About the book
Throw a stone in Edinburgh or Glasgow today and you ll hit a young poet. The Scottish spoken word scene has exploded reaching a level of popularity last seen in the late 1970s another era coincidentally when the issue of Scottish self-determination was in the air. A generation of poets has emerged who have grown up in an age of change political and technological with the internet providing them not only with new ways of sharing writing through their websites podcasts Twitter but also in some cases with a subject too.
Be The First to Like This New Scottish Poetry is the first attempt to capture the spirit of a diverse scene where every poet is their own movement from McGuire s hilarious deconstructions of sexuality to Michael Pedersen s dole-office blues from William Letford s building-site tales to MacGillivray s mystic cowboys. It s a scene where you are just as liable to encounter ancient gods as you are video game characters Richard Branson as you are Dolly the Sheep. Be the First to Like This features forty poets mostly under-forty who have made Scotland their home. It s a survey a yearbook a celebration and a promise of things to come.
Liz Lochhead writes in her introduction to this volume I m always being asked how is poetry faring in this digital age. It seems to me that it is flour- ishing. Be The First To Like This proves this on every page. Never since Donny O Rourke s era-defining anthology Dream State was published which captured and celebrated the spirit of the generation after mine has there been a single volume that does the same thing so brilliantly for the next group of new kids on the block.
About the new poetry imprint
The planning and editing of this anthology was the work of Vagabond Voices poetry editor Colin Waters. Waters worked for ten years in literary journalism writing for amongst others The Herald The Sunday Herald The Guardian and The New Statesman and he was the deputy editor of The Scottish Review of Books. Today he works as Communications Manager at the Scottish Poetry Library where amongst other duties he produces a popular monthly poetry podcast. Vagabond Poets will publish two to three titles a year alternating between single-author collections and the Vagabond Poets series themed collections featuring new work by three poets a mix of mature voices and emerging talent.
Editions of Be the First to Like This
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781908251350
Read an Excerpt
Throw a stone in Edinburgh or Glasgow today and you ll hit a young poet. The Scottish spoken word scene has exploded reaching a level of popularity last seen in the late 1970s another era coincidentally when the issue of Scottish self-determination was in the air. A generation of poets has emerged who have grown up in an age of change political and technological with the internet providing them not only with new ways of sharing writing through their websites podcasts Twitter but also in some cases with a subject too.
Be The First to Like This New Scottish Poetry is the first attempt to capture the spirit of a diverse scene where every poet is their own movement from McGuire s hilarious deconstructions of sexuality to Michael Pedersen s dole-office blues from William Letford s building-site tales to MacGillivray s mystic cowboys. It s a scene where you are just as liable to encounter ancient gods as you are video game characters Richard Branson as you are Dolly the Sheep. Be the First to Like This features forty poets mostly under-forty who have made Scotland their home. It s a survey a yearbook a celebration and a promise of things to come.
Liz Lochhead writes in her introduction to this volume I m always being asked how is poetry faring in this digital age. It seems to me that it is flour- ishing. Be The First To Like This proves this on every page. Never since Donny O Rourke s era-defining anthology Dream State was published which captured and celebrated the spirit of the generation after mine has there been a single volume that does the same thing so brilliantly for the next group of new kids on the block.
About the new poetry imprint
The planning and editing of this anthology was the work of Vagabond Voices poetry editor Colin Waters. Waters worked for ten years in literary journalism writing for amongst others The Herald The Sunday Herald The Guardian and The New Statesman and he was the deputy editor of The Scottish Review of Books. Today he works as Communications Manager at the Scottish Poetry Library where amongst other duties he produces a popular monthly poetry podcast. Vagabond Poets will publish two to three titles a year alternating between single-author collections and the Vagabond Poets series themed collections featuring new work by three poets a mix of mature voices and emerging talent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Be the First to Like This about?
Throw a stone in Edinburgh or Glasgow today and you ll hit a young poet. The Scottish spoken word scene has exploded reaching a level of popularity last seen in the late 1970s another era coincidentally when the issue of Scottish self-determination was in the air. A generation of poets has emerged who have grown up in an age of change political and technological with the internet providing them not only with new ways of sharing writing through their websites podcasts Twitter but also in some cases with a subject too.
Be The First to Like This New Scottish Poetry is the first attempt to capture the spirit of a diverse scene where every poet is their own movement from McGuire s hilarious deconstructions of sexuality to Michael Pedersen s dole-office blues from William Letford s building-site tales to MacGillivray s mystic cowboys. It s a scene where you are just as liable to encounter ancient gods as you are video game characters Richard Branson as you are Dolly the Sheep. Be the First to Like This features forty poets mostly under-forty who have made Scotland their home. It s a survey a yearbook a celebration and a promise of things to come.
Liz Lochhead writes in her introduction to this volume I m always being asked how is poetry faring in this digital age. It seems to me that it is flour- ishing. Be The First To Like This proves this on every page. Never since Donny O Rourke s era-defining anthology Dream State was published which captured and celebrated the spirit of the generation after mine has there been a single volume that does the same thing so brilliantly for the next group of new kids on the block.
About the new poetry imprint
The planning and editing of this anthology was the work of Vagabond Voices poetry editor Colin Waters. Waters worked for ten years in literary journalism writing for amongst others The Herald The Sunday Herald The Guardian and The New Statesman and he was the deputy editor of The Scottish Review of Books. Today he works as Communications Manager at the Scottish Poetry Library where amongst other duties he produces a popular monthly poetry podcast. Vagabond Poets will publish two to three titles a year alternating between single-author collections and the Vagabond Poets series themed collections featuring new work by three poets a mix of mature voices and emerging talent.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Be the First to Like This?
Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Poetry / Poems > Poetry anthologies (various poets)
Where can I read a sample of Be the First to Like This?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781908251350
Is Be the First to Like This part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series Vagabond Poets
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Be the First to Like This?
Various
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Be the First to Like This is available as paperback(ISBN 9781908251350)
Is there an audio of the book?
Listen to an audio sample of Be the First to Like This here
Is there a video of the book?
Watch a video about Be the First to Like This here