The Pollokshields Pantoum (2021)
Pamphlet design by Wild Press (www.wildandkind.com)
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The Pollokshields Pantoum is a series of short poems in the form of Pantoums - a Malaysian verse form that has been adopted throughout Europe. The structure is made up of a series of verses, where two lines from each verse are repeated in the next verse and so on. This gave the opportunity to translate the lines in repetition into the four languages that are spoken in the area - English, Punjabi, Urdu and Scottish Gaelic. Martin worked with four groups to create the poems: The Pollokshields Bowling Green, The Hidden Gardens, The Pollokshields Community Food Point and Bunsgoil Ghàidhlig Ghleann Dail. The pamphlet is available to pick up free from Pollokshields Library. "When I think of Pollokshields I think of the many languages that are spoken here and the personal histories relating to place, identity, and home. I thought that the Pantoum would be an ideal structure to hold the voices of the people I met, with an exciting opportunity to play with different languages. This is a way for the languages to exist together, on the page, as one community voice.. I wanted to celebrate the diversity of language without hierarchy, allowing each and every person to contribute in their own way, their own language, and their own version of what Pollokshields means to them." Martin O'Connor, Artist Introduction. |