Budding poets can get on the right track for festival

Poets can have a positive impact on thousands of people every day by having their work displayed at railway stations across Renfrewshire.

Aspiring wordsmiths and established names are being urged to send in their work as part of the upcoming Renfrewshire Mental Health Arts Festival.

Writers are being asked to cover areas such as recovery, wellbeing and general mental health topics in their short works.

ScotRail is looking forward to displaying the work at nine of its platforms across the region.

A ScotRail Alliance spokesperson said: “We’re proud to be supporting the Mental Health Arts Festival once again, and giving a platform to so many talented artists.”

Sarah Grant, creative arts coordinator for the NHS, said: “This year we’ve added Howwood and Milliken Park, following on from last year’s displays.

“Scotrail have always been very supportive - they really like that it’s a positive message about wellbeing.”

It’s thought that approximately 250 people in Scotland take their lives at railway stations every year

The deadline for poetry submissions is March 15, with work due to go on display in May which will stay up until next year’s festival.

And Sarah’s says she has already started receiving submissions.

She added: “We’ve had lots of emails with poetry coming in already.

“The exhibition as a whole is called Passing Time.

“The theme is Connected so we’re asking for short poems under 20 lines which touch on subjects such as wellbeing and recovery.

The Renfrewshire Mental Health Arts Festival, which is run in conjunction with the Mental Health Foundation Scotland, aims to challenge perceptions on mental health, enable people to make connections and encourage participation.

The festival forms part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, which was first launched in 2007.

The SMHAFF has grown into one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world, with more than 300 events and 25,000 attendees across Scotland each year.

 To submit your poems and to find out more about this year’s festival, visit www.mhfestival.com

We’re asking for short poems under 20 lines on subjects such as wellbeing