Although the number of Gaelic speakers has declined during the twentieth century, the last forty years have seen an astonishing flowering of Scottish Gaelic poetry, much of it in the modern idiom. This bilingual anthology provides a selection of the best work of poets who have contributed most to that revival--Sorely Maclean, George Campbell Hay, Derick Thomson, Iain Crichton Smith, and Donald MacAulay.

This text provides the love poems of Sorley MacLean with translations by Iain Crichton Smith face to face. It also contains an obituary by Smith for MacLean and a tribute to both poets by Professor Donald Meek."

Sorley MacLean (Somhairle MacGill-Eain 1911-1996) is generally recognised as the most significant writer in Scottish Gaelic of the twentieth century. Yet his work possesses a relevance extending far beyond the bounds of his nation or his language. His 1943 collection D'in do Eimhir agus D'in Eile(Poems to Eimhir) brought Gaelic poetry abreast of the modern world with breathtaking and notorious effectiveness. The love sequence at its core shows a young man battling with the conflicting claims of love and duty against the background of a continent hurtling unstoppably into all-out war. His political poem An Cuilithionn (The Cuillin) links the tragedy of the Highland Clearances with a tradition of left-wing radicalism which had the French and Bolshevik revolutions as its highpoints. His work was characterised by a mixture of reticence and outspokenness. The love sequence could not be published in its entirety while he was alive, and An Cuilithionn waited half a century before finally appearing in an abridged and shortened form. This definitive edition brings together everything published during the poet's life time and the love sequence in its fullest form, along with extracts from the 1939 manuscript of An Cuilithionn and a generous selection of unpublished poems. MacLean's own English versions are complemented, where necessary, by versions from the editors. A section of notes highlights historical and traditional references, and two maps and a glossary of place-names are provided.

This is both the first complete annotated edition of the letters exchanged by these major twentieth-century Scottish poets and the first major exploration of their long friendship and literary association. Spanning nearly fifty years, from 27 July 1934 to 23 July 1978, this engaging correspondence offers a revealing and sometimes intimate look at their lively dialogical exchanges on a broad range of topics from major historical events such as the Spanish Civil War and WW II, to the mundane challenges of daily life.The introductory chapters chart the development of MacDiarmid and MacLean's enduring friendship in relation to their quite different literary contexts and careers, discuss MacLean's significant contributions to MacDiarmid's Golden Treasury of Scottish Poetry, and situate MacLean's literary innovations in terms of Gaelic modernism. They thus provide comparative critical insights into the influence of cultural nationalism on each writer's developing poetics, their work as translators, and their mutual influence on each other's careers. These private letters in which culture, politics, and modern history intersect offer a fascinating glimpse at the creative processes and collaborative work of Hugh MacDiarmid and Sorley MacLean.Key Features:* The first complete annotated edition of the correspondence between the two poets * The only major exploration of MacDiarmid and MacLean's friendship and literary association* Full biographical and historical Introduction, bibliography and appendices

A comprehensive and scholarly review of contemporary British and Irish Poetry With contributions from noted scholars in the field, A Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Poetry, 1960-2015 offers a collection of writings from a diverse group of experts. They explore the richness of individual poets, genres, forms, techniques, traditions, concerns, and institutions that comprise these two distinct but interrelated national poetries. Part of the acclaimed Blackwell Companion to Literature and Culture series, this book contains a comprehensive survey of the most important contemporary Irish and British poetry. The contributors provide new perspectives and positions on the topic. This important book: Explores the institutions, histories, and receptions of contemporary Irish and British poetry Contains contributions from leading scholars of British and Irish poetry Includes an analysis of the most prominent Irish and British poets Puts contemporary Irish and British poetry in context Written for students and academics of contemporary poetry, A Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Poetry, 1960-2015 offers a comprehensive review of contemporary poetry from a wide range of diverse contributors.