Gerda Stevenson

Gerda Stevenson, writer/director/actor/singer/songwriter, works in theatre, television, radio, film, and opera, throughout Britain and abroad. Her poetry, drama and prose are widely published, staged and broadcast, including plays and short stories for BBC Radio 4.

Her published by poetry collections are: IF THIS WERE REAL (Smokestack Books, 2013), also published in Italian by Edizioni Ensemble, Rome, 2017 under the title SE QUESTO FOSSE VERO; and QUINES: Poems in tribute to women of Scotland (Luath Press, edition 2018, 2nd edition 2020), reviewed by Jackie Kay in the Observer as “Fabulous. A ground-breaker of a book.”.

QUINES was published by Edizioni Ensemble in Rome, 2021, in an Italian translation by Laura Maniero, and is also currently being translated into French. She was winner of the Robert Tannahill Poetry Prize, 2017, and of the Yarrow, Ettrick and Selkirk (YES) Poetry Prize, 2013.

Her other books include INSIDE & OUT – the art of Christian Small (Scotland Street Press, 2019), with an introduction and poems by Gerda, reviewed in The National as “One of the most beautiful books ever published in Scotland”; EDINBURGH, a collaboration with landscape photographer Allan Wright, for which she wrote a personal introduction and 22 poems, described by Richard Holloway as: ‘A stunning tribute to that magnificent old hypocrite, the city of Edinburgh. The combination of Allan Wright’s gorgeous photography and Gerda Stevenson’s introduction and searing poetry hints that the time may be near when Scotland’s capital of easy virtue will become an honest and independent woman again.’

Her book of short stories – entitled LETTING GO, was described by Alan Spence as: “A wonderful collection, the stories strong, the writing pitch perfect. Full of warmth and humour, gloriously affirmative, achingly bittersweet,” was published by Luath Press in November, 2021.

*****Her latest book, published 1st July, 2023, entitled TOMORROW'S FEAST, is a poetry collection, with an introduction by Meg Bateman, who describes the book as: "Entirely life-affirming, finding grace in the most extreme situations...a tour de force." TOMORROW'S FEAST includes a contemporary retelling in verse of Coleridge's epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, commissioned by the University of Edinburgh.***** Read The Scotsman review of LETTING GO on the following link: https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-letting-go-a-timeline-of-tales-by-gerda-stevenson-3488353

Gerda was nominated for Scots Singer of the Year, following the release of the album of her own songs NIGHT TOUCHES DAY.

Her stage plays include the award-winning FEDERER VERSUS MURRAY (which toured to New York, published by Salmagundi, USA), and SKELETON WUMMAN, a co-production between Oran Mor, Glasgow, the Traverse Edinburgh, and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

In 2020 she was commissioned by the Glasgow School of Art Choir to write a triptych of song lyrics for their COMPOSEHER project, with composer Dee Isaacs. Nominations include the MG Alba Trad Music Awards, for Scots Singer of the Year, three times for the Critics Awards for Theatre, Scotland, and for the New York League of Professional Theatre Women’s Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award. She was winner of a BAFTA Best Film Actress award for her role in Margaret Tait’s feature film, BLUE BLACK PERMANENT, and appeared in BRAVEHEART. Gerda directed a film of George Mackay Brown’s play THE STORM WATCHERS for the St Magnus International Festival, 2021, in celebration of Mackay Brown’s centenary. https://www.gerdastevenson.co.uk

https://gerdastevenson.bandcamp.com/album/night-touches-day

https://www.scotlandstreetpress.com/product/inside-and-out

https://www.scotlandstreetpress.com/journal/in-conversation-with-gerda-stevenson-on-the-making-of-inside-and-out-the-art-of-christian-small