National poet’s visit
ANDREA LAMBROU
Scotland’s National Poet make a pit stop at Duncanrig Secondary ahead of World Poetry Day.
Jackie May helped pupils who have been studying her work and hosted a series of talks and poetry workshops which 160 pupils got involved in.
Her first stop was in the English department ,where more than one hundred S4-S6 National 5 candidates hung on her every word.
They have been studying her poetry and seized the opportunity to hear her read some of the poems and to ask her all sorts of questions about them.
Some of the questions posed included: were her poems autobiographical, did she prefer writing as herself or adopting a persona, and why loss was such an important theme in her work.
One pupil commented: “I found Jackie Kay to be an incredibly good speaker, as expected, but she was also kind and welcoming – like a real person.”
The Makar also hosted a more informal session in the school’s Barista Bar coffee shop with a group of budding writers and poets from S3 to S6. In addition to hearing the writer talk about her work, some of the pupils had brought their own poetry along and were overwhelmed when Jackie agreed to read it and give them feedback.
Principal teacher of English, Jo Whitford, said: “Jackie spoke about her own life and how she got started as a writer.
“This was truly an inspirational event. Some of the pupils had never really thought that you could be a writer as a job but now watch this space for the next great Scottish writer to emerge from Duncanrig. There are a few contenders.”