Customer Reviews

Selected Poetry

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Do ye no' kin Hugh MacDiarmid? YOU SHOULD! MacDiarmid is perhaps the greatest 20th century Scottish poet and alas, one of its least known outside of Scotland. The majority of the Poems in this collection are written in the Scots dialect, used by Burns and Tannahill in th 18th century. However, the subject matter is undeniably 20th century. The themes are largely metaphysical and political, and the content is largely free from Romanticism and nostalgia. The poems are filled with the vitality, beauty, struggle and dissapointments of modern life, yet always framed within a larger historical framework. This is poetry to rival TS Elliot, Wordsworth or Seamus Heaney. Smart, exquisitely wraught literary gems fill this collection. MacDiarmid epic masterpiece "A Drunk Man Looks At Thistle" is included here unabridged. This IS an essential read for anyone interested in Scotland or Scottish Literature. Forget the wee kilted bagpiper doll and the stuffed nessie that you bought in a giftie shop on the Royal Mile. MacDiarmid's poetry resonates the beauty of the Scottish dialect, and addresses 20th century topics. These poems for me represent Scottish culture better than any touristic souvenir giftie. They are not easy poems and the Scots words send the reader's eye down to the footnotes repeatedly. So do Shakespeare and Chaucer. This is a wonderful collection which is well annotated. If you like Burns...buy this book and prepare to have your mind blown. The Scots dialect remains very much alive in literature (see James Kellman's novels) and it is largely thanks to the magnificent poetry of MacDiarmid. THIS IS WONDERFUL STUFF!