Friday, June 06, 2008

Postcards from the Hedge

Exciting times: last night I met the artist and raconteur Hugh Bryden at a highly secret location and he unveiled to me the proofs and drafts of our new work, now entitled 'Postcards from the Hedge: a semi-detatched Tour of Scotland'. They look extremely fetching. There will be a hand stitched booklet with 15 poems and charming illustrations and a pouch containing an idiosynchratic fold up tour map of Scotland to accompany the poems. In addition there will be a limited edition tubed map with the poems printed on the back which can be used as a poster. Pamphlets will be a tenner, posters a fiver. We're planning a launch here and then a reading in Edinburgh. Then in October there will be an actual attempt to recreate the hazardous journey described in the work. The Oban Inn and the Mishnish in Tobermory have already expressed an interest in hosting these liver-threatening events with hopefully more to come.

Anyone interested in publishing this rare gem should contact me, or watch this space for details of the events!

4 comments:

Rachel Fox said...

Assuming this is a real project and not a piss take...are any of your stop-offs on the tour over this way?

hope said...

If it's anything like your "Five Days", I'll love it. I enjoyed the creative presentation almost as much as the words encompassed inside.

Sadly, I've hit a snag in your southern tour. It appears some poets [surely not the ones here] are temperamental to the point of surly and vindictive. It is a condition I believe brought on by wearing their nerve endings on the outside of their bodies. The poet on my side of the pond, who was so interested in having you tour here, has failed to accept my most heartfelt apology that her poetry group was accidentally locked out of the building on their monthly meeting night. Didn't matter I wasn't the culprit or that there was an understanding she'd coordinate schedules with the other individual using the Center. Sigh. Afterwards she sent me several stories detrimental to Scottish poets. Thankfully she's ceased to speak to me at all except to say she'll move her group somewhere they'll be "properly appreciated". All 4 of them. I'm the 3rd place she's moved them to.

So here's wishing you much success with your current project and if I figure out a way to arrange your tour myself, you'll be the first to know. ;)

Hugh McMillan said...

Rachel- if you host them they will come. We've got nothing between Inverness and Edinburgh on the east coast. Any suggestions?

Hope-never mind. She sounds over-sensitive to me.

Rachel Fox said...

What kind of places are you looking for?
I need brief/criteria etc? That is me trying to sound business-like...it never works..