictish Hill Fort in Fife 1:23:10

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In a couple of weeks, swifts will leave our skies and depart for their wintering grounds in Africa. Author and naturalist Mark Cocker has spent a lifetime observing them and Rachel meets him in Crail to chat about the migrating birds and his new book One Midsummer’s Day - Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth. Never a stranger to getting his hands …

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Nothing But The Poem - Mick Imlah 14:38

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In this Nothing But The Poem podcast, our usual host Samuel Tongue, with the SPL Friends Group, take a look at two poems from Mick Imlah. In a Guardian obituary, Alan Hollinghurst wrote that, when he died, Mick Imlah was mourned as one of the outstanding British poets of his time. He was also a particularly Scottish poet of distinction and his fina…

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The Whithorn Way - Part 4 - Irvine to Ayr 26:00

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The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, we begin on the waterfront at Irvine looking at the unique remains of an automatic tide signalling apparatus - we learn more about it at the Scottish Maritime Museum. This is followed by a walk along Irvine beach which can only be d…

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From the Archive: Sean Borodale. August 2012 32:54

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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, which was subsequently shortlisted for the 2012 T S Eliot prize and Costa Book Awards. Here Sean reads poems from Bee Journal, a remarkable account of the two years he kept a bee hive. He likens the w…

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Concorde, Coastal Rowing and the Bordered Brown Lacewing 1:24:18

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Mark visits a Moray estate to hear about the incredible rescue of 3 osprey chicks after wildfires raged through vast areas of the Highlands and neighbouring Moray Campaigner David Brown specialises in removing fishing debris from our beaches, Rachel pops along to Cairnbulg Harbour by Fraserburgh to find out about his ghost net campaign Mark visits …

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Journeying with Josie Vallely and Maisie the Horse 24:00

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Josie Vallely - also known as Quinie - is a multi disciplinary artist based in Glasgow. She also loves horses and spends her free time exploring the Scottish countryside - mostly on foot - with her horse Maisie. Helen goes out for a walk with Josie and Maisie near Dumbarton and tunes into their slow approach to moving through the world.…

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From the Archive: Tadeusz Dąbrowski. June 2013 23:56

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In this podcast, Jennifer Williams talks to Polish poet, essayist, editor and critic Tadeusz Dąbrowski. They are joined by Kasia Kokowska of Interaktywny Salon Piszących w Szkocji, who came along to help with translating. Taseusz has been the winner of numerous awards, among others, the Kościelski Prize (2009), the Hubert Burda Prize (2008) and, fr…

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Nothing But The Poem - Naomi Shihab Nye 17:27

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The prize-winning and former Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Naomi Shihab Nye is the subject of this month’s Nothing But The Poem podcast. Known for poetry that lends a fresh perspective to ordinary events, people, and objects, Nye has said that, for her, “the primary source of poetry has always been local life, random characters met o…

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The Whithorn Way - Part 3 - Lochwinnoch to Irvine 31:54

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The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel visit the Lochwinnoch Community Larder where food waste from supermarkets is re-distributed to the community. This is followed by a refreshing visit to the Lynn Sprout waterfall. Then it's off to Kilwinning to meet t…

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From the Archive: Tony Lopez. February 2013 33:04

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In this podcast, 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 and talks about upcoming projects. (from Wikipedia): Tony Lopez (born 1950) is an English poet who fi…

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Summer Solstice, Royal Highland Show and Composting 1:22:29

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Mark and Helen visit Ingliston for this year’s Royal Highland Show. They meet a nurse with her prize winning Highland cow and They also explore the history of the Highland pony, and its enduring connection to Scotland’s rural heritage. A festival devoted entirely to composting is taking place in Fife. Rachel visits Cambo Gardens to discover what it…

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Wild Scottish Flavour Wheel 21:09

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The Perthshire scientist hopes the wheel will encourage people to rediscover some of the lost tastes and uses of our wild plants.By BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archive: Tracey S. Rosenberg. April 2013 46:54

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On 15 February 2013, Jennifer Williams and poet/author Tracey S. Rosenberg 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 …

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The Whithorn Way - Part 2 - Paisley to Lochwinnoch 29:21

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The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel start with a quick stop off at Renfrew to contemplate the motivation for pilgrimage in medieval times. Then they head to Paisley Cathedral to learn about the unearthing of a drain which revealed a slate containing mu…

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Nothing But the Poem - Ngwatilo Mawiyoo 15:58

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The multidimensional Kenyan poet, filmmaker and writer Ngwatilo Mawiyoo is the subject of this month’s Nothing But The Poem podcast. Keguro Macharia, in The New Inquiry, writes that Ngwatilo’s poetry "draws out my own memories [which] speaks to its generative power: its particularity is generous, opening ways for readers to encounter and inhabit it…

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From the Archive: Eddie Linden. May 2013 30:56

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Who was Eddie Linden (1935-2023)? A poet, an editor, and a man with an extraordinary range of contacts and friends who ranged from Tom Leonard to Harold Pinter. Linden was a person who 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 w…

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Lapwing Ringing on Deeside 23:21

2M ago23:21

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Mark Stephen visits Auchnerran, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust farm on Deeside to watch some lapwing chicks being ringed by research assistant Max Wright and data collector Honor JonesBy BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archive: George Szirtes. March 2013 33:33

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Born in Budapest and brought up in England after coming to the UK as a refugee in 1956, George Szirtes has remained one of the country’s most interesting poets since his first prize-winning collection, The Slant Door, was published in 1979. That wasn’t the last trophy he was to take home; he won the T S Eliot Prize for his 2005 collection Reel. The…

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Dendrochronology, Seals and The Salt Path 1:23:34

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Dendrochronology is a niche field of study, used to work out the age of trees, forests and wooden objects. However, it is not only useful for looking at the past, but also for considering how to manage wooded areas in the future. Mark met with expert dendrochronologist Dr Coralie Mills, and Borders Forest Trust Project Officer, Catriona Patience, t…

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The Whithorn Way - Part 1 - Glasgow 31:05

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The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel focus on the start of the journey at Glasgow Cathedral. Mark and Helen cycle down to Glasgow Green and imagine how pilgrims would have crossed the River Clyde. They then follow the River westwards to the new Govan- P…

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From the Archive: Marianne Boruch. January 2013 28:33

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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. ‘Cadaver, Speak’, a…

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A Coast to Coast Backpack Challenge, Beekeeping in Kinross and the Capercaillie of Speyside 1:22:35

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Nature-based solutions are a key tool in solving environmental problems such as flooding. Rachel met with Dr Rebecca Wade from Abertay University, who is a big advocate for these solutions, to find out more about how they are actually implemented, and why they are so important. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s demonstration farm in Auchne…

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Nature-based Solutions and the Changing Climate 25:48

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Rachel Stewart meets environmental scientist Dr Rebecca Wade from Abertay University.By BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archive: Liz Lochhead 40th Anniversary of Memo for Spring. September 2012 43:13

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In 1972, Liz Lochhead published her debut collection, Memo For Spring, a landmark in Scottish literature. In an extended interview with Colin Waters, the then Scots Makar 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 – No…

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Willow Weaving, Wild Food and the Isle of Whithon - A Dumfries and Galloway Special 1:21:54

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This week, we are coming to you from the village of Whithorn, in Galloway, broadcasting from the replica Iron Age Roundhouse in the village. Julia Muir Watt from the Whithorn Trust, and Shaun Thomson from Building Futures Galloway feature as live guests, to share the history of the area, and the importance of promoting heritage crafts and building …

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A Wild Food Journey with Mo Wilde 28:26

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Mo Wilde is a forager, herbalist and author who is also founder of the Wild Biome Project. In this podcast, Helen Needham meets her at Cambo Estate in Fife where they go foraging and discuss the benefits of a wild food diet.By BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archive: Ross Sutherland. October 2013 32:36

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In 2013, Edinburgh-born Ross Sutherland was described as one of the most interesting young poets working in Britain. Inspired by cut-ups and technology, his collection Emergency Window (Penned in the Margins) featured a sequence of classic poems fed through Google Translate many times until they become something else entirely. He wrote a sequence o…

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Vintage Buses, A Chelsea Garden in Glasgow and a Very Lucky Ship 1:23:31

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Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoorsBy BBC Radio Scotland

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Professor Lorna Dawson, Forensic Soil Scientist 24:17

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Mark Stephen meets head of soil forensics at the James Hutton Institute, Professor Lorna Dawson. Mark meets Lorna at the Institute's research farm, Glensaugh in Aberdeenshire to find out what exactly her job entailsBy BBC Radio Scotland

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Nothing But The Poem - Norman MacCaig 18:42

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In this episode of Nothing But The Poem podcast, our usual host Samuel Tongue goes in deep on two weel kent poems by Norman MacCaig, one of Scotland's most loved and influential poets. Norman MacCaig famously, and self-deprecatingly, described writing his poems as "one fag" poems or "two fag" poems. Nothing could be further from the truth for reade…

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‘I escaped the Nazis then fixed Lancaster Bombers for the RAF.' 58:53

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Send us a text During the Second World War, Ruth Brook escaped Nazi persecution in Germany and followed her wartime sweetheart, a Lancaster Bomber into the RAF. As a WAAF, she quickly found a sense of her own purpose. Ruth was offered a job as a cook, a typist or a flight mechanic. She picked up a spanner and her life began. From welding to hydraul…

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From the Archive: Iain Sinclair. July 2013 39:09

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Iain Sinclair is one of the UK’s greatest living writers. Famed for his novels, such as Downriver, and documentary prose, of which London Orbital is perhaps the best known, Sinclair began his career self-publishing his own poetry on his Albion Village Press in the 1970s. 2013 saw the publication of three books – two poetry collections and a longer …

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Peregrine Falcons in Glasgow, Loch Garten Ospreys and a Spitfire in the Borders 1:21:49

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Peregrine falcons have been in residence at the University of Glasgow’s Gilbert Scott Tower for a number of years now, with a new clutch of chicks being born again this year. Rachel met with Clarke Elsby from the university and John Simpson, from the Scottish Ornithologists Club, to get a glimpse of these magnificent birds of prey. Solsgirth Home F…

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Sixty Years of the Scottish Wildlife Trust 29:54

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Rachel Stewart speaks to Dr Kenny Taylor at the Montrose Basin about 60 years of the SWTBy BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archives: The Gift to See Ourselves – The Best Scottish Poetry Collections. December 2012 45:49

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We have all heard the arguments in favour of Scotland’s best poet or favourite poem, but what about its greatest collection? In this recording from 2012, 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 Wome…

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The Poetry Path at Corbenic Camphill Community in Perthshire 18:12

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Mark Stephen visits the poetry path at Corbenic with its founder Jon PlunkettBy BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archive: Anita Govan. November 2014 38:23

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Anita Govan has been involved in performance poetry for many years, long before it became as widespread as it is today, both as a performer and an organiser of events. Sceptical of the competitive aspects of slams, she still takes part in them and organises them for young people as she recognises their part in giving people a forum in which to shar…

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Wildfires, Mounth Roads and East Lothian Hedgehogs 1:22:53

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The Elsick Mounth is an ancient trackway, linking the River Dee to the Mearns, and is one of the routes featured in the new Scotsways guide on hill tracks. Mark and Rachel both met up with Colin Young, a Scotsways volunteer, who guided them along part of the route to point out some of the important historical and archaeological sites that can be se…

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Lorraine McCall - the Trailblazing Adventurer on the Scottish Hills 22:36

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Lorraine McCall from the Highlands has overcome cancer three times in recent years. She has previously climbed all of Scotland's 221 Corbetts and 282 Munros.By BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archive: The Written World. October 2012 36:14

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The Written World was 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. In October 2012, with the project over, we took the chance to look back on The Written World with its project manager Sarah Stewart. We …

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Inchindown Echo, Edinburgh's Herbarium and the 120 Mile Postie's Path 1:24:03

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The Scottish Crannog Centre on the banks of Loch Tay is a bustling model Iron Age village, filled with various craftspeople to demonstrate ancient crafts and technologies. Mark went along to find out how the site has grown over the past few years, and how the construction of the crannog over the water is coming along. Jenny Graham follows the Posti…

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The Dawn Chorus with Ian Broadbent 22:55

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Helen Needham meets with bird recorder Ian Broadbent to capture the April dawn chorusBy BBC Radio Scotland

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From the Archive: Aonghas MacNeacail. Feb 2013 30:28

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Aonghas MacNeacail (1942-2022) was a leading voice in Gaelic poetry for decades, as poet, and as a regular literary commentator in print and on Gaelic radio. To celebrate his seventieth birthday in 2012 he published a new selected poems, Laughing at the Clock / Déanamh Gáire Ris A’ Chloc. MacNeacail came into the SPL in 2013 to talk about his life …

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Walking and Motherhood with Writer Kerri Andrews 26:03

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Kerri Andrews is the author of Pathfinding - On Walking, Motherhood and Freedom. She describes her own traumatic experience with pregnancy, birth and motherhood and draws on examples of other female writers and their experiences over the centuries. She also discusses the history of women and walking and her desire for a more communal child rearing …

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'How we feel': Live at StAnza - Nuala Watt & Charlotte Van den Broeck 39:04

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'How we feel' was the theme for the 2025 StAnza international poetry festival, and the Lantern Live team were on stage, bringing all the feels! Kathleen Jamie and Ally Heather were joined by award-winning performance poet Charlotte Van den Broeck, and Nuala Watt, whose first collection - The Department of Work and Pensions Assesses a Jade Fish - is…

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From the Archive: Ian Bell on Bob Dylan. December 2013 31:40

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Bob Dylan has played many roles in his life: voice of a generation, rock ‘n’ roll Judas, Christian convert, even Victoria’s Secret salesman. The one that concerned the SPL podcast in 2013 was ‘poet’. Across two biographies – Once Upon A Time and Time Out of Mind (both Mainstream) – Ian Bell (1956-2015) considered Dylan in a more literary context th…