Full Description
The twentieth-century Scottish Renaissance saw a sudden and dramatic change in Scotland's literary landscape. Beginning in the 1920s, Scottish writers increasingly engaged with contemporary social and political issues, and with questions of national identity. An integral part of this development was the radically new literary status accorded to the Scots language. MacDiarmid's immediate predecessors had introduced modern themes and linguistic experimentation to Scots poetry; and though MacDiarmid is the unquestioned central figure in the great poetic revival, he rode a rising tide. He and the poets who paved the way for him represent the first wave of the Scottish Renaissance. The second wave contains the extraordinary company of poets who wrote under his direct inspiration. On any showing, the scale and quality of this movement is a phenomenon rarely paralleled in literary history. A Kist o Skinklan Things contains a selection of the best work from this great period.
Contents
CONTENTS Introduction Pittendrigh MacGillivray (1856-1938): Mercy o' Gode Lewis Spence (1874-1955): The Wee May o' Caledon / The Unicorn / The Lost Lyon/ Mistral Sir Alexander Gray (1882-1968): Babylon in Retrospect / Persuasion / December Gloaming / The Wanderer Helen Cruickshank (1886-1975): The Ponnage Puil / A Lang Guidnicht / Corstorphine Woods / Epistle for C. M. Grieve/ Sea Buckthorn Bessie MacArthur (1889-1983): Bethink Ye What Will Come o't? / Nocht o' Mortal Sicht Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978): The Sauchs in the Reuch Heuch Hauch / To the Music of the Pipes / The Parrot Cry / Lourd on my Hert / To Alasdair Mac Mhaighistir Alasdair / Old Wife in High Spirits Nan Shepherd (1893-1981): Caul', caul' as the wall William Jeffrey (1896-1946): George Bannatyne (1545-1608) / Allars of Heaven / The Refugees / Sea Glimmer William Soutar (1898-1943): Apotheosis / Birthday / The Makar / The Thistle Looks at a Drunk Man / The Auld House / Hal o the Wynd Albert Mackie (1904-1985): Elegy / Sea Strain / Thunder Sky / To Hugh M'Diarmid Robert McLellan (1907-1985): Winter / Nicht Watch / The Lanely Fisher J. K. Annand (1908-1993): Arctic Convoy / Vivat Glenlivat Alex Galloway (1908-98): The Labourers Robert Garioch (1909-1981): '... That is Stade in Perplexite ...' / Garioch's Repone til George Buchanan / The Bog / Weill-Met in Buchan / And They Were Richt / Scottish Scene John Kincaid (1909-81): Til our Reid Intelligentsia / A Glesca Rhapsodie Olive Fraser (1909-77): Benighted in the Foothills of the Cairngorms: January / A Gossip Silenced: The Thrush and the Eagle / All Sawles Eve T. S. Law (1916-1997): Cauld Comfort / Miners' Melodie / A Hauf a Croon o Devolutioun / Renewal / The Free Nation Douglas Young (1913-1973): For Alasdair / Whiles / Ice-Flumes Owregie their Lades / Sabbath i the Mearns / Hielant Colloguy George Campbell Hay (1915-1984): A Ballad in Answer to Servius Sulpicius Rufus / Lomsgrios na Tire / Oor Jock / Scots Arcadia / Tir Thairngire / Solan Sydney Goodsir Smith (1915-1975): In Granada, in Granada / Prolegomenon / King and Queen o the Fowr Airts / The Grace of God and the Meth-Drinker / A Bairn Seick / Dido Edward Boyd (1916-1989): The Niddity-Noddin' Chesbow Maurice Lindsay (1918-2009): At the Cowal Games, Dunoon / On Hearin a Merle Singan / Milk Tom Scott (1918-1995): Orpheus / Ceol Mor / Fergus / Brand the Builder / Villanelle De Noel / La Condition Humaine William J. Tait (1918-1992): Change o the Muin / Aubade / The Seal-Wife Thurso Berwick (1919-1981): Whit Wey's the Road? / Brig o Giants / Til the Citie o John MacLean / Scots wha Hae Hamish Henderson (1919-2002): Billet Doux / The Flytin o Life an Daith / Goettingen Nicht / Epistle to Mary / To Stuart-on his Leaving for Jamaica Alexander Scott (1920-1989): Coronach / The Gallus Makar / Haar in Princes Street / Mouth Music / Dear Deid Dancer / Grace Ungraced William Neill (1922-2010): Kailyard and After / A Lament for Alba Moroon / Drumbarchan Mains / The Flyting of Jamie and Seumas-A Linguistic Problem David Purves (1924-2014): Hard Wumman / Resurrection / Brierilaw Alastair Mackie (1925-1995): The Shepherd / On Brinkie's Brae / Pieta / Weet Kin / Chateaux en Ecosse / In Memoriam Hugh MacDiarmid Eric Gold (b. 1927): Scottish Spearman Afore Flodden / Dunbar's Maen George Todd (1927-2009): Weeda's Sang Duncan Glen (1933-2008): The Heid o Hecht / My Faither George Hardie (b. 1933): Lanarkshire Landscape Ellie McDonald (b. 1937): Itherness / Pathfinder / For Hamish Henderson on his 80th Birthday Donald Campbell (b. 1940): A Lang Sleep Ower / Arthur's Seat / Cuttag / Thon Nicht / Cougait Revisited Kenneth Fraser (b. 1944): The Things frae Inner Space Kate Armstrong (b. 1944): Pantoum fer Winter / This is the Laun / Mary Daibhidh Mitchell (n.d.): Rann / Invitacioun / For My Host / Mod & Gammon John Samuel (n.d.): Hership Notes on the poets and poems Glossary Acknowledgements Bibliography
