THE YOUNG WRITERS’ WORKS APPEAR AHEAD OF SIX OF SCOTLAND’S ACCLAIMED WRITERS AS THEY ALL SHARE THEIR LOVE LETTERS TO EUROPE.
Nathan (S2) from Balwearie High in Kirkcaldy, Louise (S3) and Arianna (S4) both from Braes High School in Falkirk have won a competition run by Edinburgh’s Hogmanay to write a love letter to Europe.
The three winners will have their work projected onto three buildings in Edinburgh between 4.30pm and 5pm just ahead of Message from the Skies which starts at 5pm and runs until 10pm each day until Burns Night on 25 January. Louise’s Dear Flachau will be projected onto the Tron Kirk, Arianna’s Dear France will be projected onto the Bongo Club at the Cowgate, and Nathan’s Paris will be projected onto the National Monument on Calton Hill.
The creative writing competition was open to all under 18-year olds in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and Stirlingshire.
Message from the Skies is a unique cross artform collaboration with ten of Scotland’s best artists, designers and musicians and six Scottish or Scotland based writers who have penned a love letter to Europe as part of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 19. Works by Chitra Ramaswamy, Kapka Kassabova, Louise Welsh, Stef Smith, William Dalrymple and William Letford are projected onto buildings in Scotland’s capital, the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, at the start of the year in which we may leave the European Union.
Nathan, age 12 from Balwearie High in Kirkcaldy said;
First of all, I’d like to thank my RME teacher, Miss Donnelly, for this amazing experience. Without her mentioning this competition to me, I wouldn’t be able to witness my story projected onto the National Monument on Calton Hill.
My poem first came to mind after thinking about some key themes, such as Love for Europe, and Peace. This little idea slowly grew into what I could call ‘my finished poem. The fact that I was chosen, out of all the other entries, made me feel extremely overjoyed! I’ve never felt so good. Message from the Skies has inspired me to keep writing.
Louise, age 14 from Braes High School in Falkirk said;
It feels amazing to be part of such an interesting project. The idea of projecting the letters on to buildings was so incredible to me so I was very excited to enter. I wrote my letter after looking through pictures of a holiday and listening to music. It suddenly hit me that the pictures were like little frozen memories that I could base my letter around. Seeing my story on such a big space where people can see it, is a very proud moment for me, I never thought something like this would happen.
Arianna, age 14 from Braes High School in Falkirk said;
I thoroughly enjoyed writing as a part of the Message from the Skies project though I had no idea I would win. I just wanted my letter to mean something, so I chose to highlight the importance of acceptance as well as the love that can be present even in the most difficult of times, which I think is incredibly important.
Suzy Glass, Producer of Message from the Skies said;
Arianna, Louise and Nathan’s winning entries will bring the voices of the young people of Scotland to the fore. Their powerful short pieces showcase and celebrate our personal, historical and cultural relationship with Europe. They will light up three major Scottish landmarks from now until Burns Night, standing side-by-side with Love Letters to Europe created by critically acclaimed writers Kapka Kassabova, Stef Smith and William Dalrymple.