Robyn Marsack
SPL Small Press Fair 2006
The second Small Press Fair mounted by the Scottish Poetry Library took place on a sunny September Saturday. It was an exhilarating event, with publishers’ stalls, speakers and much convivial interchange. Unprecedented numbers of people converged on the Poetry Library, tucked just off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile in Crichton’s Close.
Founded in 1984, the Poetry Library’s success was in no way automatic. A fresh concept, it had some heavyweight detractors in the poetry world. There is no doubt that the vision and tenacity of its first director, Tessa Ransford, was crucial in dispelling all doubts as to the value of the project.
It is now housed in a beautiful, purpose-built library which offers a wonderful selection of Scottish and international poetry, videos and tapes, in Scots, Gaelic, and English. Its resources are accessible free of charge and there is a postal borrowing service and the facility to borrow from any Scottish library through the interlibrary loan scheme. The Library’s website at www.spl.org.uk endows a truly global accessibility to the Library‘s services.
In this audio interview with Jennie Renton, Robyn Marsack discusses the Poetry Library’s role at the hub of Scotland’s creative community.
This photograph is courtesy of Carl Dhiman from the Poetry Society archive: www.poetrysociety.org.uk
Scottish Poetry Library
5 Crichton’s Close
Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DT
Comments