A DISPLAY of artwork based on the work of a Musselburgh poet has opened in Edinburgh.

The theme of the exhibition at The Birch Tree Gallery on Dundas Street centres around the “evocative” poem Return of the Native by John Killick, who lives on Linkfield Road, Musselburgh.

The event, which builds on the success of a 2022 exhibition inspired by a poem by Lithuanian émigré poet Antanas Škema, continues to explore the “profound synergy” between poetry and visual art, the gallery said.

Each artwork was “conceived and created in response to the rich imagery and emotional depth” of Mr Killick’s poem, it added.

“The participating artists connected to the themes of landscape, belonging and how the concept of ‘native’ resonates with them. Their works bridge the worlds of literature and visual art, reflecting their personal interpretations of the poem,” the gallery explained.

Mr Killick, 88, was born in Lancashire. He has loved Scotland ever since childhood holidays spent in the country. For 30 years he was a teacher in schools, colleges and prisons. He spent the next 30 years working on communication and creativity with people experiencing dementia.

John Killick

He has always written poetry. He has published seven books on dementia and five books of poetry.

Mr Killick moved to Musselburgh just over a year ago but was a former resident of the town from 1999 to 2008, when he was a research fellow at Stirling University.

A member of the Tyne and Esk Writers, he is working with a colleague on an anthology of Scottish Bird Poems, and with another poet on a pamphlet of poems about East Lothian.

Artists exhibiting their work inspired by his poem Return of the Native are: Alison Jardine (glass), Angela Taylor (screen print), Anne Morrison (ceramic), Bruce Shaw (mixed media), Carol Sinclair (ceramic), Catriona Taylor (mixed media), Derek Boak (mixed media collage), Emmanuel Matt (oil), Gill Thompson (print/mixed media), Glynnis Carter (mixed media), Hanna Salomonsson (ceramic), Heather Armstrong (ceramic), Jurgita Galbraith (mixed media/embroidery), Paula Dunn (oil), Penny Hunt (oil), Peter Davis RSW (watercolour), Ruth Thomas (mixed media), Samantha Yates (stained glass), Stevi Benson (paper) and Susan Macintosh RSW (watercolour).

Mr Killick said: “I am humbled for so many wonderful works of art to come from a few words of mine.

“It proves how important creativity is, and how various people’s responses can be to a tiny spark of imagination.

“The poem is one of a sequence about the Hebrides, occasioned by more than one visit.

“It expresses for me the beauty of the land and seascapes, and the sadness of the effect of the Clearances, where the landlords evicted so many tenants so that they could make more money by farming sheep.”

Mr Killick will also be leading a seated event at the gallery on Thursday, October 3, 6-7pm, to celebrate National Poetry Day.

Entitled Poetry and Art: National Poetry Day with John Killick, he will read his poem and talk about what inspired them. Several of the participating artists may also share how themes of identity, belonging and emotional landscapes were evoked by his words. Booking is necessary via tinyurl.com/539w3dnb

The exhibition will run until October 4.

Return of the Native, by John Killick

In exile, he took the colours from the cloth.

Now he would give them back to the landscape where they belonged:

reddy-browns to the sun-scorched lichens,

purple and green to the heather-tops,

obsidian to the outcrops of rocks,

white to the sands and grey to the shallows,

cool blues into the translucency of the air.

Thus having unburdened himself of his memories

he had no need of the tweeds.