New Distillery is poetry in motion
Early next year, the new Lagg Distillery will open on the Isle of Arran, and a Scottish Field reader can be there to commemorate the special occasion with a work of poetry
With the hunt for the official poem of the Isle of Arran Distillers new Lagg distillery well under way, the independent whisky maker has assembled an eclectic team of judges to consider each of the entries put forward by budding writers.
In September, the Isle of Arran Distillers, in association with Scottish Field, launched a competition to find the official poem for their Lagg Distillery. The winning entry will take pride of place onsite at the new distillery that is due to open in the spring of 2019.
Budding writers have been tasked with producing a poem that beautifully captures the Isle of Arran’s history, landscape or, quite simply, it’s spirit - whisky or otherwise.
The winning entry will take pride of place within Lagg Visitor Centre, as well as being exclusively published within Scottish Field Magazine. The winning poet will also receive an invitation to attend the grand opening of the Lagg Distillery & Visitor Centre in Spring 2019.
The poetry competition judging panel all share a passion for whisky, poetry and the unique landscape that makes Scotland so remarkable. Brining together such a variety of backgrounds and experiences should result in a winning entry that can appeal to everyone.
The judging panel consists of -
Rachel McCormack: A broadcaster and writer, best known as a panellist on BBC Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet. In 2016, Rachel set out to discover why Scotland had little tradition of cooking or eating with whisky. The answer to that question and her search for the essence of whisky became the subject of her first book Chasing the Dram, Finding the Spirit of Whisky.
Jim Carruth: The current Poet Laureate of Glasgow. He has two collections and nine chapbooks published, starting with Bovine Pastoral (2004). In 2009 he was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship and his work continues to attract both praise and awards, most recently winning the McLellan Poetry Prize 2013 and the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award in 2014.
Hamish Whyte: Hamish has published several collections of poems, the latest being Things We Never Knew’ (Shoestring Press, 2016) and Now the Robin (HappenStance Press, 2018). He has also edited many anthologies of Scottish literature most recently, Scottish Cats (Birlinn, 2013). Hamish runs Mariscat Press.
Kenny Smith: Kenny is the website editor for Scottish Field. He has spent over 20 years working in newspapers, on titles including the East Kilbride News, Rutherglen Reformer and the Ayrshire Post, and also had work published in the Daily Record and Daily Mirror.
Faye Waterlow: Faye started working for Isle of Arran Distillers on the day of the grand opening of the Isle of Arran Distillery, based at Lochranza, in 1997. She worked her way up from waitress, to tour guide and was appointed visitor centre manager in 2011. As the longest serving visitor centre manager in Lochranza, Faye will be able to bring all of her years of experience to the new Lagg Visitor Centre.
Graham Omand: Graham has worked as a stillsman at the Isle of Arran Distillery in Lochranza for over eight years, a position which has allowed him to develop his skill set. With years of experience at producing fantastic expressions of Arran Malt, there is no doubt that Graham is more than prepared to oversee the production of a perfectly rich, earthy and complex expression of peated Lagg Single Malt.
The closing date for entries is Friday 14 December and the winner and two runners up will be announced on Burns Night, Friday 25 January 2019. All entrants must be over the age of 18.
All entries can be submitted to Scottish Field magazine by emailing Kenny Smith at ksmith@ scottishfield.co.uk with the subject ‘Isle of Arran Distillers - Poetry Competition’. Please be sure to also include within your entry letter your name, your contact information and your date of birth. Terms and conditions for the competition can be found on the Scottish Field and Isle of Arran Distillers websites.