Depositions - A Book Launch and Poetry Event

Join us for a special gathering with UNESCO-affiliated poet Anton Floyd sharing stories and poems of the experience of displaced people and refugees everywhere through his remarkable collection Depositions.

Spoken word, readings in many languages, music and refreshments.

All welcome. Free admission. Any donations to UNHCR

7 October 13:30 – 15.00 pm

MacDonald Road Library (Leith Walk), 2-8 McDonald Rd, Edinburgh EH7 4LU

Internationally acclaimed poet Anton Floyd shares excerpts and stories from his remarkable collection Depositions which was recently selected by the National Library of Scotland to showcase National Poetry Day in Scotland.

Already acclaimed in a multi-lingual edition, published under the auspices of the UNHCR, this special illustrated edition of Depositions is now published with the support of the Gaelic Book Council in the native languages of Britain and Ireland and will be featured in a special presentation at this year’s Royal National Mod in Oban.

Depositions is a unique literary resource giving voice to the oppressed throughout the world and, in the opinion of many, has the potential to become a modern classic. Presented as an epic journey, we collectively witness the trials of forced migration, desperate journeys and the sadness of separation – experiences very familiar to the peoples of these shores, whether new Scots or old.

Beautifully illustrated, this new ‘Celtic’ edition of Depositions is sure to invite reflection on the deep ties that bind us all and promote understanding of one of the most pressing challenges of our age.

Now Available in 26 Languages

A first edition of Depositions, with translations in 21 languages, was recently published in Ireland, where it generated an enthusiastic response by successfully engaging with native speakers of many languages, especially those who are victims of forced migration and persecution. To build on this momentum, we commissioned a special edition to promote similar discourse among diverse community groups in Britain, including native language speakers. In this task, we were fortunate to have the services of Celtic language scholar, Professor Seosamh Watson, of University College Dublin, with the Gaelic translation undertaken by Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, one of Scotland’s most celebrated Gaelic poets and singers.

Depositions is a work long in the making. The author, himself a refugee, developed this epic poem of 120 tercets which traces seven stages of exile and the search for sanctuary. After volunteering at a Direct Provision Centre for refugees in Cork, Ireland he workshopped the poems with different groups of traumatised asylum seekers and hundreds of hours were devoted to finding translators, editors and reviewers to make the poems accessible in the mother tongues of major migrant groups. Their stories echo the despair and tragedy which resonates through our own history in Scotland, when so many men, women and children were stripped of their land and possessions and forced into exile. Sadly, with Gaza and Ukraine in headline news and so many other conflicts across the globe, the need for discourse and understanding on the plight of displaced people has never been greater.

Scan the code to listen to downloadable songs by artists inspired by Depositions, and for news of forthcoming translations, audio recordings and more. So far, verses from the poems have been translated into Greek, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Ukrainian, Armenian, Russian, Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, Farsi, Mandarin, Tamil, Urdu, Tigrinya, Kiswahili, Lingala, and Kikongo.

They are collected, together with Irish translations of the tercets and alongside longer poems written in English, in the first edition of Depositions, published in association with Doire Press, ISBN 978-1-907682-93-3.

UNESCO-affiliated

Host or Publisher Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council -