The Scottish Poetry Library
Edinburgh is a city of hidden secrets. Treasures tucked down the closes and wynds of Old Town that the casual visitor may walk straight past without noticing. This is especially true on the succession of roads collectively called the Royal Mile connecting Edinburgh Castle above to the Palace of Holyrood House below. On that path, just off of Canongate, is Crichton's Close. From the Royal Mile it doesn't announce itself, and at first glance the close doesn't particularly invite exploration. Exactly the sort of little close that looks like not much more than an alleyway, and easy for the visitor to pass entirely. But it is here that one of Edinburgh’s treasures lies. The only indication that might lead you to it being a simple non-descript sign stating that down this path, sitting quietly partway down, lies the Scottish Poetry Library. One of those places that rewards exactly the kind of curiosity that Edinburgh always repays.
The building itself won't be what you expect. Purpose-built in the late 90s, it's modern in a way that sits slightly apart from the medieval Old Town surrounding it, though Edinburgh is full of such juxtapositions, different centuries sitting alongside each other without much apology. Step inside, particularly on a summer day, and the first thing you notice is the light pouring in from the clerestory windows above. The second thing you’ll notice is the quiet and calm. Respite from the tourist chaos of Edinburgh in summer.
Edinburgh was UNESCO’s first “City of Literature,” making its quiet closes a natural home for this hidden gem. Envisioned by a poet named Tessa Ransford, it started with a handful of donated books. That collection has grown over the years to over 30,000 items. It is a collection which fully reflects Scotland. Alongside poetry in English, you will find work in Scots, Scots Gaelic, Doric, and Shetlandic, languages and dialects that are inseparable from Scotland's historic literary identity and that too often get overlooked even in Scottish institutions. The outlook though is international. This is not a library that turns inward. Poetry from across the world sits alongside the Scottish collection reflecting the modern Edinburgh, a truly international city with residents and visitors from every corner of this world.
Poetry is a living thing, something that changes and morphs in meaning with each new person that encounters it. This is a truth understood by the Scottish Poetry Library. It does not simply put poetry up on a pedestal, held at a reverent distance. No, while it does have some archives and special collections, it is actually a lending library, with most of its collection available to be borrowed. This may surprise some visitors. In fact, as long as you are somewhere in the United Kingdom they will even lend to you by post for free. There is a small shop where you can take a little piece of the place home with you. A little corner with a kettle invites you to make yourself a cup of tea or coffee for a very modest sum and simply sit for a while in the quiet and the light. The library also has a podcast for those who want to take the poetry with them when they leave. And keeping watch over all of this are several of the famous Scottish Book Sculptures, those extraordinary anonymous paper artworks that appeared in Edinburgh's literary institutions in 2011, intricate and delicate objects carved from books, and now something of a symbol of Edinburgh's relationship with the written word. It is, in short, exactly the kind of place that makes you want to stay. It is a hidden treasure that deserves your visit and support. -— https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk
