Chicken scratchings and community gatherings
Community events, an open call for new writing and early-birds catch Chicken Coop tickets
Hi everyone! Hello! And welcome to the Good Egg community, new subscribers!
I hope everyone’s having a lovely week between the rain and the sun. Will July ever make up its mind? Probably not, we live in Scotland after all. Anyway, some slightly less cheerful news…
If some of you follow me on Instagram, you may already have seen my post about taking a performance break. Content warning for anyone who hasn’t seen this post, it contains references to mental health, anxiety, and depression.
I will say I’m okay, I have what I need for now and my care and support will change as necessary. Depression is difficult and confusing, but listening to what my mind and body need right now and choosing to step back from performing for a while is better than potentially harming my mental health further.
The Good Eggs, Coop and Inkubator have all been lifelines for me this year. I’m really grateful to be able to spend time with our community to be creative and process some of these things without having to talk about them directly. That being said, it’s okay to talk about our challenges at the Coop as long as we’re respectful of each other, our boundaries, and our experiences. Sometimes it’s all a bit heavy and we want to have fun, and I totally respect that too. This post and this check-in are to let you know that there is space for you if you need it and where my capacity is limited, I’ll do my best to sign post you to helpful resources.
If you are struggling with the content of my post or with your mental health, please know you aren’t alone and Scottish Action for Mental Health has resources available.
Join us for a chicken scratch night
This month, we’re slowly winding down for a break over August, which is why the second of our Sketchy Beats community writing groups will be a new material night!
Join us on Monday, July 22 from 6.30-9.30 pm for an evening of new writing from the Good Egg community, which means we’re welcoming writing from anyone who has attended a Good Egg community writing group, the Chicken Coop, or The Inkubator.
We have 15 ten-minute slots available, if you’re keen to share your work with us, you can sign up for a slot here.
The Chicken Scratch Night is free to attend, but you can donate £5 to Sketchy Beats to support their free-to-use community space. They have QR codes in the venue, payment links online, and a donations bucket which we’ll pass around on the night.
The Good Egg Project won’t be taking any money from this event, because Sketchy Beats is one of our homes and we’d like to make sure they’re getting the support they need to keep this vital community space and resource available for people across Leith and Edinburgh.
Community events
A little further afield, but Hotchpotch is back on Wednesday, July 10, for their monthly open mic at Blend on Dock Street in Dundee. Hotchpotch encourages writers to read and share their work with an audience. Their 5-minute timeslots are given on a first-come, first-served basis. The events are set at £2 donations to help cover venue costs, but unwaged people can go for free.
Find out more about Hotchpotch events here
Local writer and facilitator Jj Fadaka is hosting this creative writing and collage workshop for queer, trans, intersex and non-binary people of colour as part of LGBT Health and Wellbeing’s July events programme. Join Jj on Saturday, July 13, from 2-4 pm for an experimental writing workshop using creative writing and collaging with maps to embody and celebrate the connection between the body and the natural world. Please note, this event is for LGBTQ+ Black and people of colour age 16+.
Reserve your space here
Join Lavender Menace at Edinburgh Palette on Sunday, June 14, to meet and chat with other queer readers or tour the archive with volunteers. You can also enjoy reading the books in their new reading chair!
Find out more here
For a slightly different approach to creativity and writing, the Collage Club is back for its next event at North Merchiston Club on Monday, June 15. This month’s event theme is summer (maybe you can conjure us some sun while you’re there). All materials are provided, but you can bring extra materials or personal projects to work on as well. Entry is by donation and recommended donations are between £3-£5.50, which helps to cover venue hire, materials and the planning of future Collage Club events.
Get more details and book tickets here
I love writing using collage techniques, there’s something really fun about holding words in your hands and using them like jigsaw pieces. I highly recommend this for anyone who is a little stuck with writing!
With two stunning issues under their belt, Outcrop Poetry is back with its third issue! The latest issue will be launching in Edinburgh at Fruitmarket Gallery on Tuesday, July 16, with an evening of poetry from the publication’s contributors.
Learn more here
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