Poetic Justice is the working title of an event taking place in Edinburgh in October. The Justice and Peace commission of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh are organising an evening of poetry, story-telling and song on 11th October. I am very excited about this, partly because the Justice and Peace tradition of our Church is very close to my heart, but also because it is a real breakthrough for such a hard-working serious-minded outfit to recognise the part that creativity plays in working for change. Some very classy artists are going to be involved in this, but the only other name I can confirm so far is fellow Red Squirrel poet Anne Connolly. Watch this space.

This is stretching the concept just a little, but last week Red Squirrel Press announced the 4th James Kirkup Memorial Competition. The set-up is a little different this year, so please go the the Red Squirrel website for more information. Anne Connolly and I have been named as judges; we are both delighted to have this opportunity to give something back to poetry.

I can’t urge you strongly enough to enter this competition. Red Squirrel are fabulous people to work with. I’ll look forward to reading all your entries!