An intimate Open Mic - 19th June 2025

Thanks so much to Paul Shanks and Cathy Carr - Paul wrote this lovely report of last week's HighlandLIT Open Mic (held on Thursday 19th June) and Cathy contributed the photos!

It was a small-scale, intimate session upstairs at La Tortilla. Given the small group, we opted for a roundtable reading rather than the usual open mic stand format. One of the real strengths of the evening was the generous space it allowed for discussion and reflection – both on the writing itself and the inspirations behind particular pieces. We were also joined online by a couple who had recently settled in the Highlands and were keen to get a feel for the local writing community and events run by HighlandLIT.

There were some thoroughly enjoyable readings from the group—at times humorous, at others evocative and poignant. Lilian Ross read from her recently published collection of poems and stories in Doric, Jist Sayin… (Aberdeen: Mither Tongue, 2025). Her selections included 'Letter Nivir Sent,' dedicated to a much-loved and inspirational minister at Maud Parish Church; an elegiac and reflective poem honouring traveller-storyteller Duncan Williamson ('Jist in time for Simmer'); and a story about a rebellious young girl who, against the odds, makes it to a local dance ('Are Ye Duncin’). Lilian revealed that the last story, and other works in the collection, were based on her early life experiences in Buchan.

Iris Perrin shared a story about a childhood friendship, then played an audio recording of another tale centred on an Easter raffle – the latter had a touching conclusion, some sumptuous food descriptions, and was beautifully read.

Colm Black read a poem that riffs on Norman MacCaig’s ‘Aunt Julia’, using the opening lines as a springboard to explore memories of his own aunt. He also presented another poem reflecting on the death of Brian Wilson – songwriter and performer with the Beach Boys – that draws upon Shelley’s famous reflection on the futility of human endeavour, 'Ozymandias'.

Finally, David Goldie read a sequence of poems – a work in progress, as he described it – that vividly reimagines Elizabethan London, both alluding to and echoing Shakespeare's works.