HighlandLIT open mic report for 9/07/2026 by Margaret Chrystall with photos by Marion Timperley There was a good mix of old and new faces at HighlandLIT’s July open mic night on Thursday. And due to illness, there was an unscheduled but welcome return of former chairman and open mic host - Paul Shanks - who also shared an in-progress short story of his own to invite comments from the audience. The event included stories, poetry, an extract from a memoir and had writers shar

Report of the June Open Mic by John Dempster with input from Margaret Chrystall We had a great time at the HIghlandLIT open mic on Thursday 11 June. There were eight readers, and the evening was hosted by Marina Gertsen, Chair of HighlandLIT. First up was S.J. Groenewegen, who read her short story ‘Uneasy Choices’ set in the future in an Amsterdam which has been transported across the galaxy from a stricken earth. We meet Amalia, a canal tour guide, suffering PTSD following

Here's a lovely report from Margaret Chrystall of last Thursday's wonderful HighlandLIT Open Mic! The photo is by Steve Robertson. At May’s Open Mic night, HighlandLIT’s new chairperson Marina Gertsen introduced the event before nine people read – poems, short stories and extracts from longer work. If a recent call on socials had suggested the group needed new blood to survive - and was even considering the death of the group - the energy of those who came along to read, and

Report of the Open Mic held at Roots Café on Thursday 9 April We had a lovely evening again at Roots Café on Thursday, 9 April. Interim Chair Marina Gertsen made the statement about the future of HighlandLIT which has already been circulated, and then five of us shared work with the group. First up was Colm Black . In the light of the Artemis II moon flight which was approaching its successful conclusion, Colm brought two excellent poems about space. In one, ‘A Jupiter po

An urgent plea from HighlandLIT’s interim chair, Marina Gertsen at the Open Mic event at Roots Cafe (9 April ) Hi all, thank you for coming tonight. Some familiar faces - and some not so familiar to me as I haven't been here for a while. I used to come along more regularly but life got in the way. However when I found out that HighlandLIT was close to folding due to committee members needing to step down, after taking a turn to work so hard, I very hesitantly offered to be a

HighlandLIT Open Mic March 12 th 2026 at Roots Café. We were delighted to see some new faces at the March HighlandLIT meeting, an open mic held in Roots Café on Thursday 12 th March. The evening was chaired by Paul Shanks who introduced each of the participants, and commented perceptively on their work after they had read. First, we heard from David Goldie , who read three wonderful poems. ‘The Dream of Summer’, is an evocative piece inspired by the work of modernist po