Edwin Morgan wrote across forms, themes, and languages and supported other writers to find their voices; it is with this spirit that St Mungo’s Mirrorball designed the Clydebuilt Verse Apprenticeship Scheme. Founded in 2007, with sponsorship from Glasgow Life, the annual scheme provides intensive support for poets based in Glasgow and surrounding areas at an early stage of their writing careers, encouraging a greater dialogue between them and more experienced practitioners.

The programme recruits four poets a year and offers them a mix of group and one-to-one sessions over twelve months with respected mentors. Mentors have included poets such as Liz Lochhead, Gerry Cambridge, John Glenday, Gerry Loose, Gerrie Fellows, J. L. Williams, Miriam Gamble and Alexander Hutchison. Many of the Clydebuilt apprentices have gone on to publish widely and establish themselves as part of the national and international poetry scene.

Since 2020, St Mungo’s Mirrorball has been pleased to partner with the Edwin Morgan Trust, who provide full sponsorship for the programme, and ensure that focussed support remains available for emerging poets, whatever age and stage they are at in their writing careers. In 2022, The Second Life Awards supported a group of four new poets, who were mentored by Miriam Gamble.

On 6 June 2024, Miriam introduced her poetry apprentices at a special Clydebuilt event at the CCA Clubroom, Glasgow, hosted by St Mungo’s Mirrorball.