Other Worlds
An Anthology of Scottish Island Poems
Published on 5. May 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-1-84697-541-7 (ISBN)
Description
An island can be a source of escape or return, of solace or threat.
In this anthology rich depictions of island flora and fauna sit alongside sightings of croft dwellers and ferry-lowpers. Expressions of affection and accounts of imprisonment and bereavement sit cheek-by-jowl with evocations of drowned sailors, corporeal and ghostly. Praise poems alternate with diary entries and holiday postcards. Others cover stretches of water: Corrievreckan, say, or the Minch. And while there is a recurring sense of island heritage, and of belonging, the poet's feet need not be actively on island soil or on the deck of a fishing-boat.
In Other Worlds editor Stewart Conn has sought poems to set readers' hearts racing through a sharpening of memory or in opening new vistas and evoking new worlds and states of mind from Orkney and Shetland to the Hebrides, to Mull and Iona, Arran and Ailsa Craig; from St Kilda and Luing to Inchcape, the Torren rocks and the Isle of May.
In this anthology rich depictions of island flora and fauna sit alongside sightings of croft dwellers and ferry-lowpers. Expressions of affection and accounts of imprisonment and bereavement sit cheek-by-jowl with evocations of drowned sailors, corporeal and ghostly. Praise poems alternate with diary entries and holiday postcards. Others cover stretches of water: Corrievreckan, say, or the Minch. And while there is a recurring sense of island heritage, and of belonging, the poet's feet need not be actively on island soil or on the deck of a fishing-boat.
In Other Worlds editor Stewart Conn has sought poems to set readers' hearts racing through a sharpening of memory or in opening new vistas and evoking new worlds and states of mind from Orkney and Shetland to the Hebrides, to Mull and Iona, Arran and Ailsa Craig; from St Kilda and Luing to Inchcape, the Torren rocks and the Isle of May.
Reviews / Votes
'Captures the essence of the isles' -- Maggie Ritchie * Sunday Post * 'An island can mean different things to different people, from a place to take a break from the polluted city air to a way of life, shaped and governed by nature... this anthology encapsulates all these feelings, expressed in verse, to paint a mosaic of island life' -- Megan Amato * Scottish Field * 'A celebration of Scottish islands and all they have to offer, from their glorious landscapes to the friendliness of their inhabitants, as well as their significance in Scottish history' * Ileach * 'Immerse yourself in rich depictions of island flora and fauna, haunting vistas and human experiences of island life from Orkney to the Hebrides' * Scots Magazine * 'I feel as though I opened the anthology and the Scotland that I love poured out' -- Lynn Davidson 'Stewart Conn's editing deftly captures the many contradictions of island life, both its richness and its restrictions... Other Worlds is a collection to be revisited' -- Kirsteen Bell * Oban Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Birlinn General
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 128 mm
Width: 198 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
200 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84697-541-7 (9781846975417)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Stewart Conn was born in Glasgow, grew up in Ayrshire and has for many years lived in Edinburgh. His poetry publications include Ghosts at Cockcrow, The Breakfast Room (2010 SMIT Scottish Poetry Book of the Year) and The Touch of Time: New & Selected Poems (all Bloodaxe), and most recently Against the Light (Mariscat Press) and Aspects of Edinburgh (Scotland Street Press); and as editor 100 Favourite Scottish Poems (Luath Press/Scottish Poetry Library) and 100 Favourite Scottish Love Poems (Luath Press).