Judith's pamphlet - Brief Encounters- was published in November 2010.
Judith Stewart grew up in Inverness, but has lived in East Lothian since 1961.
She started writing short stories in 1998, when she joined the Haddington Writers' Group,
but became interested in writing poetry while attending a creative writing course taught by
Dr Mary Ross of Jewel & Esk College. Her first poetry pamphlet, Reunion, was published
by Tyne & Esk Writers in 2006. She was runner-up for the East Lothian Poetry section of
the Writer of the Year competition in 2009, and won the East Lothian poetry award in 2010.
Her poetry is self-assured and unpretentious, with an engaging humour and intelligence.
Sample poem:
BRIEF ENCOUNTER
I remember a boy named Tom;
he had red hair.
We walked hand in hand through the grey streets
of a Morayshire village,
past the chip-shop where bored youths queued
jeering and jostling,
past the closed eyes of the dull shops,
and the boisterous pub.
We sat on a bench overlooking the sea
to watch the sun set,
and he gently peeled patches of scorched skin
from my tender shoulders,
pale eyes squinting in concentration
through sandy lashes.
What happened last night? asked my friends
as we pumped up our tyres outside the hostel.
Nothing, I said, nothing happened.
But I remember Tom,
his freckled hands…
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