This is the second edition of a collection of poetry and prose from 'No Ordinary Journey, Open Windows 2013', a visual arts exhibition using The Street in Stromness, Orkney as the gallery. In this edition, as far as possible, the writing appears as it did in the windows. We have also taken this opportunity to include a poem written about an incident that happened at the opening of the exhibition and material that arrived after the original print deadline or was considered too long to stand and read in the street.
The theme of the exhibition, No Ordinary Journey, was inspired by John Rae the Arctic Explorer whose 200th birthday fell on September 30th 2013. Dr Rae was an Orcadian, born in Orphir, who reported the fate of the Franklin Expedition and gave his name to the Rae Strait, the final link in the Northwest Passage. Artists and writers either made work about John Rae or interpreted the theme suggested by the title.