Our usual host, Sam Tongue, puts two poems by the wonderful Yorkshire poet Caroline Bird, under the groupchat microscope. Caroline Bird has published eight collections of poetry to date; usually to great acclaim, awards and rave reviews. Her latest collection, Ambush at Still Lake (Carcanet) has her trademark surreal wit, and is a kaleidoscope of startling imagery, lyrical unexpectedness, and is typically hard to classify, but so easy to fall in love with.

UK Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage said of her: "Bird is irrepressible; she simply explodes with poetry. The work erupts, spring-loaded, funny, sad, deadly - you don't know if a bullet will come out of the barrel or a flag with the word BANG on it."

Sam Tongue took his customary immersive dive into two poems from Ambush at Still Lake: RSVP and Cuckoo. Find out what Sam - and the Friends Of The SPL group - got from these poems in our Nothing But The Poem podcast.

Ann an Hai-Àidh #7, tha Petra Johana Poncarová agus Donnchadh Sneddon a’ coimhead air dìleab Ruaraidh MhicThòmais mar bhàrd, neach-deasachaidh, agus iomairtiche, agus a’ bruidhinn mun leabhar-rannsachaidh a nochd am bliadhna bho Chlò Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival.

In Hai-Àidh #7, Petra Johana Poncarová and Duncan Sneddon look at Derick Thomson’s legacy as a poet, editor, and activist, and discuss the academic monograph Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival which came out earlier this year from Edinburgh University Press.

Ann an Hai-Àidh #6, thagh Niall O’Gallagher ‘Bisearta’ le Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa agus Alasdair C. MacIlleBhàin ‘Gur fad ’am thàmh mi gu tostach sàmhach’ le Dòmhnall Eachainn à Muile. Tha Niall agus Alasdair a’ leughadh nan dàin agus a’ bruidhinn orra, a’ lorg cheanglaichean eadar bàrdachd-cogaidh anns an fhicheadamh linn agus bàrdachd nam Fuadaichean anns an naoidheamh linn deug, agus a’ beachdachadh air an dàimh eadar snas an fhoirm agus cuspairean aognaidh.

For Hai-Àidh #6, Niall O’Gallagher chose George Campbell Hay’s ‘Bisearta’ and Alasdair C. Whyte went for ‘Gur fad ’am thàmh mi gu tostach sàmhach’ by Donald MacGillivray. They read the poem and discuss them, finding connections between twentieth-century war poetry and nineteenth-century poetry of the Clearances, and consider the tensions between formal beauty and disturbing subject matters.

The much-loved and much-missed Scottish poet and translator, Alexander 'Sandy' Hutchison, is the latest subject of the Nothing But The Poem podcast, presented by our regular host, Samuel Tongue.

David Kinloch said of his work: "Alexander Hutchison's poetry is elegant, flighty and absurdist by turns."

WN Herbert wrote: "Sandy Hutchison's poetry exhibits a gleeful acquisitive fascination with the language."

"A mentor, a bristling master, and a total original." - August Kleinzahler

The two poems by Alexander Hutchison discussed by the Friends of the SPL group in this podcast are Gavia Stellata and Everything.

A short audio recording to accompany the Moon Tell Me Truth exhibition at the Scottish Poetry Library.

Ann an Hai-Àidh #5, thagh Peigi Nic a’ Phiocair ‘Oidhche Na' Mo Chadal Dhomh’ le Nellie Ruadh, dàn a chaidh lorg o chionn ghoirid ann an tasglann, agus Joy Dunlop ‘An Roghainn’, aon de Dàin do Eimhir le Somhairle MacGill-Eain, mar òran le fonn ùr a rinn Dòmhnall Seathach. Tha Peigi agus Joy a’ leughadh, a’ seinn, agus a’ còmhradh air briathran blasta agus faireachdainnean làidir.

For Hai-Àidh #5, Peigi MacVicar picks Nellie Ruadh’s song ‘Oidhche Na' Mo Chadal Dhomh’, a recent archival discovery, and Joy Dunlop brings in ‘An Roghainn’, one of Sorley MacLean’s Dàin do Eimhir, set to music by Donald Shaw. Peigi and Joy read, sing, and chat about tasty words and strong feelings.

Our usual host, Sam Tongue, is back from paternity leave, and between feeds and nappy changes has recorded the latest episode of our regular Nothing But The Poem poetry podcast. Special thank you to Aoife Lyall for stepping in and producing 3 wonderful NBTP podcasts on Jane Clarke, Eavan Boland and Billy Collins. Much appreciated.

Sam's subject this month is Nuala Watt, an emerging poet, whose work is increasingly recognised for its unique voice, formal daring, and fierce authenticity. Nuala Watt is partially sighted and her poems lead us through "the bureaucratic labyrinth of government assessment, the anxious joy of expecting a child and, with verve and originality, the realities of being a disabled parent".

Fellow poet Alyson Hallett commented: "Sit down before you read these poems. Open the window. Open the door. There's a bolt of pure electric coming for you."

Sam took a deep dive into two poems from Nuala's debut poetry collection, The Department of Work and Pensions Assesses a Jade Fish, which has just been published by Blue Diode Press. Find out what Sam - and the Friends Of The SPL group - got from these poems in our Nothing But The Poem podcast.

Ann an Hai-Àidh #4, thagh Meg Bateman ‘Cànan na Deighe’ le Beth Frieden agus Joy Dunlop ‘Nam Aonar le Mo Smaointean’ le Iain MacLeòid. Tha Meg agus Joy a’ leughadh nan dàin agus a’ bruidhinn orra, a’ lorg ceanglaichean eadar dàn a tha cho ùr ’sa ghabhas agus òran tradaiseanta. Cuspairean a’ mhìos: dàimh ri àite, fuaimean fuachd, agus bàrdachd mar tùs-ùrachaidh agus mar chomas-iongantais.

In Hai-Àidh #4, Meg Bateman chose ‘Cànan na Deighe’ by Beth Frieden, and Joy Dunlop brought in ‘Nam Aonar le Mo Smaointean’ by John MacLeod. Meg and Joy read the poems and have a chat about them, bringing together a very recent Gaelic poem with a traditional song. This month’s themes include relationship to place, the sound of ice, and the power of poetry to make us look anew.