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Am Bratach No. 193
Dunnet, Caithness-born playwright, George Gunn, has embraced his appointment as writer-in-residence at Strathnaver Museum, Bettyhill, with great gusto, writes Fiona Burnett. Working alongside Borgie artist, Donna Murray, George — who began his residency at the beginning of September — is delighted to be involved in a Highland Clearances project with scheduled events taking place in the schools and communities of Durness, Tongue, Melvich and Bettyhill. “This is a subject close to my heart,” he admits, “because my middle name is Mackay — my grandmother’s people having come from Durness — and the Gunns came from Kildonan where they were cleared out in the early 1800s during ‘The Year of the Burnings’.” George (with the Grey Coast Theatre Company) is also working on a project with Dunbeath and Lybster primary schools on the same subject. The play is based on “Butcher’s Broom”, the famous novel by Dunbeath-born Neil M Gunn, with performances in Dunbeath on November 8 and 9, at 7.30pm, as part of the “Light in the North” festival. “This is the culmination of a 3-year project and I see it as a parallel with my work as writer with Strathnaver Museum,” he says. “My main focus, up to this point, has been with S1 and S2 at Farr High School. I’m working with them on a project called “A Walk in Strathnaver”. I’ve been introducing them to the idea that they can write poetry, that anyone can write poetry if they have the confidence and are given the chance. They have all risen to the challenge. Each one of their poems is an individual interpretation of their lived-in environment — the hills, the sea, the animals and the people, the weather. We will be working further on it throughout November and the children will present their work in a public performance, with music by Andy Thorburn (of “Blazin’ Fiddles”), in the school hall at 7.30 pm on Friday November 30. “This will be a very exciting event for all of them as they will have responsibility for their own work. My job is to ensure that it is as good as it can be. I want them to be proud of their creativity and of what they have achieved. I believe if a child is confident in expressing themselves, if they are sure of who they are and where they come from, then there is nothing that child cannot achieve.” He is also keen to find out how much literary activity there is in the district. “The area is rich in poetry, I know. But there may be lots of folk secretly, alone, struggling with a novel, a short story or a play, or poems — who knows? But I want to find out.” Writers’ workshops will be held in Farr High School Library on November 13, 20 and 27, and on December 4, at 7.30-9.00pm. These will be free, informal sessions open to everyone, “just to see who is interested and for writers to meet other writers and to find a sense of creative solidarity and common purpose”. Forthcoming events include a Rob Donn night (details to be confirmed) with a modern Scottish writer who will talk about the celebrated Bard of Strathnaver. Adds George: “One of the things I want to leave the museum is a series of poems about Rob Donn which will be my response as a contemporary Highland poet to my illustrious predecessor. In this I plan to collaborate with the artist-in-residence, Donna Murray, and we are planning an exhibition which perhaps can tour the Mackay country in early 2008.” |