16 September 2013

Makar appointment for the city of Dundee

Dundee has appointed its first Makar. Dundonian poet W.N Herbert will take up the position as poet for the city at the end of this month.

His first commission will be to write and perform a poem for Dundee's City of Culture campaign at a public event on 30th September to celebrate the competition deadline day at Dundee's City Square.

Appointed by Literary Dundee, the University of Dundee's initiative to promote literature in the city, the Makar responsibilities will be to mix traditional with technology with the aim of generating a new audience for poetry using social media platforms Facebook and Twitter and collaborating with computer games students at Abertay University to develop digital poetry projects.

W.N Herbert grew up in Dundee and recently compiled an anthology of poems 'Whaleback City' featuring Dundee with fellow author Andy Jackson. He has been shortlisted twice for the T.S. Eliot prize and twice for the Saltire and is currently Professor of Poetry and Creative Writing at Newcastle University.

Anna Day, Literary Dundee Director, said, 'Bill was the obvious choice because we wanted someone who straddled the world of digital and traditional, someone who had their heart rooted in the city but with a global outlook who could use the Makar position to spread the word that Dundee is home to a fantastic amount of poetic talent.

Professor Louis Natanson, who leads computer games education at Abertay University, said, "Bill Herbert's appointment as Dundee's Makar with an emphasis on digital is very exciting indeed. It shows not only how forward-thinking Literary Dundee is, but also how all of our city's creative communities work so closely together week-in, week-out. That sense of partnership and support is a big part of Dundee's bid to be UK City of Culture 2017.

"Bill is very respected for his poetry and we look forward to working with him, Dundee's games companies and our students to think about the possibilities for what 'digital poetry' could be. I don't know of any projects like this anywhere else in the world - it just shows how inventive Dundee is, and what wonderful things can come from creative people with different backgrounds working together on equal terms."

Stewart Murdoch leading Dundee's City of Culture campaign and Director of Leisure and Communities at Dundee City Council said, 'A Makar for Dundee will provide brilliant opportunities to celebrate our poetry heritage, to connect Dundonians of all ages with poetry, through events, schools and digital delivery and to discover, nurture and champion new voices for the future. W N Herbert, Dundee's 'brilliant and notorious maverick', will be an important and rich voice for the city.

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