Pauline Prior-Pitt’s ‘North Uist Sea Poems’ has won the prestigious 2006 Callum Macdonald Award for Pamphlet Poetry. At a ceremony held in Edinburgh at the National Library of Scotland, Lesley Duncan, poetry editor of The Herald, presented the prize of £500, and a silver quaiche, which Pauline will keep for one year.

Tessa Ransford, former head of the Scottish Poetry Library, and one of the judges said, “Her pamphlet is an article of supreme aesthetic quality. Add to that her spell binding reading of the poems and you have a talent and presence that can only bring authenticity, blessing and grace to our culture.”

‘North Uist Sea Poems’ is written like a journal. Between October 2004 and January 2005, Pauline visited Solas beach regularly and wrote about how the sea was on that particular day. After the devastating storm on January 11th the way down to the beach had become a 20ft drop, and at that point Pauline decided to put the poems together. Because of the storm, she wanted to make a commemorative piece of art-work. She had been on a bookmaking course at Taigh Chearsabhagh and so decided to design and make a small, square, hand-stitched book.

Commenting on the award, Pauline said that she is delighted to have won this kind of recognition for her poetry. North Uist Sea Poems has become a very special publication because it is about her favourite place on the island, Solas Beach. She thinks she may regret the fact that the book is handmade. She has already made over 200 copies, and orders are piling in.

For more details and to read some of the sea poems: www.pauline-prior-pitt.com