Colin Will began writing, mainly poetry, in 1961, but then wrote nothing between 1965 and 1985. In the interim he became a scientific librarian, adding a science degree and a doctorate in information science to his library qualifications. His first published poem was in 1989, and his first book— Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Highlands, and more—was published by Diehard in 1996. Between 1998 and 2016 he ran Calder Wood Press, publishing 61 titles, mainly poetry pamphlets. His first Red Squirrel Press poetry collection was The Floorshow at the Mad Yak Café, published in 2010, followed by The Propriety of Weeding in 2012 and the haibun collection, The Book of Ways, in 2014. He also writes short stories, and his debut short story pamphlet for Postbox Press is Getting On, published in 2016. He has written song lyrics, and his first short play was performed in 2017. He’s also a musician, playing saxophones and clarinets.

 

He has chaired the Boards of the Scottish Poetry Library and the StAnza Poetry Festival, and he is currently one of the team behind the CoastWord Festival, which takes place annually in his home town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. He was Makar to the Federation of Writers (Scotland) in 2011 and President of the Scottish Library Association in 2000. These new poems were almost all written between 2012 and 2016. Their subjects are as varied as Colin’s interests—music, art, science, politics, landscape, nature and human nature. Its publication date coincides with his 75th birthday, and he has no intention of slowing down.

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