Loaded Words spoken word 25th November 2020 nearly here

p&g are putting the last finishing touches to our amazing & unique event with Joolz Denby, Gregory McCartney, Gael Curran, Bee Asha Singh and Imogen Stirling.

Spoken word and poetry for your delight and a bit of magic and...a closer look at what spoken word and poetry mean to audiences and performers in 2020; how do you get started? how do you get published? and do you need to?

There are still a few tickets on Eventbrite here where else do you want to be tomorrow night?!

Also a very big thank you to the Scottish Poetry Library for lending us their Zoom account and to MacArts for sound and tech advice from inimitable Chris Wemyss - our event is free but if you want a great t-shirt take a look at their Bandcamp crowdfunder and give this great venue & the musicians who use it some support.

Loaded words welcomes Imogen Stirling

Our Loaded Words event on the 25th November just got even better as we are now joined by our final performer - poet, theatre-maker and musician Imogen Stirling.

Imogen who has been newly revealed as the Poet-in-Residence at Paisley Book Festival is another stunning edition to our roster of rich spoken word, writing and poetry talent at the event. 

The event is less than two weeks away, it is a virtual event on Zoom and it is free - so get your limited edition ticket at Eventbrite here: 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/loaded-words-tickets-125721942715

You can find out more about the event and all the acts here.

You can find out more about Imogen on insta @imogenstirlingpoetry

Loaded words 25.11.20

Enjoy a fabulous p&g spoken word and poetry virtual event with poet Joolz Denby and - from Scottish rap group The Honey Farm - Bee Asha Singh and Gael Curran, alongside eclectic editor and curator Gregory McCartney of Abridged (one of p&g's best-loved publications) and HU.

Are our words loaded against us? Do we think of and react to spoken word differently to poems in books? And how does online fit in? This debate has been going on a long time but do poets today even want or need to get published on paper - and what extra does that offer them?

This event celebrates both (and a few more methods for getting your word out besides), looks at differences to access between spoken word and book and magazine publishing, and how that might affect poets from less well-represented groups. Hear spoken word at its finest plus a chance to discuss in articulate and inspirational company why and how our words can be loaded to be heard and shared.

Faciliated by p&g's own Bridget Khursheed.

This event is free. Yes that's right! We are available worldwide on Zoom. And don't forget that we are still looking for one more performer/poet - send us your links the usual way.

Learn more about the event and find out how to register here. Limited tickets available.

*****

More on Joolz Denby - if you need it - here.

More on The Honey Farm -"potentially the first and only and by default greatest Scottish female rap group of all time" - here and insta here.

More on Abridged here and HU here.

The end is the beginning

The end for me in this case is the end of my studies at Edinburgh Napier - my cybersecurity masters is complete although it will be July before I graduate officially. I took time out I suppose to finetune my geek side but the poetry never stopped of course. Alongside the study, the day job, birds, orienteering, travel and family, I managed to get new poetry out in some fantastic publications: what a joy it is when the acceptance note comes in!

A pretty list below:

• The Cormorant
• Causeway/Cabhsair
• The Interpreter’s House
• The Writers’ Cafe
• HU 
• Abridged
• Algebra of Owls
• Gutter
• Ink Sweat & Tears
• Northwords Now 
• Ambit 
• Pure Slush
• Under the Radar
• The Blue Nib
• Eildon Tree

And many thanks to the editors and others - you know who you are - for keeping the faith while some percentage of my mind was untangling hex etc.

So now it comes time to get back to the The exact colour of snow manuscript " a book of weather & maps" which now needs to be supplemented with my copious notes of walks, absent buildings and birds. Before I have found it daunting to write the book but assembling a circa 20000 dissertation over the past 6 months has deleted any worries on that score.  Around about June I should have something but if you are interested in taking a peek with a view to publishing - a dm on Twitter or through the usual email here will do the job.

Currently writing a poem about salt and mangroves inspired by this Jurassic pond in Bo'ness - so back to business as usual.

Abridged, Blockchain and MyData

A few interesting things:

• the dark and wonderful Abridged is now available online. Just let me say that again. It is now available online for free. Go and enjoy!
• Scotchain 18 took place in Edinburgh  - Scotland is a leader on Blockchain and its implementation in industry and this was a fun meeting with lots of fintech goodies.
• MyData.org is starting its Edinburgh Hub with its first meetup on 27th November. Speaker details revealed soon. "Making it happen and making it happen right".

You can find our more by following the links which you may like to do.

New work ahoy

I have poems appearing in the current Honest Ulsterman and upcoming Abridged (the control issue). All extremely satisfying publications and I am really pleased to be in them. You can get physical copies of the two former but Abridged especially runs out very fast so hunt them out if you are in Ireland or Scotland any time soon.

Gutter was the bestselling publication at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this summer thanks in part to the extensive coverage, interest and quality of its special Freedom Papers.

More news to follow but in the meantime please enjoy this picture of me talking about cybersecurity in Daventry.

I had the following quote at the end of my slides from Norman MacCaig for this geeky event: you can click on the picture to get a better look at it. The beautiful lichen on the trees is from a seaside place called Yellowcraigs in Scotland.

More on Abridged here, Honest Ulsterman here and Northwords Now here.

Also worryingly something has happened that I thought never would and I have begun obsessing at moments about Dorothy Wordsworth or Doz as I now call her.

New work

If you are interested in new work from me this year:

• Check out a fresh and multi-faceted magazine The Blue Nib edited by Shirley Bell which the Southbank Poetry Library made me aware of - I have some poems in Issue 13 here https://magazine.thebluenib.com/article/3-poems-by-bridget-khursheed/
• A couple of poems in The Eildon Tree - the wonderful and unique Scottish Borders publication driving the arts forward throughout Scotland and globally through the agency of Carol Norris, Sara Clark, Julian Colton and Iona McGregor -  https://issuu.com/borderssportandleisure/docs/eildon_tree_-_may_2017__2_
• If you missed it, I had a poem in Open Mouse - btw I suggest you subscribe if you missed it because this is a fantastic almost daily treat of online poetry curated by Colin Will https://theopenmouse.wordpress.com/2017/03/14/bridget-khursheed-4/
• I have a poem appearing in the Abridged Wormwood issue (I can't tell you how natural a fit that topic was - Greg McCartney the editor has a knack of coming up with the most addictive themes for poets and artists; not to mention the impact of the photography throughout the magazine series); there is a preview here http://abridgedonline.com/abridged-0-51-wormwood/
  The physical version of Abridged "is generally available at art galleries and arts organisations in Belfast, Dublin, Derry, Galway. Usually for a limited period as they go very quickly". Free PDFs are also available from the website.
• I have a poem in the soon to appear Issue 20 of Under the Radar http://ninearchespress.com/magazine.html - copies available from the website; take a look at the range of poets featured in previous issues and you will understand why it is well worth getting a copy sooner rather than later as they sell out quickly.
• If you like a more regular dose of p&g can I suggest you go over to https://www.instagram.com/poetandgeek/ where I post photos taken with a Windows Phone most of the time

Thank you to all the editors and teams for taking the time to read and publish these. Delighted to feature alongside some great poets, artists, writers and photographers.

Other news: I am doing an MSc in Advanced Security and Digital Forensics at Edinburgh Napier University and still doing my regular geek day job. As usual I am confident I can do all of these things and still write the poetry I want to. It is part of my practice to work and write. A theory borne out by presidential/solder/mother/doctor/lawyer/publisher/priest/spy etc poets everywhere and throughout history. Poetry doesn't stop things happening. It makes things happen.

Abridged 0 - 45: submission call

Why is it always December?

Take a look at the inspiration for this issue of Abridged and then send them some stuff. Deadline 17th March 2016. Easy as that.

You can find details here http://abridgedonline.com/abridged-0-45-why-is-it-always-december/ and the muse here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOu1OCvhUw0

Abridged 0-14: Floodland Submission Call

Abridged have been in touch with p&g to tell us that they are exploring paranoia and fear in the 0 – 14: Floodland issue. 

They need poetry (up to three poems) and art (up to A4 landscape size and 300 dpi or above). Deadline for submissions is 22nd January 2016. 

You can find out more here http://www.abridgedonline.com/

Abridged seeks oblivion

Memories and the things we forget - Abridged next issue Lethe 0  43 is seeking submissions now.

Deadline is 1st October 2015 so that is not much time in any body's book.

You can find more here http://abridgedonline.com/abridged-0-43-lethe/