A Rug of a Thousand Colours

About the Book:

A Rug of a Thousand Colours is an exploratory project between a Palestinian poet who is now a resident in Scotland and an established Scottish poet. The poems explore Tessa and Iyad’s personal responses to the Five Pillars of Islam. Although from different backgrounds the two poets form a dialogue which is interwoven throughout the poems and creates a vivid tapestry of ideas surrounding the Five Pillars of Islam. Each poet translates the other’s work so that each poem is presented in English and in Arabic.

Reviews:

Tessa Ransford has been a distinctive voice in Scottish poetry for nearly four decades. By refusing to conform to literary fashion or gendered preconceptions, she has enriched the poetic ecology. DONALD SMITH Ransford is an eclectic and committed poet; eclectic in her willingness to absorb whatever tradition of thought or craft fits her immediate purpose and committed to what have seemed to her inescapable spiritual and aesthetic truths.  Scottish Review of Books

Iyad Hayatleh and Tessa Ransford create a vivid tapestry of dialog exploring their different cultural backgrounds and views regarding religion, tradition and society. This is a powerful explanatory project between a Syrian/Palestinian poet who is now a resident in Scotland and an established Scottish poet, signifying a unity of imagination, experience and perception.  Scottish Review of Books

About the Authors:

TESSA RANSFORD was born in India, educated in Scotland and has lived all her adult life in Scotland apart from eight years working in Pakistan in the 1960s. She has published many books of poetry since the mid-70s and has been translated and published in Germany, Austria, France, Denmark and Japan.

Tessa founded the Scottish Poetry Library in 1984 and was director there until its establishment in new premises in 1999. She has an honorary degree for services to Scottish literature from the University of Paisley (now the University of the West of Scotland) and in 2000 she was awarded an OBE for her services to the SPL. Tessa was also founder/organiser of the School of Poets poetry workshop (1981-99) and editor of Lines Review poetry magazine for ten years. Founder of Scottish pamphlet poetry and active in Scottish PEN, she is also now the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at Queen Margaret University.

IYAD HAYATLEH is a Palestinian poet who was born and grew up in Syria in the 1960s. He started writing poetry early and published his work in Arabic magazines, giving many readings in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. He has lived in Glasgow since 2000, and has taken part in many events involving translation and poetry workshops, including Edinburgh International Book Festival. Some of his poems have been published in magazines and collective pamphlets in Scotland, as well as featuring on BBC radio.