Local poet Johnni Stanton writes up a report of the first ever Global Conditioning event, held in Craigmillar to mark World Community Arts Day.

As the first event of the World Community Arts Day programme to open, Craigmillar Writers Group hosted a packed event in SPACE, where local poets entertained a happy throng along with Edinburgh's Inky Fingers.

It proved to be a very lively evening for the near capacity audience of 100, including Kenny MacAskill MSP, Dr Donald Smith of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, who introduced the event, and Eleanor Livingstone, Director of StAnza, Scotland's one and only poetry festival. The Tyne and Esk Writers Group were also represented.

The compère, Harry Giles, was energetic, witty and a great poet in his own right as he began his duties introducing the wide range of poets on display.

Jak McKenzie, Nikki Barnes, Susan Heron, David Sisson, Peter Scott, Finbar, Josie Samuels, myself and Wir Makar, Diane Heron, were on fine form for the Craigmillar Writers Group, while Rose Fraser Rachel McCrum, Dickson Telfer and William Treeby, Colin McGuire, Katherine McMahon, Alec Beattie, Tracey Rosenberg, Andrew Ferguson shone for Inky Fingers. Guests the hirsute Milton Balgoni and Jordan Butler had everyone jumping.

Whoever thought you could enjoy a night of poems? Well, they certainly did in Craigmillar. It was a raucous, fun-loving, fantastic evening full of laughs.

I see no reason why we can't do this on a regular basis with partners from all over Scotland and our friends in Inky Fingers. We already have one invitation to take a show like this out to Prestonpans to link up with Tyne and Esk.

And why not? We have a great bunch of poets with some great poems. It's the new Rock n Roll - and won't cost you £80 a seat.

IN DETAIL

Global Conditioning – Facebook

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