Makar’s tenure ends

First Minister John Swinney has thanked Scotland’s national poet, Makar Kathleen Jamie, for her contribution to public life as her three year tenure comes to an end.

The Makar’s work was celebrated at an Edinburgh International Book Festival event, attended by the First Minister, which saw award-winning composer David Paul Jones take Kathleen Jamie’s back catalogue of poems and set them to music.

Mr Swinney said:

“I want to thank Kathleen Jamie and pay tribute to the stellar work she has done over the last three years as Scotland’s fourth modern Makar, and as a national ambassador for poetry in Scotland and overseas.

“Her term as Makar will leave a powerful legacy. She encouraged the public to become engaged with the role by writing a series of collective poems curated from individual lines of poetry submitted by the people of Scotland. This allowed a large number of people to contribute to the important role of Makar. Kathleen has also recently completed a collective poem using lines from prisoners throughout Scotland on the theme of hope, which I am very much looking forward to reading when it is published shortly.”

Kathleen Jamie said:

“It’s been a huge honour to be Scotland’s fourth modern Makar and I have greatly enjoyed this role.

“I have performed at the opening of Parliament, written poems to commemorate the COP26 Summit and the life of the late Queen and I have toured libraries from Kirkwall to Coatbridge, tapping into the rich seam of grassroots poetry activities taking place across Scotland.

“In 3 'collective poems' I curated pieces from lines provided by hundreds of members of the public. We wrote a National Nature Poem, a Letter to the People of Ukraine, and a Letter to World Leaders. I was happy to be asked to extend this to the prison population and develop a poem on the theme of hope.

“The role of the Makar is vital in engaging a vast audience with poetry. Rather than speaking to or for the nation, I am most proud of enabling the nation to speak for itself, and keep poetry at its heart.”

Background
The role of Makar involves taking a leadership role in promoting poetry nationally, as well as producing work relating to significant national events.

Ms Jamie was Scotland's fourth Makar – she succeeded Edwin Morgan, Liz Lochhead and Jackie Kay.

The Scottish Government are considering the process to appoint a new Makar.