Valerie Gillies

Edinburgh Makar

Valerie Gillies became the Edinburgh Makar, poet laureate to the city, in 2005. Her 'official' poems include The Balm Well in 2005, A Place Apart in 2006 and To Edinburgh, a poem composed for the opening by HRH Princess Anne of the new Edinburgh District Council building, Waverley Court, in 2007.

As Makar, Valerie read at the launch of the new Edinburgh Anthology, Luckenbooth, edited by Lizzie MacGregor, Polygon, 2007.

Read the poem "To Edinburgh" here.