PREAMBLE
Pakistan are finally back in Poetry World Cup action after a slightly controversial walkover in the second round: Ireland’s representative, Anatoly Kudryavitsky, withdrew on the grounds that he felt the result was a foregone conclusion. Since then, Pakistan’s vote total has been overtaken by several other countries, and Scotland — the last European representatives in the tournament — have plenty of reasons for optimism heading into today’s match. Taking inspiration from Shakespeare’s best-known Scot once again, can Ryan Van Winkle’s poem ‘Like valour’s minion/ Carve out [its] passage’ to the World Cup semis?
MEET THE POETS
Ryan Van Winkle comes from Connecticut, but has been based in Edinburgh for over a decade and represents Scotland in our world cup. He is currently Poet-in-Residence at Edinburgh City Libraries, and he records a weekly podcast for the Scottish Poetry Library. The Glasgow Review has described his poetry as being “at the forefront of a shift to something new, it is on the way to a perfection of some new movement.â€
Mehvash Amin is currently editor-in-chief of HELLO! Pakistan, and was editor of lifestyle magazine Libas International for 11 years. Her poetry has been published in an anthology, ‘Tangerine in the Sun’, and in a number of international magazines, including Vallum and Sugar Mule. ‘Karachi’, the poem chosen to represent Pakistan in the Poetry World Cup, was among The Missing Slate’s Pushcart nominees last year.
FORM GUIDE
Pakistan notched up the highest vote total of the opening round in a 28-vote win against Ghana, but will they be lacking match sharpness after the bye in round two? Scotland, meanwhile, have safely negotiated two all-European matches, finishing 9 votes ahead of Denmark in round one and eight votes ahead of Russia in their last game. Most importantly, they’ve done much, much better than England.
            
If you are reading this
I hope you are going slow,
that the gulls have clasped
their constant beaks. If
the roads are icy, test
the brakes when you are alone
see if you slide. Leave
the fools and cowboys
to their wreckage…
~ Ryan Van Winkle
We must learn to quarter fear,
dice it, serve it on plates
in manageable portions.
Instead, it is etched like
a hologram against the sky,
starting out of the sockets
of buses burnt on the road…
~ Mehvash Amin
RESULT: Pakistan won by 23 votes
READ MORE…
Guardian profile of Ryan Van Winkle.
Ryan Van Winkle’s ‘World Cup poems’, from the 2010 tournament.
Ryan Van Winkle’s podcasts for the Scottish Poetry Library.
Various A/V links, via Ryan Van Winkle’s website.
Ryan Van Winkle’s ‘virtual book tour’, visiting blogs across the world.
Vallum’s Poets from Pakistan issue, including work by Mehvash Amin.
The South Asian issue of Sugar Mule, including two Mehvash Amin poems.
Soniah Kamal interviews Mehvash Amin.
Mehvash Amin’s twitter page.
Blaine Merchand’s ‘Reading Pakistan’ essay, from Vallum.
