Maxine Rose Munro

Biography

Maxine Rose Munro is a Shetlander adrift on the outskirts of Glasgow. After spending the first eighteen years of her life exclusively on the islands, without even a small break for the holidays, the culture shock experienced on eventually seeing the wider world rocked her to the core, and is still rocking now. However, as the end result appears to be poetry, she’s fairly ok with this. Her poetry has been widely published both in print and online, exhibited at Stanza Poetry Festival, shortlisted for the SMHAFF Awards, and nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, displayed in railway stations, in GP surgeries, read out at a Scottish Ensemble performance, and included in a Scottish Poetry Library Best of anthology. After being diagnosed with ME/CFS, she recently took the decision to retire from the world of poetry and focus on family life. Anyone wishing to use any of her poetry can contact her via her email.

Sample poetry

60° North 60° North, but with a gulf stream that warms like a peat fire – both local specialties. Anywhere else on that latitude, we would be living like Eskimos, fishing through bore holes and catching whales for our tea. We do not need to snuggle in furs or wait till spring to start a stopped car. Instead we live in a land of legless sheep that float bizarrely through knee-high clouds, soaring birds, squalling birds, lots of birds, flowers that love the damp and all things soggy, and horizons as close as your nose. 60° North, for us a meaty broth that lines our metaphorical stomachs, a tangible truth wrapped in smug conceit. In this line around the world we are Unique. I have never seen the merrie dancers, or an otter, or the mareel on the ocean’s waves. My life has been altogether prosaic, but my people are a miracle of nature. Originally published Northwords Now Last Night Late last night the universe tried to write itself in a poem, one of space and depth, of dust and light, of how to be forever, but such a task is beyond even the multiverse – failed words shuddered apart, fell away, broken pieces landed as snow and covered the world with fractured poetry, and so all life awoke and wondered why the whole of forever lay on the ground. Originally published South Dastreen Late dastreen da universe tried ta scrit hitsel athin a poem, een o space an depth, o dust an licht, o foo ta be firivver, bit siccan a task's owre muckle fir even da multiverse – failed wirds shuddered apairt, fell awaa, brokken brucks drappit as snaa an happit da aert wi fractured poetry, an so aa life waakened an windered at why da hale o firivver lay apö da grund. Originally published Causeway/Cabhsair

Complete list of published work

‘60° North’ Northwords Now issue 30, Autumn 2015 ‘Fallen angel’ The New Shetlander no. 274, Yule issue 2015 ‘Faux’ Obsessed With Pipework No.73 ‘Shores’ Artificium - Two ‘Open your eyes’ Gold Dust Magazine issue 29 ‘Love Poem’ The New Shetlander no. 276, Simmer issue 2016 ‘Do Not Sit Idle’ Artificium – Three ‘Refuge’ Glasgow Women Poets, A Collection Four Em Press 2016 ‘Empty Rooms’ LOVE - A Collection of Poetry and Prose on Loving and Being in Love, book 2 in the Collections of Poetry and Prose book series ‘Apart from the light’ ‘Matryoshka’, The New Shetlander no. 277, Hairst issue 2016 ‘Last Night’ South 54 ‘Revelations and genesis’ ‘Tamar’s Poem’ ‘Family Ties’ ‘You’ ‘Bone Collectors’ all Sarasvati 043 ‘How to make friends’ ‘Burn’ Product Magazine ‘Edges’ The Open Mouse November 17, 2016 ‘Book child’ The New Shetlander no. 278, Yule issue 2016 ‘True tales’ The New Shetlander no. 279, Voar issue 2017 ‘Ancient Echoes’ The Clearances Collection, part of Last Footsteps Home Project ‘They were Old when I was Young’ The Open Mouse April 21st 2017 ‘On making an innocent comment in Paisley just after Brexit’ Paisley Poems, issue 1, Spring. ‘Up to My Neck’ Pushing Out the Boat issue 14 ‘The kettle tipped’ Gold Dust Magazine issue 31 ‘Moving On’ Ink, Sweat and Tears July 2017 ‘Today’ ‘The Traveller’ ‘The Fisher Wife’ ‘Advice To A Teenager’ all Obsessed With Pipework No.79 ‘Kindling’ shortlisted in 2017 Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival International Writers Award ‘Ball’ The New Shetlander no. 281, Hairst issue ‘Back’ Peeking Cat November 2017 Issue ‘Glass Bubbles’ Glasgow Review of Books, November 2017, also as part of 2019 Renfrewshire mental health festival - poster in Port Glasgow train station and Paisley Festival Hub. ‘Stitch in Time’ part of My Time project run by Scottish Poetry Library and Voluntary Arts Scotland, 2017-18 ‘Reflections’ Gold Dust Magazine issue 32 ‘Streams’ ‘Grey Lady’ Between These Shores Literary and Arts Annual, BTS Books 2017 issue 1 ‘A Simple Dish’ Ink, Sweat and Tears January 2018 ‘Pockets’ Words for the Wild January 2018 ‘Late Summer’ The High Window, Spring 2018 issue ‘Birdhouse’ ‘Roots’ ‘Dream’ Laldy! Issue One Poetry Kit Caught in the Net 171 small collection of ten poems as follows: ‘Still Life by Rock Pool’ ‘Golden’, first published here. ‘They were Old when I was Young’ (first published The Open Mouse, April 21st 2017) ‘60° North’ (first published Northwords Now, issue 30, Autumn 2015) ‘Edges’ (first published The Open Mouse, November 17, 2016) ‘Matryoshka’, (first published The New Shetlander, no. 277, Hairst issue, 2016) ‘Faux’ (first published OBSESSED WITH PIPEWORK, No.73) ‘Moving On’ (first published Ink, Sweat and Tears, July 30th 2017) ‘Refuge’ (first published Glasgow Women Poets, A Collection, Four Em Press, 2016) ‘On making an innocent comment in Paisley just after Brexit’ (first published Paisley Poems, issue 1, Spring 2017) ‘Man Made’ The Eildon Tree issue 30 ‘Generating’ ‘Contentment is Strange’ ‘Unmarked’ Nine Muses Poetry May 26 2018 ‘Sheatlan Shores’ ‘Dunna sit idle’ ‘Da kettle keeled ower’ The New Shetlander Simmer edition 284 (Shetlandic versions of ‘Shores’ first published Artificium - Two; ‘Do Not Sit Idle’ first published Artificium – Three; ‘The kettle tipped’ first published Gold Dust Magazine issue 31) ‘Under the Moon’ Words for the Wild Anthology ‘On a day like this’ ‘But on a day like this’ The Writers’ Cafe Magazine issue 11 “Into the Trees” ‘Me peerie een’ ‘My little one’ Three Drops from a Cauldron issue 23 ‘Catchin Giants’ ‘Oppen Haands’ Poetry Scotland 100 ‘Simmer Dim draems’ ‘Emigrant’ ‘We gadder tagidder’ The New Shetlander Hairst edition 285 ‘Satellites navigate’ ‘Glass Flicks’ Nitrogen House issue 2 ‘Took the moon’ ‘Dead eyes’ Intermission 1 ‘Word Child’ Ink, Sweat and Tears, Oct 2018 ‘Soothmoother’ Northwords Now issue 36, October 2018 ‘The wild time’ ‘The behaviour of sheep’ ‘We will cover your expenses’ The Blue Nib Issue 36 'The Hill' 'Shores' (first published Artificium 2)'Ballad of the Roadside’ Between These Shores Literary and Arts Annual, BTS Books 2018 issue 2 ‘Whiteout’ Armarolla Issue IV ‘Remembering Dad’ Picaroon issue 15 ‘Please,’ ‘Still Life be Rock Pool’ Pushing Out the Boat issue 15 ‘Glass Bubble’ republished as poster for Renfrew Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 ‘Mindin haet’ ‘Auld’ The New Shetlander no 288 Simmer 2019 ‘Separation Anxiety’ Bonnie’s Crew issue 3 ‘The Synesthetes Love Song’ ‘Ne’er Day Morning’ Nine Muses Poetry ‘He grows’ Ink, Sweat & Tears July 2019 (voted July Pick of the Month) ‘Monophobia’ Black Bough Poetry issue 2 ‘Ball’ (republished) issue 5 Bonnie’s Crew ‘Burn’ (republished) Dovetales Anthology ‘Bridges or Walls?’ ‘Hard to be alone’ Dear Reader Oct 2019 ‘O endins an beginnins’ ‘Of endings and beginnings’ Harana Poetry issue 3 ‘Snapshot’ Divine Darkness issue 4 Black Bough Poetry ‘Venus’ ‘Give me’ issue 16 The High Window ‘Kindling’ (republished) issue 86 Poems in the Waiting Room 'By the back door' 'In sickness' issue 5 Eye Flash Poetry Journal ‘You can’t eat a view’ issue 40 The Blue Nib ‘Dastreen’ issue 10.2 Causeway/Cabhsair (a Shetlandic Scots version of ‘Last Night’) ‘Summer Leaving’ ‘Late Summer’ (republished from The High Window) ‘Colours’ ‘Storm Hector’ ‘Reversal’ The Poet Winter 2019, The Seasons issue ‘Storm Song’ island & sea chapbook published by Scottish Writers Centre. ‘This magic lantern show’ ‘Catching Giants’ (an English version of ‘Catchin Giants’)Nine Muses Poetry ‘Godlike’ ‘Quickening’ The Lyrical Aye Richie McCaffery Poetry ‘Mother Tongue’ Acumen 97 ‘On the edge of the Arctic’ Ink, Sweat and Tears July 2020 'It's nothing' 'Testament' 'Little stream' Cerasus issue 0 'She's building a tower' 'What she seems' 'On Becoming A Snow-woman' 'Antarctica and the Milky Way' 'Dark Matter' Southlight issue 28 'Steps' 'My little one' (republished from Three Drops from a Cauldron) Kidstuff, Dreich/Hybrid Press 'Muses' 'Right noo, a'm here' 'Scotch Aipples' The New Shetlander, Yule issue 293 'A Perfect Christmas' 'Christmas Eve Guising' 'Ne'er Day Morning' (republished from Nine Muse Poetry) The Poet, Christmas 2020 issue. 'And you say' 'Light Out' The Fenland Poetry Journal issue 3 'Some things cannot be mended' 'The last strawberry' FEVERS OF THE MIND PRESENTS: The POETS of 2020 (also on the Fevers blog) 'Golden' (republished from Poetry Kit Caught in the Net 171) 'Losing the Moon' 'The Mousa Shepherds' 'Granny comforts me' The Poet, Childhood vol 2 The rest of the world 'An du says' 'Gless Bubble' Things to do with love, Dreich/Hybrid press 'January sun on a rainy day' The Dawntreader issue 53 'Before the rockslide, 1982' Words for the Wild 'You can't eat a view' (republished from The Blue Nib) Stanza Poetry Map of Scotland 'Please,' (republished from Pushing Out the Boat) CILIPS website (The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland) 'Muses' '60° North' 'Still Life by Rock Pool/Still Life be Rock Pool' 'Storm Song'(republished from The New Shetlander) Poetry Atlas website 'Learning' 'Laernin' Bella Caledonia Poem of the Week 'Mother Tongue' (republished from Acumen) 'Finnman' 'Let me sing a song of love' Iamb, Wave Five 'I wrote a poem for him' The Poet website poem of the day 'Man-Med' Poetry Scotland 101 'Aspects of a cat' Feline Utopia Ebook anthology 'My Selkie' The Dawntreader issue 54 'BonHoga' 'Seaglass' Pushing Out the Boat issue 16 'Finders Keepers' 'Da Sang' 'Reflections' 'Snow Child' 'da aald waevin shed' Dreich Season 2 Number 9 'This, my most honest of poems' 'Babel' 'On a hillside,' Fevers of the Mind Wolfpack Member May 2021 'Dear Mr HJW Gilman' 'Containing Eden' 'Sjusamillabakka' Fevers of the Mind Wolfpack Member June 2021 'Jacob's Poem' 'Hidden' 'Bubble Eagles' 'Waiting for foxgloves' Sarasvati issue 061 'January sun on a rainy day' (Originally published The Dawntreader) 'Catching Giants' (Originally published Nine Muses Poetry) 'Streams' (Originally published Between These Shores) 'She's building a tower' (Originally published Southlight) 'Godlike' (Originally published The Lyrical Aye) 'Muses' (Originally published The New Shetlander ) all on Paul Dragonwolf's blog for Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 'We will cover your expenses' 'The wild time' Pop!, Dreich Hybrid (both originally published by The Blue Nib) 'Last Night' (Published in multiple places, but first by South Magazine) 'Love Poem' (originally published by The New Shetlander 'The Portmanteau' 'White Butterflies' 'How it started' Afterwards, Dreich Hybrid 'Reynard' 'The Island Dogs' 'When this is all over' Fevers of the Mind Wolfpack Member July 2021 'Will you end this?' Despite Knowing, anthology on addiction, Fore Street Press 2021 'A Caald Haert' 'Denial laevin' 'Waitin' Causeway/Cabhsair 11.2 'I see mesel in him,' 'A Fine Day' 'Wild geese fly' The New Shetlander 295 Simmer issue 'First Disco ' 'Summer Snow' 'Sleight of Mind' Fevers of the Mind Wolfpack Member August 2021 (final one) 'Locked' 'It was' The Lockdown Lore Collection Project, permanent archive of the Elphinstone Institute, Aberdeen University 'Licht Oot' The Scores issue 10 'Haertstane' Poetry Scotland Issue 102 'Rapunzel is Shielding' The High Window Winter issue 2021 'Halcyon Days' 'Up Helly Aa' Black Bough Poetry Christmas & Winter edition Volume 2 'A fine day' Scottish Poetry Library Best Scottish Poems 2021 (originally published in The New Shetlander 295 Simmer issue) 'A fine day' Poem of the Week The Scotsman Magazine 16/07/22 'Seaglass' North East Open Studios catalogue 2022 (originally published Pushing out the Boat issue 16) 'Seaglass' Duet of Ghosts, Black Bough Poetry (originally published Pushing out the Boat issue 16) 'Turbulence' 'Strom Song' (originally published island & sea chapbook published by Scottish Writers Centre) The New Shetlander Yule issue 299 'Dastreen' (Originally published Causeway) The New Shetlander issue 300 'The field' Pushing Out the Boat issue 17

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.

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