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Past Times

Highland writers’ centre Moniack Mhor celebrates 30 years nurturing national literary scene

The Moniack Mhor centre near Beauly has built a reputation as an inspirational focus for aspiring and successful writers.
Susy Macaulay
Clockwise from bottom left: the first group ever at Moniack, the centre's main building; Rachel Humphries, Moniack's current director.
Clockwise from bottom left: the first group ever at Moniack, the centre's main building; Rachel Humphries, Moniack's current director.

If you’re an aspiring writer and an entrepreneur, and a gap appears in the market for a writers’ centre in Scotland, it seems obvious.

You open one.

Simple.

Not that simple of course, but thanks to the vision and drive of well-known Highland entrepreneur Kit Fraser and his sister Sophia, it came to pass.

Moniack Mhor, Scotland’s creative writing centre is now a respected literary powerhouse near Beauly, with a global reputation.

The Moniack Mhor Writer’s Centre is set in an inspirational landscape near Beauly.   Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

To raise the initial funds for the project, Kit and Sophia—mainly Sophia, admits Kit— with the limitless enthusiasm of youth, set about organising a 24 hour ‘poethon’ in Edinburgh, and one in London.

More than 100 people had to be sourced for each event to recite poetry by a living poet, by heart, for ten minutes.

How Moniack Mhor was born

Kit looks back in amazement. “We couldn’t do it now,” he says. “We were young, we felt no barriers, added to which Sophia has a will of steel and to say no to her is not an option.”

The poethons raised £50,000, and enabled the purchase of a derelict croft at Teavarran, near Beauly.

Monaick Mhor was born, and this year celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Rachel Humphries has been the centre’s director for the past 13 years.  Image:  Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Rachel Humphries has been the centre’s director for more than a decade, guiding it through thick and thin and developing programmes to include and encourage everyone who wants to write.

Coffee and cake always on the go

Moniack’s ethos sings out the moment you cross the threshold to find yourself directly in the kitchen where in-house chef/gardener Kit Spink is most likely turning out a cake, filling jars with homemade jam or prepping a giant salad for lunch.

Rachel is there to extend the warmest of welcomes, the caring and nurturing kind, accompanied by freshly brewed coffee and cake.

Kit Spink busy in the Moniack kitchen. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

She says: “I consider myself very lucky to be part of a team that ignores barriers, turning them into solutions.”

The centre has hosted thousands of aspiring novelists and poets, young, old, completely diverse in background.

Recently the creative dynamo has expanded to include a songwriting course so successful there are plans for more.

The famous writers, including Ian Rankin, who have spent time at Moniack Mhor

Many of Scotland’s finest authors visit as willing tutors.

Many of Scotland’s greatest contemporary authors have found their way to Moniack, including Iain Crichton Smith.<br />Image: Moniack Mhor Writer’s Centre.

The panoply of distinguished guests include Ian Crichton Smith and Edwin Morgan; Ian Rankin, Janice Galloway,  Jackie Kay, Joanne Harris, Carol-Ann Duffy, Cynthia Rogerson and Kevin MacNeil.

They often return time and again, because there’s just something about Moniack.

It’s set in the Highlands because not only are Kit and Sophia are part of the Lovat Fraser clan, centred around Beauly, but also because as Kit puts it: “One in ten people in Scotland live in the Highlands.

“Yet Highland culture from bagpipes to whisky is everything foreigners associate with Scotland.

Edwin Morgan was another of the great Scottish writers who visited in Moniack’s early days. Image: Moniack Mhor Writer’s Centre.

“It comes from 10% of the population and we take it for granted, but it’s a global phenomenon.”

The centre sits in around two acres on an old croft with rolling panoramic views of Ben Wyvis and beyond.

The landscape might be pleasing and inspirational, but that’s not entirely the secret of its success.

Kit, now author of a series of non-fiction books, remembers how the poet Ted Hughes put it when he visited the spot very early on in Moniack’s conception.

Entrepreneur Kit Fraser at another of his enterprises, Hootananny in Inverness.  Image: DCT

He said: “There I was driving this genius poet, who writes, talks and looks like a genius, as slowly as possible to get to spend as much time as possible in his company, up the hill for the panoramic views.

“We got to the top and he said, ‘Kit, skylark.’ One of his greatest poems is called Skylarks.

“I just thought they were annoying birds but for Ted Hughes they are a poem.

“Then we tramped around the derelict buildings, and I was talking about the buildings and their panoramic views.

“He simply said, ‘I wrote my best stuff in a corridor.’ ”

Step into Moniack Mhor’s ‘Hobbit House’ creative space

Author Kevin MacNeil relaxing in the ‘Hobbit House’ creative space at Moniack. Image:Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Lewis author Kevin MacNeil has been a visiting tutor at Moniack for a quarter of a century, and on his first visit, was in the company of Simon Armitage, now poet-laureate, and Kathleen Jamie, now Scottish Makar.

He said: “What an auspicious beginning.

“I’ve had some of the most memorable and life-enhancing experiences here.

“Since then I’ve visited around 30 times, and I love it, it’s one of my favourite places in the world.

“There’s something to do with the environment, but mainly I think it’s the people, how welcoming it is.

Moniack’s charm inspires and touches everyone who visits it. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

“Also the course participants tend to be very varied, but what they have in common is they’re inherently fascinating, imaginative people, full of ideas, full of insights, different cultural backgrounds, ages.

“They all want to explore and improve their creativity, and it works.”

Moniack Mhor helped Cynthia Rogerson take off as a novelist

Novelist Cynthia Rogerson is one of those success stories, her literary career only taking off when she came to the centre to work.

She said: “Moniack Mhor has been pivotal in my life.

Author Cynthia Rogerson was inspired by working at Moniack to begin her writing career in earnest. She’s pictured here in 2008, having won the VS Pritchett short story prize. Image: David Whittaker-Smith/DCT

“I was 48 years old when I began working there, and it was my first job even remotely connected to the things I loved, books, writers, writing, etc.

“I hadn’t published anything, and meeting proper writers as well as other aspiring writers motivated me to complete my first novel, Upstairs in the Tent. I

“Truly think I would never have finished that book, much less published it, without Moniack.”

Plans for Moniack’s future include two new extensions and another building, designed to offer longer courses and retreats.

Centre director Rachel Humphries has exciting plans for the future of Moniack.  Image: Sandy McCook/DCT

Rachel says: “We don’t want to change who we are, but we want to keep developing our artistic and practical aspects.

“We’d like to strengthen links between international writing communities to allow for more cross-cultural learning and apply this to international youth communities.

“But for the most part we will keep doing what we do, allowing birdsong to sing in quiet spaces during workshops, encouraging writers, and working with some of the finest tutors around.”

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