Josephine Duthie
Aberdeen, Scotland

E-mail Address: mikejo628@btinternet.com
Please include the word 'POETRY' in the subject line of any email you send.

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Why write poetry, Poet?

I find it a very attractive and pleasurable means of expressing myself. Every creative person has a vehicle for their creativity and mine just happens to be poetry. My interest in Scotland's history and the Scottish way of life, especially past myths and legends helps to fuel this creativity and encourages me to research further into ' The wye it used tae be'.

How did you get started writing poetry?

An advert in a local newspaper, requesting work from new poets drew my attention to the fact, that having taken early retirement from 27 years of nursing in Aberdeen, I had been unknowingly searching for something to fill this gap. I became very intrigued with the idea and prepared a small piece of work for publication. It was accepted and I have never looked back.

I took a course in 'The Art of Writing Poetry' via The Writer's College, and to date I have been involved in several anthologies and magazines. I became a member of The Aberdeen Burn's Society and an occasional participant in 'The Dead Good Poets Society'.

Who were your influences?

While attending college to take higher English for the main purpose of improving my wordsmith abilities, I came across one of Ted Hughes poems 'Work and Play'. The strong visual imagery which this poem displayed, showed me how words can be used in a vibrant and energetic manner, and how with a lot of imagination, one could paint a vivid picture of the world around them and bring to life a refreshed image of years gone by.

I will never achieve Hughes' superb quality of the written word, but I will always be grateful for the deep passion he transferred into his manuscripts, and how this passion has kept me writing for many years.

Examples of poetry.

A Recipe For Autumn   A Special Place   After The Masterpiece   Autumn   Barbed Wire   Come Dance With Me   Coorie Doon   Daydreamer   Deathcamp   Down and Out in the Castlegate   Driftwood   End of Days   Fit Micht Hae Been   Grandmother   Gypsy Dance   Harvest Moon   Her Last Sunset   I Haud Ma Licker Weel   If   INTO THE MISTS OF TIME   Jist A' Thing   Look At Me   Ma Last Tuppence   MAGIC IN THE GLEN   Manhattan   My Dragonfly

Naked with Diamonds   Night Demons   Norman   Rain On Water   Reporting Live   Santa's Nose   The 'Backie' Singers   The Barn   The Day the Piper Fell   The Ghillie Callum   The Glen o' Weeping   The Hawk   The Heighlin' Mosquito   The Last Wolf   The Mermaid   The Old Library   The Stane o' Destiny   The Walk Home   The Wound   Voices In The Wind   Waiting For You   Wedding Day   When The North Wind Blows   Whuppity Scoorie   Your Diary

Examples of songs. Children In Need   Dunblane   Quines O' The Sea