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Morag Smith
Author Bio
Morag lives in Paisley and was brought up in working class Glasgow. She started writing poetry about 8 years ago and since then has been published in e-zines, magazines and anthologies, including the Scottish Poetry Library Best Scottish Poems of 2023 (Dec 2024), Poetry Ireland Review, The Scotsman and Gutter.
Morag is the winner of the 2021 Paisley Book Festival /Janet Coates memorial poetry prize, was commended/shortlisted in the Ginkgo ecopoetry prize in 2021 and twice shortlisted for the Bridport poetry prize. Her first pamphlet, 'Background Noises', published by Red Squirrel press in November 2022, won the inaugural William Bonar poetry award and is about the human and ecological history of a semi-derelict psychiatric hospital in Renfrewshire.
Morag has performed at and facilitated numerous events and has worked/collaborated with writers and visual artists (Moira Buchanan , Morphologies, Six Foot Gallery, 2018/9). She was a Mirrorball/Clydebuilt apprentice in 2019-21. Morag was part of the Off Page 2025 visual poetry project group. Her first collection is due out from Red Squirrel press in 2027.
Synopsis
'Notice to Leave' takes place in the intersections of human life and animal life, nature and urban dereliction. It is inspired by the past history, derelict present and uncertain future of two historic hospitals in Renfrewshire.
One has lain vacant for decades and is crumbling and vandalised, the other is also semi derelict but is still an important green space with an abundance of wildlife and plant life. However, the demolition men have moved in.
With a mix of poetry, and photography found in the human and animal lives, histories, documents, social media and memories around these spaces, Morag Smith goes on a deep dive into their past, present and precarious future. The people who are part of their history, from nurses to urban explorers, mingle with foxes, birds, plants, trees and rare and threatened wildlife. All are witness to the casual neglect and destruction wrought in the name of politics and profit.
The poetry and photography ranges from minute examinations of the natural life that can be found in forgotten buildings to celebration of the green spaces, ancient woodlands and accidental beauty in dereliction. Notice to Leave is a pamphlet of protest and bears witness to the stories, memories and betrayals that can be found in the bricks.
