Unbridled: Women's poetry for our times

A superb collection of poems from women of all ages edited by Magi Gibson

Until recently I was not a poetry fan. I rarely read it. I never wrote it. And beyond a slightly battered copy of The Complete Work of Robert Burns, I didn’t buy any poetry books. Until I discovered the work of Magi Gibson.

Magi is one of Scotland’s best contemporary poets. According to Scotsman readers - and who am I to argue with such a discerning bunch, she is number 3 in the list of The 10 greatest poets from Scotland…that aren’t Robert Burns, and Scotland’s top female poet.

I knew her name as a leading cultural figure in Scotland, but I am ashamed to say that I had not read any of her work until we encountered each other - online - in the early days of the women’s rights campaign against the Gender Recognition Reform Act.

I was so impressed, she inspired me to write a column about the power of poetry. Here’s the poem that moved me to tears. It still has the power to make me cry.

It was her only her second poem, written in 1985 at her dining table.