Delighted to discover my poem “The Toadstone Amulet,” was chosen as Poem of the Week in the Scotsman on 20th May. I wrote this poem in response to the Scott’s Treasures Project when I researched the fascinating artefacts on view at Abbotsford House, the former home of Sir Walter Scott. The toadstone amulet immediately caught my attention – the stone was thought to grow inside a toad and was believed to protect infants from evil spirits and from being kidnapped by fairies.

The poem is also included in “I’m Coming with You,” the new anthology from Scottish PEN in celebration of their ninetieth year of supporting and defending the rights of writers world-wide. Copies of the anthology can be seen and purchased here.