Roddy Lumsden is Somewhere

Bykevinwilliamson

In a year of bad news, Roddy Lumsden’s death in January at just 53 still stands out as incredibly sad. In addition to his talent as a poet, he was also known for his legendary pub quiz skills, which led him to represent Scotland in Radio 4’ s Round Britain contest. Kevin Williamson pays tribute to both qualities in his poem “Roddy Lumsden is Somewhere,” which can be found in Neu Reekie # Untitledthree ( Polygon, £ 12.99). Williamson co- edited the book with Michael Pedersen, the two poets the driving force behind Edinburgh’s legendary “avant- garde spoken word, film and music fusion night” Neu Reekie.

And here we are, reading his thoughts. Arranged like purple orchids in a vase on a boutique wooden crate coffee table. Leaves reaching out, petals unfurled.

He was a crossword with missing clues. Sonic the Hedgehog eyebrows. Disdain. My favourite stanza was the Oyster Bar where we entered a midweek pub quiz. There was no collective noun for a Lumsden, a Reekie & a me. He winced when Paul or myself chipped in with a plausible guesstimate which inevitably proved wrong. He wasn’t always patient, with other men. We came third. Won a bottle of citric wine whose origin & age he surely despised. But fair play to him. We prised it open on the spot & clinked two glasses per poet. I raise mine high to an omnium- gatherum, an olla podrida, a gallimaufray, of good ole bars that never change, to poets who wear button down shirts of khaki. Prost!

You can reserve a copy of # Untitledthree by Kevin Williamson and Michael Pedersen at the Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh EH8 8DT, which is operating a ‘ Click and Collect’ service. For poetry enquiries, e- mail reception@ spl. org. uk or visit www. scottishpoetrylibrary. org. uk.