Discover Issue 51, Winter 2024

Excerpt from 'Stevenson, social justice and some Swift fever', page 3:

One of this year’s highlights was our acquisition of Jackie Kay’s archive in September. The former Makar visited us and together we went through some of the items, many relating to her literary career and many more relating to her family and loved ones. Jackie is a most generous writer – through her candour, her wit and her acute observations of those around her. She’s also hilarious – and full of fascinating stories about her family and other literary giants she has been close to. Largely unedited by the author, the archive consists of written drafts, journals, family photos, correspondence and ephemera from various social justice movements. Read more about Jackie and her archive on pages 14–17.

We played a bit part in the global phenomenon that is Taylor Swift back in June. The display next to our reading rooms held a sample of the literature that influenced her lyrics, plus magazines and books from our collections with Swift on the cover. We also had some friendship bracelets made by staff Swifties. This display did not go unnoticed by fans young and old. For a long weekend in June, Edinburgh was filled with Swifties from all over the world, with record-breaking numbers attending concerts at Murrayfield. One of our curators, Sarah Thomson, was able to get a ticket. On pages 27–29, Sarah gives us an eye-witness account of the gig and explores the superstar’s rise over the years, as well as her continued influence on political developments in the US.

We interviewed social justice playwright Nicola McCartney about her work to give voice to people who are not typically heard. McCartney is leading on a project for National Theatre of Scotland in partnership with us and Who Cares? Scotland, where the oral histories of at least 100 care-experienced people will be recorded. The recordings will be held in our collections in perpetuity. We hold few of such voices in our archives. In 2020 we made a commitment to remedy historic biases and place more emphasis on collecting underrepresented voices and perspectives. It is a privilege for us to take part in this project as custodians of these stories. Read more about McCartney’s work and the project on pages 23–25.

Robert Louis Stevenson is experiencing a resurgence in popularity and focus in literary and academic circles. To coincide with our display about the ‘Treasure Island’ writer’s time in Samoa, we have an academic and literary double-header on pages 9–13. Hilary J. Beattie of Columbia University, a friend of the National Library of Scotland, tells us about a hitherto unknown poem that she found in our collections relating to Stevenson’s stepdaughter, Belle Strong. Meanwhile, Edinburgh’s new Makar, Michael Pedersen, gives us a personal account of getting to know Stevenson and giving him a voice in his forthcoming novel, which is due for release next spring.

This is just a taste of what is in store in this edition of our magazine, which takes us into our centenary year – read more about that on page 7. We’re planning a number of exciting programmes to celebrate our big birthday next year, so to keep up to date, we encourage you to sign up to our newsletter (via our website) if you haven’t already.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you.

Amina Shah
National Librarian and Chief Executive