For nearly twelve years I was one of the editors of
the literary magazine The Eildon Tree produced in the Scottish Borders by the Arts Service of the Scottish Borders Council.
I was lucky to be around when Tom Bryan then Writer In Residence to the Scottish Borders along with Iain MacAulay of Arts Service started the magazine. I came onboard at issue two Autumn 1999.
I was lucky to be around when Tom Bryan then Writer In Residence to the Scottish Borders along with Iain MacAulay of Arts Service started the magazine. I came onboard at issue two Autumn 1999.
During that first few years I was privileged to work
alongside not only Tom Bryan but also fellow editors Helen Allan, Stuart
Kelly and Jules Horne. Then later with Julian Colton and Carol Norris.
During my time as editor I co organised two writing festivals; co edited Wilderness an anthology of Poetry and Short Stories from a EildonTree Magazine writing competition; co produced Eildon Leaves A CD of stories and poems from the Eildon Tree magazine’s 1st 5years.
Recently to celebrate fifteen years of the Eildon Tree a special event was held at the Damascus Drum in Hawick.
During my time as editor I co organised two writing festivals; co edited Wilderness an anthology of Poetry and Short Stories from a EildonTree Magazine writing competition; co produced Eildon Leaves A CD of stories and poems from the Eildon Tree magazine’s 1st 5years.
Recently to celebrate fifteen years of the Eildon Tree a special event was held at the Damascus Drum in Hawick.
You can see some of the performances ( inc mine) here: https://www.youtube.com/user/BordersOpenMic Just scroll down a bit.
The magazine continues to go from strength to strength
under its current editors: Carol Norris, Sara Clark; Iona McGregor and Julian
Colton.
It is available through libraries and local outlets in the Scottish Borders. It can also be downloaded here:
They are currently looking for submissions for the
next issue. Have a look at the magazine
for details.
Below is an article I have in the latest edition. Lots
of fantastic stories and poems as well as articles and reviews. Well worth getting yourself a copy or
downloading it whether you are a reader or a writer. Or both.
EILDON TREE ARTICLE—READER IN RESIDENCE
This last year has been one of the quickest and most
enjoyable years of my creative life.
There has been so much happening, so many miles travelled, so many
enthuastic readers encountered at events across the Scottish Borders.
At one of those events a young reader asked what a
Reader In Residence did.
‘Do you sit in the corner of the library and read
books?’
Ahh now there’s a thought but no. Below I answer that question touching on some
of the events and activities I took part in working in partnership with the
library service.
The Reader In Residence post was one of only four
throughout Scotland in the last year.
Managed by the Scottish Book Trust and funded by Creative Scotland its
aim was to encourage reading across the ages and increased use of the library
service.
Scottish Borders Libraries faced competition from
libraries all over Scotland for this coveted project. It was my privilege as a writer to partner
the library service in its application and to work alongside it during the
twelve months of the residency.
I have been a reader and an active member of libraries
for many a year now. What I discovered
during the residency was how many people from eight to eighty shared that love
of books and libraries. That was very
encouraging in a time when we’re been told that books and reading are being
supplanted by the multitude of competing activities including TV and computer
games.
Maybe these activities are not separate to books but
part of the ongoing narrative. They all tell a story in some form. One of my main aims was to encourage people
to explore the vast resources of their local libraries. That includes books, newspapers, magazines,
DVD’s, electronic books and of course the expertise of the library staff. Libraries can be places of relaxation,
education, entertainment and research.
The local library mirrors its members and community in
being multi-faceted.
During these last months I have travelled the four
corners of the Scottish Borders discovering nooks and crannies of the region I
never knew existed. It has been a road
map of discovery for me. In a way that
coincides with a journey through your local library discovering corners of
knowledge and imagination that you might not have been aware off.
On those various journeys I’ve worked alongside
library staff in both the community and High School libraries to encourage,
maintain and develop the connection between reading and libraries.
To do this the residency concentrated on three main
areas.
Community, intergenerational and teenage reading.
The range and scope of the various events have been
enormous below is brief summary of what we’ve been doing.
Taking the residency out into the four corners of the
region via the Mobile Library during Book Week Scotland. Achieving a lifetime ambition of being Doctor
Who (for a day anyway!) at an event at Melrose Library—a day of daleks and
tales of Doctor Who through his various regenerations. Fans of various ages
made it a grand day in the Tardis that was Melrose Library. We did venture out of the Tardis onto the
streets of Melrose, Fez atop my head and sonic screwdriver at the ready in case
of a Cyberman attack!
One of the main events held in libraries, Family
Centre and schools was The Treasure Train.
This was an event which brought generations together, grandparents,
parents and children in a celebration of childhood reading. All the generations sharing through
discussion and reading from their favourite childhood books. Also by drawing or writing down memories of
their favourite characters a Treasure train of family memories are connected up
like the carriages in a train.
Enid Blyton was a favourite of past and present generations
but there were many others. This was an
event were personal memories created family memories through the connection
with books and libraries.
I also held writers workshops that used the resources
of the library to feed into the story or poem. This was to highlight it was well worth
exploring those nooks and crannies of the library to discover inspiration in a
section that maybe hadn’t been explored before.
We held many storytelling events during the year again
bringing families together in the library not only myself telling stories but
all the family working together to create their own stories.
The region has a thriving reading group tradition many
of which meet in the local library. My
visits to the various groups was one of pleasures of the residency culminating
as it did in a Readers Group Day at Galashiels library. A day of discussing all things books and
listening to our guest speaker Mark Douglas-Home author of The Sea Detective
and The Woman Who Walked into the Sea. An excellent way to complete the
residency.
Another main area the residency was encouraging
teenage reading. Again we are told young people don’t read nowadays. That wasn’t my experience.
I worked in
partnership with school librarians and English Departments to set up reading
groups in most of the regions High Schools.
These continue to flourish and are one of the main legacies of the
residency. Working alongside the young
readers was one of the most encouraging and stimulating experiences of the residency. The discussions were lively, informative, and
educational for me in that I learned of authors and books I have never come
across.
These groups are continuing into the new term with the
young readers themselves, with support from the school, taking over the running
of the groups and in some instances acting as ambassadors to younger readers in
the school.
The above is only a taster really of all that has been
happening. It has been a joy for me and
I believe a positive experience for the library service and readers. I have encountered nothing but enthuasim and
love of books and the local library.
The library is an energetic and endlessly stimulating
place. The staff work tirelessly to
serve their local communities and for me it has been a privilege to be part of
that environment during the last year.
During the last year I’ve discovered and rediscovered
books.
Article complete its time for me to get the coat on
and take a walk to my local library. The
library is one of the best page turners there is, you never know where the
narrative might take you.
Tom Murray
Scottish Book Trust Reader In Residence To Scottish
Borders Libraries 2013-2014.
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