Writer Hannah Wilson issues a call to Paisley poets
WHEN I tell people I’m from Paisley, I get very different reactions depending on the audience.
For a lot of people, especially abroad, they go straight for the Paisley pattern.
Some think of Paisley’s famous sons and daughters: Paolo Nutini, Mhairi Black, Gerry Butler or Rafferty. And there was that one guy in a bar in Reykjavik who got really excited because I’m from the same town as the avant-garde musician Momus.
Striking a similar tone to the People Make Glasgow campaign that so many Weegies have taken to heart, the Paisley 2021 bid has been embraced by huge numbers of Buddies.
But Paisley, like everywhere else, has its problems. Ferguslie was once known as the worst slum in Europe, and it has consistently been recorded as the most deprived area in the country by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, a dubious honour which was renewed earlier this year.
In this context, the town’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021 was scoffed at by some. A BBC journalist put Paisley’s bid to a local punter, whose scathing response ended with the advice: "Before you can go for City of Culture you've got to freshen up the place."
Despite the naysayers, the bid website declares that "Paisley 2021 belongs to all of us".
Striking a similar tone to the People Make Glasgow campaign that so many Weegies have taken to heart, the Paisley 2021 bid has been embraced by huge numbers of Buddies.
Renfrewshire Council’s recent announcement of a half a million pound fund to support the local creative scene was a statement of confidence in this dual return on investment, and in the town’s artistic potential.
Walking around the town, you see pink 2021 badges on a fair number of coats and rucksacks. And the recent 'Pride of Paisley' art installation, which involved decorated lions being displayed around the town, lived up to the pun in its name.
The lions were incredibly popular temporary Buddies – I walked past a few where queues had formed to take photos. They were then auctioned off, raising nearly £80,000 for two local hospices. Proof, if ever it was needed, that local art can bring with it both a sense of community and financial benefits.
Renfrewshire Council’s recent announcement of a half a million pound fund to support the local creative scene was a statement of confidence in this dual return on investment, and in the town’s artistic potential.
The first round of funding supported projects spanning dance, music, drama and more. It funded everything from a local 17-year-old’s Lego film about the town, to a piece of gothic-horror visual theatre based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe.
It funded everything from a local 17-year-old’s Lego film about the town, to a piece of gothic-horror visual theatre based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe.
The breadth of projects and creators funded was impressive and bold. But there was one area of the arts that wasn’t yet represented: literature.
Paisley has a rich history of poetry, stretching back to the weaver poets and beyond. Robert Tannahill is said to have managed to attach a writing desk to his loom, so that he could write his poems about drinking and rubbish weather while continuing to weave Paisley pattern shawls: a strong candidate for the most Paisley thing that’s ever happened.
Poetry has never been absent from the town, and is gaining traction once again, with a successful Poetry Slam event having run for two years now.
In recent years, a new breed of small, grassroots, affordable literary magazines has emerged in cities throughout Europe, with examples including Paris's Belleville Park Pages; and Dublin's Bohemyth.
Paisley has a rich history of poetry, stretching back to the weaver poets and beyond. It has never been absent from the town, and is gaining traction once again, with a successful Poetry Slam event having run for two years now.
With the council’s Culture Fund bringing an anything-is-possible sense of achievability, I applied successfully to create Paisley Poems.
Paisley Poems is a biannual literary magazine, established to publish poems and poets that have a connection to Paisley. Poets could be Buddies who have lived in the town all their lives, members of the vast diaspora, or those who have a more circuitous connection with the town.
There are a few key ideas at the heart of Paisley Poems. Firstly, it has to be accessible, so it has to be cheap. With a pamphlet-style design, it will cost less than £2 to buy, and a number of local shops have agreed to stock it.
It’s also compact, so postage costs will be low for those who buy online. Secondly, it has to be part of the local economy, and I’m working hard to use local suppliers wherever I can. And above all, it must be interesting and it must be inclusive.
With the council’s Culture Fund bringing an anything-is-possible sense of achievability, I applied successfully to create Paisley Poems.
Which is why, as the submission period for Paisley Poems’ first edition opens, I want to encourage everyone to share their work, so that together we can create something that lives up to Paisley and its people.
Full submission guidelines and more information can be found at www.paisleypoems.scot and www.facebook.com/paisleypoems.
Picture courtesy of Paisley Scotland
Check out what people are saying about how important CommonSpace is. Pledge your support today.
