A Dumfries and Galloway poet will launch a landmark collection of Scots poems in Dumfries tomorrow evening.
Stuart A Paterson will introduce his book Wheen in the film theatre at the Robert Burns Centre.
The free event, which is being hosted by local BBC journalist Giancarlo Rinaldi, opens at 6.45pm.
It will include readings by Stuart and a question and answer session with the audience.
He told the News: ”I’m really looking forward to it.
“This book is a really special big collection for me and will hopefully be an enjoyment for others.
“It’s made up of 116 poems written over the course of 30 years, covering eleven very varied subjects.”
In the foreword of Wheen, acclaimed novelist James Robertson described Stuart’s poems in Scots as “a sheer delight”.
He said: “Stuart Paterson’s commitment to writing in Scots is neither a pose nor born out os some sense of obligation.
“It comes from the simple fact that Scots is his first language, and therefore the natural medium in which his thoughts form and through which he expresses them either orally or in print.
“In the end, Stuart does what any good poet- anywhere must do – observe, listen and digest, make the poems and then return them to whence they came.”
Ayrshireman Stuart, 56, spent his recent years at Kirkbean and will shortly be moving to Penpont.
“I’ll be moving in when the burst pipes are fixed,” he said.
To book a ticket for the launch, visit rbcfilmtheatre.co.uk/all-listings/wheenbooklaunch270123
Wheen: New and Collected Scots Poems (Ulster Scots Community Press, 2023) was funded by one of the first ever seven Scottish Government 2020 Scots language publication grants.
