Poetry Jukebox Launch: Fragments of Scotch Poetry

For this curation of the Poetry Jukebox, we asked ten poets, including Scots Makar Pàdraig MacAoidh and poets Anne McMaster, Charles Lang and Angeline King, to write new poems in response to Robert Burns and his Ulster contemporaries. All four poets join chair Maria McManus for an afternoon of readings and lively discussion as we explore the rich cultural and linguistic links between Ulster and Scotland. You can hear the complete curation on The Linen Hall’s Poetry Jukebox until 30 January 2026.

The ten poets in the curation are: Peter Mackay, Anne McMaster, Angela Graham, Stephen Dornan, Angeline King, Morna Sullivan, Lolly Spence, Charles Lang, Kathleen Jamie and Alan Millar.

You can listen to the entire curation on The Linen Hall’s Poetry Jukebox until 30 January 2026.

‘S ann à Leòdhas a tha Pàdraig MacAoidh, agus chaidh dà leabhar bàrdachd leis fhoillseachadh le Acair – ‘Gu Leòr’ (2015) agus ‘Nàdur De’ (2020) – agus pamflaid le Clutag Press, ‘From another island’ (2010). Tha e ag obair mar òraidiche aig Oilthigh Chill Rìmhinn agus o 2024 tha e air a bhith Makar na h-Alba. // Peter Mackay is a poet, broadcaster, translator and lecturer. He has two collections with Acair – Galore (2015) and Some Kind of (2020) – and a pamphlet, From another island (2010), with Clutag Press. Originally from the Isle of Lewis, he lives in Edinburgh and works in the School of English at the University of St Andrews. In 2024 he was appointed Scottish Makar.

A former farmer, lecturer, playwright and theatre director, Anne McMaster writes in both English and Ulster Scots. She makes short films, publishes and reads her poetry internationally and works as a professional voiceover artist. In the BBC1 documentary Out of the Silence, Anne explored her own journey as an Ulster-Scots writer and discovered both known and unknown female Ulster-Scots in Northern Ireland. Anne has produced three poetry collections in English: ‘Walking Off the Land’, ‘Moments’ and ‘Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area’, all by Hedgehog Poetry Press. ‘Póames’ – poetry in Ulster Scots – was published by the Ulster Scots Agency and Ulster Scots Community Network. Anne has two new poetry collections coming in 2025 and an illustrated collection of Ulster-Scots lullabies. She’s currently working on her first drama for radio.

Charles Lang is from Glasgow. His poems have appeared in numerous publications including Poetry Ireland Review, The Poetry Review and The Stinging Fly. He was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions series in 2022. In 2024, he was Ciaran Carson Writing and the City Fellow at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast, and was shortlisted for the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award. His collection ‘The Oasis’ was published by Skein Press in 2025.

Angeline King, author of ‘The Secret Diary of Stephanie Agnew’ (2024), was Writer in Residence of Ulster University from 2020 to 2023, during which time she completed a PhD in English. Her debut novel ‘Snugville Street’ (2015) heralded the arrival of a confident and entertaining novelist and immediately attracted the attention of The Irish Times, Libraries NI, Arts Council of Northern Ireland & Linen Hall Library. Her poems and short stories have been published in a range of national and regional publications, including the Community Arts Partnership poetry anthologies, Honest Ulsterman, The Irish Times, Bangor Literary Journal and Familia. Angeline has led the way in independent publishing with her critically acclaimed novels, such as ‘Dusty Bluebells’ (2020). Concurrent with Standard English work, Angeline has made a significant contribution to Irish and Scottish literature through a small canon of Ulster Scots writing. Angeline’s background is in business and languages.

Maria McManus’ poetry collections are Reading the Dog, We Are Bone, and Available Light, pamphlets, The Cello Suites and Ellipses. Collaborations include Wretches, Ellipses, and Tierra Salida (libretti), BIND, Epilogue, TURF, and Roots (poetry/dance) and Medusa’s Notebook (immersive digital poetry). She founded Quotidian with Poetry Jukebox.

This project is supported by the Department for Communities.

This event is part of the Belfast International Arts Festival 2025.