AN announcement was due to have been made any day now about the appointment of a new Makar, Scotland’s national poet, to replace Jackie Kay, who is coming to the end of her five-year tenure of office. The National can reveal, however, that a completely new selection process is being introduced for the post, Kay was announced as Makar on March 15, 2016, and it was anticipated in Scottish literary circles that the appointment of her successor would be confirmed shortly as she prepares to stand down, even though the usual speculation that surrounds any such announcement has been conspicuous by its absence.