Hugh MacDiarmid, born Christopher Murray Grieve, was a pivotal figure in shaping Scottish modernism and a driving force behind the 20th-century Scottish Renaissance. His work uniquely blended modernist innovation with a profound engagement with Scottish identity and language. Writing in both English and literary Scots (Lallans), MacDiarmid explored the distinct cultural and artistic landscape of Scotland, leaving a significant mark on its literary tradition. His distinctive voice offers a compelling perspective on national identity within a modernist framework.
MacDiarmid claimed that the six poems and six prose studies in this collection contained the main ideas of all his subsequent work. This edition, with a new introduction by Alan Bold, was issued to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the first publication of Annals of the Five Senses.
The drunk man lies on a moonlit hillside looking at a thistle, jaggy and beautiful, which epitomises Scotland's divided self. The man reflects on the fate of the nation, the human condition in general and his own personal fears. This book contains commentary and notes, and takes the reader through the author's complex and opaque use of language.
Drawing on the literary and vernacular traditions of Scottish culture, Hugh MacDiarmid's creates modern literature that is both nationalistic and international in its range. This selection of his poetry explores the diversity of his writing, from delicate lyrics to fierce polemic.
Many literary critics agree that, with William Dunbar and Robert Burns, Hugh MacDiarmid is one of the three greatest Scottish poets. This volume, issued to mark MacDiarmid's eightieth birthday, constitutes the most representative selection of his work so far published. It begins with Sangschaw, first published in 1925, and ends with Akros No. 3, which first appeared in 1966. The anthology as a whole fully illustrates the scope of Scotland's greatest writer of the 20th Century and is a fitting tribute to Hugh MacDiarmid and his work.
This is the first volume of a two-volume edition of the work of the Scottish poet, Hugh MacDiarmid. It is a revised edition with several newly-discovered poems and various corrections.