Jim MacCool (born 1954) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

dramatic

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

in the shanachie or travelling

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

tradition. MacCool is the author of ''Ionan Tales'', a series of twelve lengthy tales in verse inspired by the

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse (poetry), verse, as part of a fictional storytellin ...

and which he has performed more than a thousand times in places from

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since their premiere at a

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

–sponsored Literary Festival at the 2000 Millennium. His shows typically combine his singing of Irish or Scots folk ballads, such as " The Belle of Belfast City" or " Whiskey in the Jar", a poetic recitation and a Celtic drum performance. MacCool is the founder and patron of Britain's

National Poetry Month National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry which takes place each April, was introduced in 1996 and is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. The Academy of Am ...

and in August 2006 was named poet-in-residence for

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, West Midlands. On 13 November 2004, he presented two of his stories "The Boxer's Tale" and the "Story of Sawney Bean" in Pember Heath Village Hall, along with his renditions of Irish and Scottish folk ballads."Pamber Heath"
in ''Basingstoke News,'' 29 November 2004, accessed 2008-08-25. One story told of a boxer's greed, drug abuse and the revenge of his lover that left him in a wheelchair, while the second told of Sawney Bean and his wife Black Agnes, who dabbled in witchcraft and cannibalism at the time of King

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. During the May 2008

Malvern Fringe Festival The Malvern Fringe Festival was an arts festival (founded 1977) which took place in Great Malvern, England. The main events of the Malvern Fringe Festival were the annual Malvern May Day and parade, and the annual three-day festival held in Jun ...

, he performed two shows in rotation 18 times each over a six-day period. MacCool has also performed at the Buxton Fringe Festival and the Camden Fringe Festival, as well as at schools. Jim MacCool took part in the Buxton Fringe Festival in 2008 and 2010. Jim lives in South Ayrshire and continues to run the family firm. He toured extensively throughout the UK and Ireland until Covid. Over a twenty-five year period, Jim visited more than 2400 educational establishments, both at home and abroad. He continues to write prolifically. Here is a list of present publications easily available from Invergarven Press: Hard Times pub. Jan. 2021 ISBN 978-1-7399244-0-9 A Wee Book O’ Limericks pub. Jan. 2022 ISBN 978-1-7399244-1-6 Jim MacCool Tips His Bonnet To The Sonnet pub. Mar. 2022 ISBN 978-1-7399244-2-3 When Pushkin Came To Shovekin… MacCool On Tour with Alexander Pushkin pub. Jul. 2022 ISBN 978-1-7399244-4-7 The Parliament of Fowls pub. Aug. 2022 ISBN 978-1-7399244-3-0 Yaketty-Yak…Pasternak! MacCool On Tour with Verse inspired by Boris Pasternak pub. Jan. 2023 ISBN978-1-7399244-5-4 Bleak Hoose Terse Verse from a Year and Worse Performance Poetry Soc. Book of the Year pub. Feb. 2023 ISBN 978-1-7399244-6-1 These books are there for all at: The British Library, The National Library of Scotland, The Bodleian Library Oxford University, The National Library of Wales, Cambridge University Library and The Library of Trinity College Dublin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maccool, Jim 1963 births Living people British poets Lyric poets British folk singers Fringe theatre British male poets