This collection of Norman MacCaig's poems is offered as the definitive edition of his work. It has been edited by his son, Ewen. A prolific writer, MacCaig left about 600 unpublished poems after his death; 99 have been selected for inclusion here. The aim of the selection process was to sustain the overall quality of the 1990 Collected Poems, which was compiled by the poet. Unusually, MacCaig's creativity did not decline with age, and most of the unpublished poems date from his seventies and early eighties, adding significantly to his published work from that period. Insight to the writer's life and work is provided in an appreciative introduction by author and critic Alan Taylor, focusing on MacCaig's life and times, and in a collection of MacCaig's words on his own and others' writing.

'Two Men at Once' is one of Norman MacCaig best known poems. He was indeed two men at once: Edinburgh, the city where he was born and lived as a teacher and poet, was his home, but no other place shaped his poetry more than Assynt in Sutherland. It is here that he would spend many a summer on family holidays, walking the hills and fishing the lochs. MacCaig's fresh eye saw remarkable newness even in the everyday and each poem is a tiny revelation, a new look at an old friend. This collection celebrates, renews, and rediscovers Norman MacCaig's Assynt.

A centennial celebration of the Scottish poet. “[A] testament to his apperception and skill in crafting verse on the impulse of things seen and thought.” —PN Review By the time of his death in January 1996, Norman MacCaig was known widely as the grand old man of Scottish poetry, honored by an Order of the British Empire (OBE) and the Queen’s Medal for Poetry. This book is a celebration of MacCaig’s life—published in 2010, the hundredth anniversary of his birth—and it features 100 of his best poems, edited by his son Ewen. Praise for Norman MacCaig “I have always loved the mixture of strictness and susceptibility in Norman MacCaig’s work. It is an ongoing education in the marvelous possibilities of lyric poetry.” —Seamus Heaney “I have read or re-read every poem (in the Collected Poems), and I think it one of the greatest literary experiences of my life.” —Sorley MacLean “Whenever I read his poems, I’m always struck by their undated freshness; everything about them is alive, as new and essential, as ever.” —Ted Hughes

A homage to a remarkable poet and his world. 'At The Loch of Green Corrie is more than merely elegant, more than a collection of albeit fascinating insights, laugh-out-loud observations and impressively broad erudition' - Sunday Herald 'You could easily make a case that Andrew Greig has the greatest range of any living Scottish writer' - Scotsman For many years Andrew Greig saw the poet Norman MacCaig as a father figure. Months before his death, MacCaig's enigmatic final request to Greig was that he fish for him at the Loch of the Green Corrie; the location, even the real name of his destination was more mysterious still. His search took in days of outdoor living, meetings, and fishing with friends in the remote hill lochs of far North-West Scotland. It led, finally, to the waters of the Green Corrie, which would come to reflect Greig's own life, his thoughts on poetry, geology and land ownership in the Highlands and the ambiguous roles of whisky, love and male friendship. At the Loch of the Green Corrie is a richly atmospheric narrative, a celebration of losing and recovering oneself in a unique landscape, the consideration of a particular culture, and a homage to a remarkable poet and his world.

This book contains a selection of the finest work from three of Scotland's best-known and best-loved poets. They have fascinated and charmed thousands of readers and listeners across Europe and America with the energy, humor and compassion of their vision.

'WHENEVER I MEET HIS POEMS, I'M ALWAYS STRUCK BY THEIR UNDATED FRESHNESS, EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM AS ALIVE, AS NEW AND AS ESSENTIAL AS EVER. ' Ted Hughes Norman MacCaig - who died in January 1996 aged 85 prompting a flood of obituaries and retrospectives - is one of the most popular contemporary poets of the English language. Chatto has published all of MacCaig's collections since 1954, but the only book of his now in print is the large COLLECTED POEMS. This new SELECTED POEMS, edited and introduced by Douglas Dunn, includes his poetry from over forty years and some hitherto uncollected poems, and is the standard, indespensible introduction to his work. It shifts easily between the lochs and mountains of the highlands and the cityscapes of Edinburgh; between hauntingly beautiful love poems and poems about what MacCaig called the 'unemphatic marvels' of the natural world- herons, kingfishers, swans trout, toads. SELECTED POEMS will introduce MacCaig's work to a new generation of readers, and will become an essential volume for those who already love his work.