Poetry through the periscope

The voices of top European writers have been brought to Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart campus.

They are available at the touch of a button on a bright yellow 180cm-high steel structure nicknamed a jukebox of verse.

It contains 30 poems by 30 writers both in their original language and in translation.

And the poetry periscope gives passers-by the option of pressing for a random poem or staying longer to enjoy the whole curated selection.

Craiglockhart is a particularly appropriate location for the Periscope being the scene of the first meeting of war poets Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) and Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) 100 years ago.

The periscope has been placed close to the campus’s War Poets Collection which gives an insight into war through the words and objects that the officers, medical staff and relatives left behind.

Work of poetry grandees like Titos Patrikios (Greece) and Friederike Mayrocker (Austria) as well as that of up-and-coming writers is included and the featured poet representing the UK is Edinburgh-born writer Jackie Kay.

The periscope has been installed courtesy of the Edinburgh City of Literature Trust,