Fireopal

Books

Our most recent publication is Savage Stories, by Jean Rafferty, a collection of dramatic monologues about men’s violence to women – from a raid in Viking times to a stoning in modern Iran.

World War II may have begun more than 80 years ago but it still resonates in our lives. Our writers look back to family members they have never met, to situations they have never experienced, to events that we still struggle to comprehend.

In the UK we are justifiably proud that we stood up to fascism and the dictatorial regime of Nazism, but the downside has been our deification of military power and (mostly male) heroism. Even as women have gained more equality, the dominant figure in our culture has become the cartoon superhero.

In Dove Tales we honour the people who fought on our behalf but we question the wisdom of militarism as a solution to the problems of the world.

And we do not want to see any more of our sons and daughters offered up as cannon fodder, no matter how important the principle.
We deserve better from our leaders.

Every year Dove Tales does an event for the Mexican Day of the Dead, usually remembering those who have died in war.
2021 was different. Our event coinicided with the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow. Our question this year was, would we soon be mourning our own planet?
The conference discussed many things, but war and the arms trade were not on the agenda.
Well, it was on ours, and this pamphlet is the result.
We care. Why don’t they?

Now Ukraine came out when Russian tanks and missiles had laid waste to the cities of Ukraine and millions of Ukrainians had fled their native country.

A Dove Tales pamphlet might seem a risible response to such a catastrophe. When the world burns you write poetry?

But publishing this collection meant that voices other than those of the powerful were heard. The collection features poetry by some of the most distinguished writers in Scotland.

Peace, the word the world forgot. Gaza, Ukraine, Darfur, Yemen… the list goes on and on. We live in a world flooded with weapons, a world where people have forgotten how to talk to each other.

In Kiss, Warriors, Kiss, Dove Tales members and writers and artists from the wider Scottish literary community reflect on peace and what we lose when we value profit over people.

Ray Evans is a poet of rare sensitivity and grace. A well known and sometimes controversial figure in Scotland’s literary scene, he has never been afraid to tackle difficult topics and this, his third collection, is no exception. In Might As Well, I Can’t Dance he examines the nature of death in a series of haunting poems which are deeply personal and evocative, yet tinged at times with mordant wit.

Colin Rutherford is a fresh voice, bringing a distinctive mix of humour and pathos to a wide range of subjects, from early memories of his father to baseball to the First World War.

Imbued with sensitivity yet possessing irrepressible irreverence, this collection will entertain and move you.