Poetry Reading Group

Calling all poetry lovers in Edinburgh – come and join us every second Monday of the month for our new poetry reading group, VOICES. From Queer and BAME voices, to Native American voices and voices in translation, our reading group will be an opportunity to explore an eclectic range of poetry.

No need to have read every poem from a collection or every collection from a poet! Come along for a casual conversation, to share interpretations and find meaning together.

The Trees Witness Everything, by Victoria Chang

A lover of strict form, best-selling poet Victoria Chang turns to compact Japanese waka, powerfully innovating on tradition while continuing her pursuit of one of life's hardest questions: how to let go.

In The Trees Witness Everything, Victoria Chang reinvigorates language by way of concentration, using constraint to illuminate and free the wild interior. Largely composed in various Japanese syllabic forms called 'wakas,' each poem is shaped by pattern and count. This highly original work innovates inside the lineage of great poets including W.S. Merwin, whose poem titles are repurposed as frames and mirrors for the text, stitching past and present in complex dialogue. Chang depicts the smooth, melancholic isolation of the mind while reaching outward to name - with reverence, economy and whimsy - the ache of wanting, the hawk and its shadow, our human urge to hide the minute beneath the light.

We hope you can join us to discuss Victoria Chang’s latest collection with some nibbles and a glass of wine!