Ian was invited to read at the well-respected book festival on 7th May, dishing out a session of storytelling on the theme of islands - a journey from one to another.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forest Cafe, Edinburgh

As part of the launch of Northwords Now, Ian read at the arts and literature venue's popular 'Golden Hour' evening,  from his his St. Kildan Stories feature from the magazine's Spring 2011 issue.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Voyages through maritime stories.

You can trace the routes of the enduring stories of North and West Scotland by following the sea-routes that connect them. You can find echoes of the same core story in areas hundreds of miles apart but along a navigable route. You can trace recurring themes – premonitions, lovers who can never meet, links across generations, a pattern of three the need of eloquence to save you from hostile conditions.

They are not all sad in tone, there is trickery and wit and the sheer exhilaration that comes from driving seaworthy boats towards the limits of their capabilities.

Since his Creative Scotland Award in 2002, Ian Stephen has sailed the routes
suggested by many of these stories, in different vessels. He has been sharing them as live performances, or in web-logs, or workshops. They have been told in settings ranging from the island of Ouessant off the Brittany coast to the city of Olomouc at the heart of the Czech Republic.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Fathoms and Metres' is the working title of a non-fiction book which alternates the retelling of traditional stories with accounts of navigating through their geography.  The range of the work is a route from Brittany to Iceland but of course there are diversions.  These include a sweep to the Baltic and a detour out to Rockall.  Thes stories are not all maritime in nature but are selected because there are natural connections between them, a chiming of themes.

As a sailor, Stephen has covered most of the routes in a variety of vessels, ranging from sailing as mate on a 67ft ex BT Challenge yacht to skippering a 75 year old open Lewis boat across the open water between Lewis and Orkney.

Photo by Colin Myres

He has now begun to transcribe the telling of them to a written form but one which will  keep the spoken voice in it. The book will alternate the telling of the stories with a brief log of the voyages which allowed him to experience the geography that is a central to them.

Ian has been publishing poetry and short stories internationally since 1979. But he has also had parallel careers as a coastguard officer and now as a sailor. All this time he has also traveled to Festivals and toured schools, universities, and arts centres to perform the stories.

Ian and Clare Murphy at Cape Clear Festival's 'Ask the Audience'. Photo by Mats Rehnman.

“ A young, red-bearded poet from Stornoway carried off the coveted storytelling cup at Kinross Festival…. traditional and contemporary elements combined.”
Karl Dallas , Melody Maker

“Storytelling is alive and well in the outer Hebrides, if Ian Stephen, a coastguard from Stornoway, is anything  to go by.”
The Sunday Telegraph magazine

“ He sits like a master puppeteer to whose words everything must dance.”
Saleem Peeradina, Express Magazine, India.

“If you’ve never understood the lure of the sea, you haven’t heard Ian Stephen
explain it.”
The Scotsman, on “Voyagers”, a series broadcast on Radio Scotland.

Ian Stephen at Cape Clear Festival. Photo by Mats Rehnman.