I’m delighted that a rabble of glints has been published by Red Squirrel Press. Just in time for Easter.
The book is a collaboration with my fellow poets, Donal McLaughlin and Mairi Murphy. Like me, Donal & Mairi are West of Scotland writers with strong Irish roots. Donal, born in Derry, emigrated to Paisley as a child. Charlie & Mairi are second & third generation respectively. The childhoods of all three of us coincided with the Civil Rights movement in the US & Northern Ireland. An awareness of different forms of discrimination, of the struggle for basic human rights, informs the stories & poems these authors have been writing about emigration & immigrant experience.
We first collaborated on an event entitled (what it means) to overcome at the Paisley Book Festival in 2021, the theme of which was ‘Radical New Futures’. a rabble of glints contains some of the material read on that occasion, as well as new work – evidence of what has proved, in the years since, to be a continuing & very fruitful collaboration.
Look out for upcoming events in Dumfries (with Hugh McMillan), Paisley Central Library & Glasgow (St Mungo’s Mirrorball). Details of further events to follow.
We were delighted to be supported in the creation of the book by Helen Boden‘s insightful & supportive editing. Likewise, the design by Gerry Cambridge is, as ever, a thing of beauty & deep creative thought. Thanks to Sheila Wakefield for publishing the book & bringing it into the world. My daughter, Katie Gracie-Orr, contributed a beautiful illustration to accompany one of the pieces.
Keep your eyes peeled for what Irish poet & novelist, Jessamine O’Connor, English novelist, Anthony Cartwright, and Shetlandic poet & editor, Christie Williamson have to say about a rabble of glints.
