Kenneth C. Steven,
writer, poet

 

 

2007 was an exciting year. Often people assume that if a number of new books appear in print it indicates that the author has been particularly busy. Actually it's much more akin to waiting for a Number 59 bus and then finding that three turn up. For the writer it tends to mean that there's been a long wait for publishers to produce accepted books!

It certainly did take several years for a volume of selected poems, Wildscape, to appear from Peterloo in England. All the more exciting then when it did make its appearance just before Christmas. On the poetry front there had been a new collection from Saint Andrew Press, Salt and Light, and first CD entitled Sanctuary; both of these were launched at Dove Cottage in the Lake District, at a reading with Jack Mapanje, the Malawian poet.

Two new children's books were published: The Santa Maria, a novel for 8-12s set in the Hebrides, telling the story of two children's search for a legendary lost Spanish galleon. It's also a story about bullying, and about how the bullies can be beaten. The Dragon Kite is a picture book set in China and published by Tamarind.

Things were also busy on the broadcasting front. There were two programmes on the River Tay and one on the story of the life of the Gaelic poet George Campbell Hay for BBC Radio 4. What perhaps meant most to me was the making of a programme on bullying which involved me going back to my old school (where the physical bullying was deplorable and unchecked). Sections of my long short story, The Ice, were read by students from the RSAMD.

I've just finished my first collection of short stories after five years of slow preparation. You'll find Lemon Ice Cream here on the website, a story read on BBC Radio 4 in December. Please let me know your thoughts on it; later in 2008 I may post another story. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing from readers and to undertaking new events - readings, workshops and retreats - in the months that lie ahead.