The Arctic Arms, Dundee

Sarah Stewart’s debut pamphlet Glisk (Tapsalteerie, £5) is full of poems that subtly illustrate everyday sexism. In the case of “The Arctic Arms, Dundee,” Stewart remembers a historical example encountered by her mother in a Dundee pub. Her poem, which repeats the factoid that 1978 was supposedly the peak moment for quality of life in the UK, undermines the claim by asking who the “our” in the first line refers to. She questions whether the “our” in fact included women. Stewart will launch her pamphlet at the Scottish Poetry Library on Wednesday 9 May at 7pm, a free event.

Sociologists claim our quality of life peaked in 1978, the year Archie Gemmill scored a World Cup goal for Scotland; Sony invented the Walkman; Superman was playing in the cinemas. That summer, my parents went into a pub, ordered two pints, “We don’t serve pints to ladies,” the barman said.

My mother did not flinch. Coolly, she asked for two halves, decanted them into a pint glass. I like to picture her, backlit by the jukebox in the pub’s smoky fug. Raising that tarnished gold to her lips. You can find a copy of Glisk by Sarah Stewart at the Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh EH8 8DT. For poetry enquiries, e-mail reception@ spl.org.uk or visit www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk.