The collections project Auld Reekie Retold ends this Sunday and to mark the event the winners of a poetry competition have been announced.

The competition was hosted with the Scottish Poetry Library and Hannah Lavery, the Edinburgh Makar.

Poems were based on the items exhibited there including pottery made at the Buchans factory in Portobello to a blue dress sold by Jenners in the 1980s.

Nico Tyack, Auld Reekie Retold project manager said: “The poems were of a really high standard, and had us laughing, smiling and even crying but they all moved us and showed us the amazing power of objects. We all see the same objects in an exhibition, but what they mean to us varies in so many ways. It was humbling to see the collections interpreted in such creative ways.”

Culture and Communities Convener, Cllr Val Walker, said: “The poems are a moving and beautiful closure to the Auld Reekie Retold exhibition and project. Auld Reekie Retold was all about celebrating the shared public ownership of the collections, so what better way to tell new stories about the city than letting the people of Edinburgh do the talking?”

The winning entries were;

Under-18
Jiffy Washing Machine by Archer Thomson Adams

Over-18 
First place, It is your turn, by Lynda McDonald

Second place, Mind?, by Alison Findlay

Highly commended
The Impermanent Collection by Iain Macfarlane and The Ballant o’ Hugh McKail’s Guid Beuk by Sam Phipps.

Full text of winning poems and images available here

City Art Centre – Auld Reekie Retold poetry competition winners PHOTO Greg Macvean
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