The Poetry Association of Scotland (or PAS), formerly known as the Scottish Association for the Speaking of Verse, is a public, membership-based literary society founded in 1924 principally by John Masefield (along with other figures such as Marion Angus and Hugh MacDiarmid). In its present form, the Association, which is a registered charity, runs an annual series of monthly poetry readings featuring invited poets from both Scottish and international circuits, as well as regular talks on poetry-related topics by distinguished speakers, including its biennial Hugh MacDiarmid Lecture. The Association's events in recent years have generally, though not exclusively, been held in the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh. Although a single-tier organisation today, in past decades the Association had multiple area branches throughout Scotland. Post-holders past and present The following comprises only a partial and non-consecutive list of most recent names: Honorary presidents Douglas Dunn (present) Edwin Morgan Norman MacCaig Hugh MacDiarmid Chair Joyce Caplan (present) Norman Kreitman Peter France Secretaries Mario Relich (present) Robin Bell Deric Bolton External links Poetry Association of Scotland website Poetry organizations Charities based in Scotland Scottish poetry British writers' organisations