Author, actor and singer Gerda Stevenson will present poems from her new collection, Quines, which celebrates the richly diverse contribution women have made to Scottish history and society. From salt-sellers to scientists, a lively encounter in poetry and song.
Singers, politicians, a fish-gutter, queens, a dancer, a marine engineer, a salt seller, sportswomen, scientists and many more – Quines celebrates and explores the richly diverse contribution women have made to Scottish history and society.
The event will have cabaret-style (unreserved) seating; BYOB.
Provisional programme*:
first half
~40 mins, Gerda will introduce her book and read poems from it.
interval
~20 mins, tea/coffee, chat, book sales (Linton Books, our local independent book shop).
second half
~25 mins, Gerda will showcase the poetry of Arctic explorer/botanist/film maker/writer Isobel Wylie Hutchison, and sing Gerda's own settings of some of the poems.
~15 mins Q&A
*if Gerda changes her programme, we'll go along with her!
What the reviewers say:
“Clutch this book of wondrous odes to your bosom - it will gladden your heart, sadden it, but also fill you with pride. What women they were that birthed our Scottish nation and here they are, exquisitely brought to vibrant life, by that contemporary cultural quine, Gerda Stevenson.”
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
"Quines is a vivid explosion of thought, description and bold opinion, clothing Scots history at last with the myriad contribution of its women. Gerda Stevenson personifies figures often left as dry as dust and reinstates the dignity and complexity of female characters who have helped shape society and reach across the centuries to modern women today. Her use of Scots language and Gaelic phrasing adds authenticity and smeddum. This is a wonderful, life-affirming book.” Lesley Riddoch
"There’s a telling verse about Jesus in Mark’s gospel: ‘Where did this man get all this? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ The italics tell the story. The sisters are not named! And rarely have been in a history written by men. In this piercingly challenging and beautiful collection by Gerda Stevenson they are being named at last. And reading it bites the heart." Richard Holloway
