Nostr notes by Assoc for Scottish Literature

Oidhche Shamhna – a South Uist Halloween Ethnomusicologist, ...

2026-10-31T16:06:09Z

Oidhche Shamhna – a South Uist Halloween

Ethnomusicologist, photographer, folklorist, & scholar Margaret Fay Shaw (1903–2004) recorded a traditional Hebridean Halloween on South Uist in the 1930s, in photographs & on film

—via the National Trust for Scotland

https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/oidhche-shamhna-a-south-uist-halloween

#Scottish #Scotland #culture #Halloween #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Hebrides #20thcentury #SouthUist #ethnology

A wife was sitting at her reel ae night; And aye she sat, and aye ...

2026-10-31T15:55:45Z

A wife was sitting at her reel ae night;
And aye she sat, and aye she reeled, and aye she wished for company…

Sadie Stein recalls “The Strange Visitor” – an eerie Scots tale. Performed well it should cause “a scream of alarm”

1/2

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/01/16/the-stranger/

#Scottish #literature #Halloween #19thcentury #folklore #poem #poetry #performance

My grandfather didn’t know he was a Taoist. He had fished the ...

2026-10-04T14:42:40Z

My grandfather didn’t know he was a Taoist.
He had fished the river Awe for sixty years.
Life is sensed as a flowing movement,
a power like wind or water. When he cast,
it was the bank that moved, not the river…

—Lorn Macintyre, “Satori”
from The Bridport Prize Anthology 2013

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #grandparents #GrandparentsDay #fishing #Zen #satori #tao #taoism

My seventy-seven-year-old father put his reading glasses on to ...

2026-09-21T12:47:24Z

My seventy-seven-year-old father
put his reading glasses on
to help my mother do the buttons
on the back of her dress…

—Jackie Kay, “George Square”
published in LIFE MASK (Bloodaxe, 2005)

Today, 21 September, is the International Day of Peace

https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace

#Scottish #literature #peace #poem #poetry #InternationalDayofPeace

Rare first edition of Burns’s Kilmarnock Edition goes on ...

2026-07-22T13:49:24Z

Rare first edition of Burns’s Kilmarnock Edition goes on display at Edinburgh Writers’ Museum

Printed in Kilmarnock & published on 21 July 1786 in a run of just over 600 copies, only around 90 copies are known to survive today & each copy is different

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/14450/rare-first-edition-of-burns-kilmarnock-edition-goes-on-display-at-the-writers-museum

#Scottish #literature #18thcentury #RobertBurns #BookHistory #poetry

Poets are Liars “if poetry genuinely is a truth-telling and ...

2026-06-29T11:54:34Z

Poets are Liars

“if poetry genuinely is a truth-telling and poets truth-tellers, it seems important to demonstrate that what we do is falsifiable. What on earth would it mean to ‘lie’ in a poem?”

—Don Paterson on poetry, philosophy, & lies

https://northseapoets.substack.com/p/poets-are-liars

#Scottish #literature #poetry #poetictruth #truth #DonPaterson #philosophy

“I mean, your society’s broken, so who should we blame? ...

2026-06-09T15:46:32Z

“I mean, your society’s broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No let’s blame the people with no power & no money & these immigrants who don’t even have the vote, yeah it must be their fucking fault.”

—Iain Banks died #OTD, 9 June, 2013

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/15/iain-banks-the-final-interview

#Scottish #literature #IainBanks #IainMBanks

New Open Access E-book: Roman Camps in Scotland As a northern ...

2026-06-07T13:43:37Z

New Open Access E-book: Roman Camps in Scotland

As a northern frontier zone, subject to repeated incursions by the Roman army, Scotland possesses a wide range of temporary Roman military camps.

First published in 2011, Roman Camps in Scotland discusses the field evidence & Roman army campaigns, with each of the camps described & illustrated in a gazetteer.

https://www.socantscot.org/news/new-open-access-e-book-roman-camps-in-scotland/

#Scotland #history #archaeology #Roman #RomanHistory #RomanArchaeology #RomanBritain #IronAge #IronAgeBritain

Once did I see A sounding bee, Amongst her sweetned swarme… ...

2026-05-20T11:42:12Z

Once did I see
A sounding bee,
Amongst her sweetned swarme…

—“Madrigall: Of a Bee”, by Simion Grahame (c.1570–1614)
published in JACOBEAN PARNASSUS: Scottish Poetry from the Reign of James I (ASL, 2022)

A poem for World Bee Day 🐝 – today, 20 May

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/jacobean-parnassus/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #EarlyModern #16thcentury #17thcentury #Jacobean #bees #WorldBeeDay

To Noroway, to Noroway, To Noroway o’er the faem; The king’s ...

2026-05-17T11:39:23Z

To Noroway, to Noroway,
To Noroway o’er the faem;
The king’s daughter o’ Noroway,
’Tis thou maun bring her hame…

The ballad “Sir Patrick Spens” is probably based on the 1290 mission to Norway to fetch the 7-year-old princess Margaret, heir to the Scottish crown, following the death of Alexander III

🇳🇴🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

#Scottish #literature #ballad #poem #Norway #Nasjonaldagen #poetry

NEW COUNTRIES WILL GROW UP ON GRACEFUL PROMONTORIES WHERE A FEW ...

2026-04-22T12:48:08Z

NEW COUNTRIES WILL
GROW UP ON GRACEFUL
PROMONTORIES WHERE A FEW
PEOPLE GATHER TOGETHER/
IN THEIR WORLD IT WILL BE
ILLEGAL TO OWN THE LAND…

Billboard
Robert Montgomery
Ostend Wall Piece. Crystal Ship Festival, 2016
Hahnemühle Photorag

Today, 22 April, is Earth Day.

https://www.robertmontgomery.org/new-gallery/hlltwglwt2au4gtsho09mz2afejeee

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #EarthDay #EarthDay2026 #environment #environmentalism

Had I been less prepared, I would have left in springtime, when ...

2026-03-19T16:48:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…997l
_________________________

Had I been less prepared, I would have left
in springtime, when the plum tree in the yard
was still in bloom,
the windows open after months of snow,
one magpie in the road
and then another…

—John Burnside, “The Night Ferry”
Published in the London Review of Books, December 2020

6/10

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n24/john-burnside/the-night-ferry

#Scottish #literature #poetry #poem #JohnBurnside

“Burnside’s work has always been about moments of ...

2026-03-19T16:46:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…9m44
_________________________

“Burnside’s work has always been about moments of transformation, or change, the endlessly metamorphic adaptability of human identity… solitude & silence bring one back to the world”

—David Borthwick explores solitude & silence in the work of John Burnside

5/10

https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2012/11/driven-by-loneliness-and-silence-john-burnsides-susceptible-solitaries/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #novels #JohnBurnside

“THE DUMB HOUSE is a wonderfully disturbing book – chillingly ...

2026-03-19T16:46:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…sr3j
_________________________

“THE DUMB HOUSE is a wonderfully disturbing book – chillingly focused and lyrically amoral with moments of remarkable stillness and beauty”

John Burnside wrote 11 novels. Ian Scott at the National Library of Scotland looks at his first: THE DUMB HOUSE (1997)

4/10

https://blog.nls.uk/john-burnsides-first-novel-the-dumb-house/

#Scottish #literature #novel #novels #JohnBurnside

It gets late early out here in the lacklustre places, wind in the ...

2026-03-19T16:45:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…r2qn
_________________________

It gets late early out here
in the lacklustre places,
wind in the trees and the foodstalls’
ricepaper lamplight, fading and blurred with rain…

—John Burnside, “Travelling South, Scotland, August 2012”
published in BLACK MIDDENS: New Writing Scotland 31 (ASL, 2013)

3/10

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #JohnBurnside

“I think John was drawn to that notion of a conjured charm or ...

2026-03-19T16:43:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…34ke
_________________________

“I think John was drawn to that notion of a conjured charm or presence that came from the spirit-world… He told me once that poetry was, for him, a form of alchemy.”

—Robin Robertson reflects on the life & work of John Burnside for the Poetry Foundation

2/10

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/1658779/we-are-blessed-by-the-dead-remembering-john-burnside

#Scottish #literature #poetry #novels #JohnBurnside

“Scottishness is as much myth as it is history, which means ...

2026-03-19T16:42:58Z

“Scottishness is as much myth as it is history, which means that we must guard it carefully, retell it beautifully &, more than anything else, love it wisely”

John Burnside (1955–2024) was born #OTD, 19 March. His career as an author & poet spanned nearly 40 years

1/10

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2024/07/in-search-of-a-homeland

#Scottish #literature #poetry #novels #JohnBurnside #Scottishness #ScottishIdentity

I had a holiday from awkwardness. Can you have sex? was solved. ...

2026-03-15T15:04:30Z

I had a holiday from awkwardness. Can you have sex? was solved. Most people have been or known a doubled self like us…

—Nuala Watt, “Pregnant & Squint”
from The Department of Work & Pensions Assesses a Jade Fish (Blue Diode, 2024)

https://www.bluediode.co.uk/product-page/the-department-of-work-and-pensions-assesses-a-jade-fish-by-nuala-watt

#Scottish #literature #MothersDay #poem #poetry #disability #pregnancy

Robert Louis Stevenson’s FABLES are little gems: many would be ...

2026-03-05T15:50:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…mrhh
_________________________

Robert Louis Stevenson’s FABLES are little gems: many would be classed as flash- or microfiction today. You can download all 20 of Stevenson’s FABLES for free from our website – including the one where Long John Silver & Captain Smollett sneak out between chapters of TREASURE ISLAND for a fly smoke & a blether…

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/free-publications/fables/

#Scottish #literature #RobertLouisStevenson #fables #shortstories #flashfiction #microfiction #19thcentury #Victorian

“I never read such an impious book,” said the reader, ...

2026-03-05T15:48:13Z

“I never read such an impious book,” said the reader, throwing it on the floor.
“You need not hurt me,” said the book; “you will only get less for me second hand, and I did not write myself.”

For World Book Day (UK & Ireland), a fable about a book: Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Reader”

[@bookstodon](https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon )

#Scottish #literature #RobertLouisStevenson #fables #shortstories #flashfiction #microfiction #19thcentury #Victorian

Exploring the Jackie Kay Archive 28 May, National Library of ...

2026-03-01T16:00:24Z

Exploring the Jackie Kay Archive
28 May, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Free, booking required.

Explore the personal archive of Jackie Kay, Scotland's former Makar and beloved writer. Curator Dan Sheehy will share his favourite discoveries from cataloguing her lifetime of work.

https://www.nls.uk/whats-on/jackie-kay-archive/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #JackieKay #womenwriters #archives

Remember, man, that thou art dust. The earl kneels, the ash of ...

2026-02-18T13:37:40Z

Remember, man, that thou art dust.

The earl kneels, the ash of the end is written on his brow.

A captain of ships kneels, to be put in mind of a death in a far port, or at home, or on a rock of the sea.

And the boy that holds cinders for the priest,
His forehead is smeared,
Who wears a coat of fourteen Aprils…

—George Mackay Brown, “Ash Wednesday”
Published in TRAVELLERS (John Murray, 2013)

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #religion #GeorgeMackayBrown #Orkney #AshWednesday

Not a red rose or a satin heart. I give you an onion. It is a ...

2026-02-14T14:29:26Z

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love…

—Carol Ann Duffy, “Valentine”
published in A Red Rose or a Satin Heart: An Anthology of Scottish Love Poems, canongatebooks (npub1a2w…4gpa) 2010
💝

#Scottish #literature #ValentinesDay #poem #poetry #womenwriters #lovepoem #CarolAnnDuffy

Gave yet another lecture. God, I’m boring. Said all the same ...

2026-02-12T13:04:06Z

Gave yet another lecture. God, I’m boring.
Said all the same old things I’ve said before
With touches of “however-ing” and “therefore-ing”.
Dear God, it’s true, I’m just an ancient bore…

—Douglas Dunn, “Thursday”
published in THE NOISE OF A FLY (Faber, 2019)

https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571333820-the-noise-of-a-fly/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #academia

George Douglas Brown (1869–1902) was born #OTD, 26 January – ...

2026-01-26T13:45:32Z

George Douglas Brown (1869–1902) was born #OTD, 26 January – best known for his 1901 novel THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS:

“…the TRAINSPOTTING of its day… an angry young man’s response to the misrepresentation of contemporary Scottish life”

A 🎂 🧵

1/7

https://list.co.uk/news/39535/george-douglas-brown-the-house-with-the-green-shutters-1901

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #modernism #postmodernism

Atween November’s end and noo there’s really nithin else tae ...

2026-01-24T14:48:50Z

Atween November’s end and noo
there’s really nithin else tae do
but climb inside a brindlet coo
and dream o Spring,
fur Winter’s decked hur breist and broo
wi icy bling…

—W.N. Herbert, “Rabbie, Rabbie, Burning Bright”
published in OMNESIA (Remix) (Bloodaxe Books, 2013)

Warming up for Burns Night …

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/rabbie-rabbie-burning-bright/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #StandardHabbie #winter

Compton Mackenzie served with British Intelligence during WW1. ...

2026-01-17T15:15:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…plkt
_________________________

Compton Mackenzie served with British Intelligence during WW1. Banned in 1932, the original version of his war memoir GREEK MEMORIES wasn’t published until 2011 – & was still not officially declassified in 2017

2/4: Mark Kaufman on “Spyography”: “a modernist genre…that trades on the pleasures of secrecy & revelation, blurs the line between fact & fiction”

2/4

https://scalar.usc.edu/works/the-space-between-literature-and-culture-1914-1945/vol13_2017_kaufman

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #modernism #spies #memoir #WW1

Straight Outta Compton (Mackenzie) Edward Compton Mackenzie ...

2026-01-17T15:13:05Z

Straight Outta Compton (Mackenzie)

Edward Compton Mackenzie (1883–1972) was born #OTD, 17 Jan. Mainly remembered today for his 1947 comedy WHISKY GALORE, he wrote more than 100 books & influenced writers such as F Scott Fitzgerald, George Orwell, & Cyril Connolly

A 🎂🧵

1/4

https://unherd.com/2022/11/the-forgotten-genius-of-compton-mackenzie/

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #modernism #ComptonMackenzie #FScottFitzgerald #GeorgeOrwell #CyrilConnolly

it wis January and a gey dreich day the first day Ah went to the ...

2026-01-07T12:45:00Z

it wis January
and a gey dreich day
the first day Ah went to the school…

—Liz Lochhead, “Kidspoem/Bairnsang”
published in A CHOOSING: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead (Polygon, 2017)

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/a-choosing/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #scots #language #MinorityLanguages

“At a time of global ecological crisis … her intuitive ...

2025-12-11T12:23:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…3luv
_________________________

“At a time of global ecological crisis … her intuitive understanding of the landscape & the rhythms of nature is both a clarion call & a balm for the soul”

—Scott Lyall on Nan Shepherd’s THE LIVING MOUNTAIN

https://theconversation.com/the-living-mountain-in-an-age-of-ecological-crisis-nan-shepherds-nature-writing-is-more-relevant-than-ever-119794

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #mountains #cairngorms #NanShepherd #climbing #20thcentury #womenwriters #naturewriting #InternationalMountainDay #environmentalism

But in the climbing ecstasy of thought, Ere consummation, ere the ...

2025-12-11T12:21:26Z

But in the climbing ecstasy of thought,
Ere consummation, ere the final peak,
Come hours like this…

—Nan Shepherd, “Summit of Coire Etchachan”
published in WANDERERS: A History of Women Walking, by Kerri Andrews

Today, 11 December, is International Mountain Day

https://www.un.org/en/observances/mountain-day

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #mountains #cairngorms #NanShepherd #climbing #20thcentury #womenwriters #naturewriting #InternationalMountainDay

When the day-birds have settled in their creaking trees, the ...

2025-12-01T13:38:54Z

When the day-birds have settled
in their creaking trees,
the doors of the forest open
for the flitting
drift of deer
among the bright croziers
of new ferns
and the legible stars…

—Robin Robertson, “What the Horses See at Night”
published in SAILING THE FOREST: Selected Poems (Picador, 2014)

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/robin-robertson/sailing-the-forest/9781447231554

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #naturewriting #naturepoetry

The night tinkles like ice in glasses. Leaves are glued to the ...

2025-11-24T16:34:25Z

The night tinkles like ice in glasses.
Leaves are glued to the pavement with frost.
The brown air fumes at the shop windows,
Tries the doors, and sidles past…

—Norman MacCaig, “November night, Edinburgh”
published in The Poems of Norman MacCaig (Birlinn, 2011)

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-poems-of-norman-maccaig/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #November #winter #Edinburgh #normanmacCaig

Frankenstein pop-up display 7 Nov, National Library of Scotland, ...

2025-11-05T16:05:33Z

Frankenstein pop-up display
7 Nov, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Free.

A special one-day pop-up display exploring the enduring legacy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Discover the novel’s lasting influence on works by Scottish writers such as Muriel Spark, Alasdair Gray, Janice Galloway & Liz Lochhead

https://www.nls.uk/whats-on/frankenstein-pop-up/

#Scottish #literature #Frankenstein #MaryShelley #Edinburgh

“The Life of Samuel Johnson was an instant sensation. While the ...

2025-10-29T13:44:34Z

“The Life of Samuel Johnson was an instant sensation. While the works of Johnson were quickly forgotten, his biography has never been out of print… It went through 41 editions just in the 19th century.”

—When the Worst Man in the World Writes a Masterpiece: James Boswell & the Nature of Genius

James Boswell (1740–1795) – a man for whom the word “scapegrace” might have been invented – was born #OTD, 29 October. A happy Bozzy birthday thread:

1/5

https://www.fantasticanachronism.com/p/when-the-worst-man-in-the-world-writes-a-masterpiece

“I mean, your society’s broken, so who should we blame? ...

2025-09-08T14:19:36Z

“I mean, your society’s broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No let’s blame the people with no power & no money & these immigrants who don’t even have the vote, yeah it must be their fucking fault.”

—Iain Banks, the final interview (2013)

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/15/iain-banks-the-final-interview

#Scottish #literature #IainBanks #IainMBanks

HEATWAVE The latest issue of Books From Scotland is now online ...

2025-08-28T12:53:55Z

HEATWAVE

The latest issue of Books From Scotland is now online

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://booksfromscotland.com/issue/heatwave/

#Scottish #literature #books

A CHAOS OF LIGHT New Writing Scotland 43 Ed. by Kirstin Innes, ...

2025-08-27T13:57:49Z

A CHAOS OF LIGHT
New Writing Scotland 43
Ed. by Kirstin Innes, Chris Powici & Niall O’Gallagher

“writing that unsettles and challenges, that questions assumptions and gets us to look at, when it feels so much less painful to look away… A rich, boisterous, tender, charming, angry, sorrowful, gleeful mix”

Available now from all good bookshops!

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)
writingcommunity group (npub1ys8…t439)

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/newwriting/nws43/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #shortstories #shortfiction #newwriting #writingcommunity

Dorothy Dunnett (1923–2001) was born #OTD, 25 Aug, in ...

2025-08-25T13:11:29Z

Dorothy Dunnett (1923–2001) was born #OTD, 25 Aug, in Dunfermline. She is best known as a writer of historical fiction – in particular the six-part LYMOND CHRONICLES that begin with those fateful words:

“Lymond is back.”

A 🎂 🧵

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

1/6

https://booksfromscotland.com/2019/06/rediscovering-dorothy-dunnett/

#Scottish #literature #DorothyDunnett #LymondChronicles #HistoricalFiction

“His life’s work is like a dark, glittering, ethereal yet ...

2025-08-12T12:54:15Z

“His life’s work is like a dark, glittering, ethereal yet earthy river of thought, full of angels, ghosts, nocturnes, animals. These are books as brimming with spirit & light as they are with eroticism & violence”

—Seán Hewitt on John Burnside’s poetry & fiction

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/11/where-to-start-with-john-burnside

#Scottish #literature #poetry #novel #JohnBurnside

Today, 9 August, is Book Lovers Day 📚📖 🔖 LINES FOR A ...

2025-08-09T12:39:15Z

Today, 9 August, is Book Lovers Day 📚📖 🔖

LINES FOR A BOOKMARK
Gael Turnbull

You who read . . .
May you seek
As you look;
May you keep
What you need;
May you care
What you choose;
And know here
In this book
Something strange,
Something sure,
That will change
You and be yours.

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/lines-bookmark/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #books #BookLoversDay

Twa Cats anes on a Cheese did light, To which baith had an equal ...

2025-08-08T13:22:52Z

Twa Cats anes on a Cheese did light,
To which baith had an equal Right,
But Disputes, sic as aft arise,
Fell out at sharing of the Prize…

—Allan Ramsay (1686–1758), “The twa Cats & the Cheese”
via the National Library of Scotland
😾😾🧀🐵

An 18th-century Scots poem for International Cat Day

https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/105690319

#Scottish #literature #Scots #Scotslanguage #poem #18thcentury #law #legal #humor #humour #InternationalCatDay

Currently on BBC Sounds: award-winning crime writer Denise Mina ...

2025-07-31T11:33:23Z

Currently on BBC Sounds: award-winning crime writer Denise Mina discusses her 20th novel, THE GOOD LIAR, which follows blood-spatter forensics expert Claudia O’Sheil as she faces a profound moral dilemma. Denise also shares the 3 key books that inspired the novel’s creation

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002gd06

#Scottish #literature #crimewriting #crimefiction

Writing between genres In this National Centre for Writing ...

2025-07-27T12:17:33Z

Writing between genres

In this National Centre for Writing podcast, Michael Pedersen talks with Peggy Hughes about his debut novel MUCKLE FLUGGA, & how fusing genres, placing fantastical elements in real-world settings, & pushing the boundaries of literary categories can enhance your writing

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)
writers group (npub19fn…flfx)

https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/writing-hub/writing-between-genres-michael-pedersen-on-muckle-flugga/

#Scottish #literature #writing #writers #writingcommunity #fantasy #genre #fiction #podcast

“In 1990, the UK Crime Writers’ Association issued a list ...

2025-07-25T13:32:38Z

“In 1990, the UK Crime Writers’ Association issued a list titled ‘The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time.’ Number one on the list was THE DAUGHTER OF TIME by Josephine Tey. It was a good call then, it’d still be a good call now.”

Josephine Tey (1896–1952) was born #OTD, 25 July

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

1/7

https://crimereads.com/josephine-tey-a-crime-readers-guide-to-the-classics/

#Scottish #literature #crimefiction #womenwriters #20thcentury #JosephineTey

The SWH! Bloody Scotland Podcasts: The Scottish Crime Debut Prize ...

2025-07-23T14:38:13Z

The SWH! Bloody Scotland Podcasts: The Scottish Crime Debut Prize Shortlist 2025

The Scots Whay Hae! podcast speaks to the 5 authors shortlisted for this year’s Scottish Crime Debut of the Year. They include David Goodman (A Reluctant Spy), Natalie Jayne Clark (The Malt Whisky Murders), Foday Mannah (The Search for Othella Savage), Claire Wilson (Five By Five), & Richard Strachan (The Unrecovered).

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.scotswhayhae.com/post/the-swh-bloody-scotland-podcasts-the-scottish-crime-debut-prize-shortlist-2025

#Scottish #literature #crimefiction

Afro-Scottish Poetry Event 2025 25 July, Glasgow. Tickets ...

2025-07-23T12:07:59Z

Afro-Scottish Poetry Event 2025
25 July, Glasgow. Tickets £0–£10

A multicultural evening of poetry, music, & storytelling that celebrates African & Scottish identities through powerful performances. Created & curated by Chisom Okoronkwo with U Belong Glasgow

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/afro-scottish-poetry-event-2025-tickets-1396145632169

#Scottish #African #literature #poetry #storytelling #performance #identity #Glasgow #AfroScottish

A Family Affair The Scots Whay Hae! podcast talks to writer & ...

2025-07-17T14:51:08Z

A Family Affair

The Scots Whay Hae! podcast talks to writer & academic Liam McIlvanney about his new novel THE GOOD FATHER – published by Zaffre & longlisted for this year’s Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Prize

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.scotswhayhae.com/post/a-family-affair-the-scots-whay-hae-podcast-talks-to-liam-mcilvanney

#Scottish #literature #crimefiction #thriller #podcast

“I was born in 1962. There’s been an environmental crisis for ...

2025-07-15T13:48:30Z

“I was born in 1962. There’s been an environmental crisis for as long as I’ve lived. To step outside that constant culpability was one of the many delights of RING OF BRIGHT WATER.”

—Kathleen Jamie in the London Review of Books on Gavin Maxwell (1914–1969) – born #OTD, 15 July

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v33/n14/kathleen-jamie/diary

#Scottish #literature #otters #wildlife #naturewriting #environment #environmentalism

It’s not usual to cite an ISBN at all. Normally one gives the ...

2025-07-14T11:57:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…sr7m
_________________________

It’s not usual to cite an ISBN at all. Normally one gives the editor/author, title, publisher & date (& sometimes place) of publication, e.g.

John Smith (ed.), A Big Fat Book (London: Big Fat Book Publishers, 2024)

Actual citation format will vary depending on your publisher’s style.

If however you do need to cite an ISBN for any reason, ISBN-13s are the standard. If it’s an older book & only has an ISBN-10, the ISBN-13 is the same as the barcode number.

He picked up a pebble and threw it into the sea. And another, and ...

2025-07-13T12:07:14Z

He picked up a pebble
and threw it into the sea.

And another, and another.
He couldn’t stop…

—Norman MacCaig, “Small Boy”
Published in The Poems of Norman MacCaig, Birlinn 2011

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-poems-of-norman-maccaig/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #NormanMacCaig

I sowed nightscented stocks with the halfgrown hope that this was ...

2025-07-11T12:11:05Z

I sowed nightscented stocks with the halfgrown hope
that this was more like gardening
than impatiens in pots…

—Angela McSeveney, “Windowbox”
published in Modern Scottish Women Poets, canongatebooks (npub1a2w…4gpa) 2003

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry

“Edinburgh is a city full of contradictions, a capital city ...

2025-07-11T12:05:00Z

“Edinburgh is a city full of contradictions, a capital city famous for its architecture with a gorsesmothered volcano in its centre. What better setting for a novel about young queer womanhood, with all its external finery and internal wilderness”

—Alessandra Thom on her deut novel SUMMER HOURS

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://snackmag.co.uk/alessandra-thom-summer-hours-interview

#Scottish #literature #Edinburgh #Queer #queerlit

Congratulations to Margaret McDonald and her editors Alice Swan ...

2025-07-10T12:24:56Z

Congratulations to Margaret McDonald and her editors Alice Swan and Ama Badu – winners of the 2025 Branford Boase Award for outstanding debut novel for young people with GLASGOW BOYS, a moving, beautifully written coming-of-age novel exploring the power of identity, community and masculinity.

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://branfordboaseaward.org.uk/2025-bba-winners/

#Scottish #literature #YA #kidlit #Glasgow #identity #community #masculinity

Starting today on BBC Sounds: a 10-part reading of Eric ...

2025-07-07T23:00:14Z

Starting today on BBC Sounds: a 10-part reading of Eric Linklater’s PRIVATE ANGELO

Italy, 1943. Angelo is overjoyed when the armistice is announced. Finally, he can return to his true love in Tuscany. But amidst the destruction of liberation, the cowardly private will find himself fighting not only for the Italian army but also the Germans, & finally the Allies in a witty & compassionate satire on the folly of war.

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002fl0n

#Scottish #literature #WW2 #Italy

WORLD BOOK CLUB Currently on BBC Sounds: Harriett Gilbert speaks ...

2025-07-07T16:20:15Z

WORLD BOOK CLUB

Currently on BBC Sounds: Harriett Gilbert speaks with Graeme Macrae Burnet about his historical crime novel HIS BLOODY PROJECT – about 19th century views of ‘the criminal class’; who, or what, was responsible for the murder at the heart of the novel; & why we continue to be fascinated by murder…

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct74s1

#Scottish #literature #crimefiction #historicalfiction

I don’t know if they do giclée but the Glasgow Print Studio ...

2025-07-03T11:04:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…lyyx
_________________________

I don’t know if they do giclée but the Glasgow Print Studio have done some lovely digital print work for me before:

https://www.gpsart.co.uk

Lucy Ribchester discusses her novel MURDER BALLAD, set in ...

2025-07-01T11:18:18Z

Lucy Ribchester discusses her novel MURDER BALLAD, set in 18th-century #Edinburgh:

“I’ve always been interested in the lives of people who live in this in-between state, like journalists & musicians & artisanal people who can move in different echelons of society… who are allowed a glimpse of this incredible, wealthy world, this world of opulence, but aren’t actually able to possess it”

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://snackmag.co.uk/sexual-gender-and-class-tensions-lucy-ribchester-on-her-of-novel-murder-ballad-interview

#Scottish #literature #historicalfiction #18thcentury #music

Last week 27-year-old Scottish author Margaret McDonald became ...

2025-06-26T13:01:12Z

Last week 27-year-old Scottish author Margaret McDonald became the youngest-ever winner of the Carnegie medal for children’s writing for her debut novel GLASGOW BOYS, which explores mental health, trauma, inequality & identity through the friendship between two boys who have grown up in foster care. Margaret joined BBC Front Row to discuss Glasgow Boys, & writing in Scots, & to read an extract from the book – from 29:35:

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002dzk9

#Scottish #literature #kidlit #YA

Iain Banks: A BBC Radio Collection New from Penguin: Selected ...

2025-06-25T12:51:32Z

Iain Banks: A BBC Radio Collection

New from Penguin: Selected readings & full-cast dramatisations from across the literary & science fiction of Iain Banks.

🐝 The Wasp Factory
🚀 The State of the Art
📚 Piece
🎸 Espedair Street

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/470032/iain-banks-a-bbc-radio-collection-by-banks-iain/9781529954241

#Scottish #literature #IainBanks #IainMBanks #audiobook

Massive congratulations to Margaret McDonald, winner of the 2025 ...

2025-06-19T15:09:10Z

Massive congratulations to Margaret McDonald, winner of the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Writing, for her debut novel GLASGOW BOYS.

The Carnegies are the UK’s longest-running children’s & YA book awards. McDonald’s GLASGOW BOYS explores mental health, trauma, inequality & identity through the friendship between two boys who have grown up in foster care.

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://carnegies.co.uk/2025-winners-announced/

#Scottish #literature #kidlit #YA #Glasgow #mentalhealth #trauma #inequality #identity #fostercare

‘“Somehow things happened, odd things, when Muriel was ...

2025-06-15T18:47:45Z

‘“Somehow things happened, odd things, when Muriel was around,” recalled her friend Shirley Hazzard. “Everything that happened to Muriel,” according to her American editor Barbara Epler, “had been foreseen”, usually in her books themselves. If Spark wrote about blackmail, she too would be blackmailed; if she wrote about a burglary, she would then be burgled.’

—The unnerving vision of Muriel Spark
bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jun/15/odd-things-happened-when-she-was-around-novelist-muriel-spark
#Scottish #literature #MurielSpark #20thcentury #womenwriters

“If you want to know how Banks views capitalist tech ...

2025-05-20T21:17:45Z

“If you want to know how Banks views capitalist tech billionaires, you don’t have to hunt very hard. In the Culture series, a capitalist tech billionaire is the literal devil, only he couldn’t be bothered to build hell himself.”

—Constance Grady on how the broligarchy misreads Iain M. Banks’s Culture novels

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.vox.com/culture/413502/iain-banks-culture-series-elon-musk-jeff-bezos-mark-zuckerberg

#Scottish #literature #sciencefiction #scifi #SF #IainBanks #IainMBanks #TheCulture #techbros #broligarchy #Musk #Bezos #Zuckerberg

The Many Lives of James Boswell Terry Seymour’s 2022 talk for ...

2025-05-16T12:36:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…yej7
_________________________

The Many Lives of James Boswell

Terry Seymour’s 2022 talk for the Edinburgh Bibliographic Society, discussing his extraordinary collection of books, papers, & artworks identified with James Boswell – including private papers, portraits, personal books, & more

4/4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSE-cbLmbTM

#Scottish #literature #biography #SamuelJohnson #JamesBoswell #18thCentury #BiographersDay

Was James Boswell just an idiot who had the good fortune to meet ...

2025-05-16T12:36:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…75gm
_________________________

Was James Boswell just an idiot who had the good fortune to meet Dr Johnson and write his biography? Or is this “Samuel Johnson” actually a brilliant dramatic character created by Boswell?

Read Jorge Luis Borges’ “A Lecture on Johnson & Boswell”

3/4

https://www.nybooks.com/online/2013/07/28/lecture-johnson-and-boswell/

#Scottish #literature #biography #SamuelJohnson #JamesBoswell #18thCentury #BiographersDay

“The Life of Samuel Johnson was an instant sensation. While the ...

2025-05-16T12:35:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…du9d
_________________________

“The Life of Samuel Johnson was an instant sensation. While the works of Johnson were quickly forgotten, his biography has never been out of print”

—When the Worst Man in the World Writes a Masterpiece: James Boswell & the nature of genius

2/4

https://www.fantasticanachronism.com/p/when-the-worst-man-in-the-world-writes-a-masterpiece

#Scottish #literature #biography #SamuelJohnson #JamesBoswell #18thCentury #BiographersDay

—“Mr. Johnson, (said I) I do indeed come from Scotland, but I ...

2025-05-16T12:33:48Z

—“Mr. Johnson, (said I) I do indeed come from Scotland, but I cannot help it.”
—“That, Sir, I find, is what a very great many of your countrymen cannot help.”

May 16 is Biographers Day – marking the date in 1763 when James Boswell first met Samuel Johnson

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

1/4

https://lithub.com/of-course-samuel-johnson-met-james-boswell-in-a-bookstore/

#Scottish #literature #biography #SamuelJohnson #JamesBoswell #18thCentury #BiographersDay

“An officer – he must have been a new arrival, and a right ...

2025-05-08T13:01:55Z

“An officer – he must have been a new arrival, and a right clown – ran out in front of the company and shouted, with enthusiasm: ‘Men! The war in Europe is over!’”

—The novelist George MacDonald Fraser – then a lance-corporal in the Border Regiment in the British Fourteenth Army – spent VE Day in 1945 waiting to attack a Japanese-held village in Burma. From his memoir QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/quartered-safe-out-here-george-macdonald-fraser?variant=32553742336078

#Scottish #literature #VEDay #VEDay80 #WW2 #memoir #Burma

“QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE … provides insight into what it ...

2025-04-02T11:58:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…x2l8
_________________________

“QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE … provides insight into what it takes an individual to survive, both (with luck) physically and, more importantly, ethically”

– retired Australian Army officer Jason Thomas on George MacDonald Fraser’s memoir of the WW2 Burma campaign

https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/special-series/dusty-shelves/quartered-safe/

#Scottish #literature #history #memoir #war #WW2 #Burma

2/5

George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008) – author, historian, ...

2025-04-02T11:57:25Z

George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008) – author, historian, journalist, screenwriter – was born 100 years ago #OTD, 2 April, 1925

“His dedication to strongly researched stories, built firmly on a bedrock of historical fact, but always with an eye to the humour of a situation, was the core of what appealed to me”

Historical novelist Michael Jecks discusses MacDonald Fraser’s writing for the Royal Literary Fund:

1/5

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.rlf.org.uk/showcase/not-a-serious-writer/

#Scottish #literature #historicalfiction

“this is a book that counts Clive Barker, Alan Moore, Michael ...

2025-03-03T12:37:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…9t5k
_________________________

“this is a book that counts Clive Barker, Alan Moore, Michael Moorcock, & Jeff Vandermeer among its admirers … Once you read ARCTURUS, you’re always finding chunks of it here & there, like burning fragments of an exploded spaceship smoldering in a field”

—Dan Schwartz on David Lindsay’s cult status

3/4

https://wearethemutants.com/2018/05/09/one-long-discomfort-the-legacy-and-future-of-david-lindsays-a-voyage-to-arcturus/

#Scottish #literature #ScienceFiction #fantasy #metaphysics #20thCentury #cultfiction

“The current strength of Scottish weird fiction has its roots ...

2025-03-03T12:36:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…l9nw
_________________________

“The current strength of Scottish weird fiction has its roots in Lindsay’s surreal & stricken work … Lindsay ought to be considered alongside writers like Arthur Machen, William Hope Hodgson & HP Lovecraft as one of the great proponents of cosmic horror.”

2/4

https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2010/11/many-worlds-david-lindsay-and-alternative-realities/

#Scottish #literature #ScienceFiction #fantasy #metaphysics #20thCentury #horror #CosmicHorror #Lovecraft

“I can’t begin to convey to you the power of Lindsay’s ...

2025-03-03T12:35:16Z

“I can’t begin to convey to you the power of Lindsay’s vision; I found it overwhelming when I first read the book, thirty years ago, & I’ve seldom seen its equal outside Blake.”
—Philip Pullman

David Lindsay (1876–1945) was born #OTD, 3 March – author of A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS & other weird works

A 🎂 🧵

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

1/4

#Scottish #literature #ScienceFiction #fantasy #metaphysics #20thCentury

The Mercator Projection BBC Radio 4, 14 Feb, & on BBC Sounds ...

2025-02-14T13:06:23Z

The Mercator Projection
BBC Radio 4, 14 Feb, & on BBC Sounds after broadcast

A a cartographer redraws the map for those she loves – a short work for Valentine’s Day by Heather Parry

Heather Parry's debut novel ORPHEUS BUILDS A GIRL was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year Award & longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. Her new novel, CARRION CROW, is published at the end of this month.

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027v47

#Scottish #literature #ValentinesDay

“I ask you,” said Markheim, “for a Christmas present, and ...

2024-12-19T14:00:24Z

“I ask you,” said Markheim, “for a Christmas present, and you give me this—this damned reminder of years, and sins and follies—this hand-conscience!”

—Robert Louis Stevenson, “Markheim”

Download the free ebook:
🗡️ A Lodging for the Night
🪞 Markheim
💀 The Body-Snatcher

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/free-publications/sins-and-follies-2/

#Scottish #literature #gothic #19thcentury #Victorian #shortstory #Christmas #RobertLouisStevenson

Celebrating 30 years of DREAM STATE Kevin Williamson interviews ...

2024-12-19T13:09:13Z

Celebrating 30 years of DREAM STATE

Kevin Williamson interviews Donny O’Rourke, editor of DREAM STATE (Polygon, 1994), which remains the gold standard of poetry anthologies & is arguably the most visionary poetry anthology ever published in Scotland

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/podcast/celebrating-30-years-of-dream-state-with-its-editor-donny-orourke/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #anthology #20thcentury #Scotland

If you don’t ask, you don’t get … Item, to Maister William ...

2024-12-19T13:04:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…yrxh
_________________________

If you don’t ask, you don’t get …

Item, to Maister William Dunbar, be the Kingis command, for caus he wantit his goun at Ȝule …

£5!

Scots.

But still: £5!

Schir, lat it neuer in toune be tald That I suld be ane Ȝowllis ...

2024-12-19T13:03:28Z

Schir, lat it neuer in toune be tald
That I suld be ane Ȝowllis ȝald…

—William Dunbar (c. 1459–1530), “Petitioun of the Auld Gray Hors, Dumbar” – where the poet appeals to his patron, James IV, King of Scots, for funds to buy new clothes

Full text with glosses:
https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/conlee-dunbar-complete-works-poems-public-and-private#P49

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #humour #humor #Christmas #medieval #16thcentury

“One reason Oliphant’s ghost stories are so powerful is they ...

2024-12-19T13:01:15Z

“One reason Oliphant’s ghost stories are so powerful is they are hard – her BELEAGUERED CITY reminds me of Camus’s LA PESTE”

Dr Ellen Moody compares Margaret Oliphant’s “Old Lady Mary” with Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

https://reveriesunderthesignofausten.wordpress.com/2020/12/24/margaret-oliphants-old-lady-mary-a-reply-to-dickenss-christmas-carol/

#Scottish #literature #19thcentury #Victorian #Oliphant #MargaretOliphant #Dickens #ghoststories #Christmas #gothic

Could Artificial Intelligence save Scottish Gaelic? Prof Will ...

2024-12-18T18:02:29Z

Could Artificial Intelligence save Scottish Gaelic?

Prof Will Lamb’s inaugural lecture was given on 4 Dec, University of Edinburgh, & is now available online. This lecture showcases ongoing research involving Gaelic at Edinburgh University; addresses tensions in collaborations between big tech & minority language communities; & considers how AI might help revitalise minority languages generally

https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/Will+Lamb+Inaugural+Lecture+December+2024/1_1lj03icy/341431382

#Scottish #Gaelic #minoritylanguage #AI #ArtificialIntelligence

David Robinson discovers Scotland’s literary scene is in good ...

2024-12-18T13:51:30Z

David Robinson discovers Scotland’s literary scene is in good hands with the shortlisted authors in the 2024 Saltire Literary Awards First Book Prize:

📕 Jen Stout: Night Train to Odesa
📘 Nuala Watt: The Department of Work and Pensions Assesses a Jade Fish
📙 Elle Machray: Remember, Remember
📗 Allan Radcliffe: The Old Haunts
📕 Genevieve Jagger: Fragile Animals

https://booksfromscotland.com/2024/12/david-robinson-reviews-the-saltire-first-book-shortlist/

#Scottish #literature #fiction #poetry #SaltireAwards

Thanks for the link!

2024-12-18T13:21:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…w0ya
_________________________

Thanks for the link!

PS: to get an idea of Saki’s range, read “The Lumber Room”, ...

2024-12-18T12:54:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…f6wm
_________________________

PS: to get an idea of Saki’s range, read “The Lumber Room”, & follow it with “Sredni Vashtar”. Both stories feature small boys, domineering aunts, & revenge; one is very funny, & the other – isn’t. “The Lumber Room” is in BEASTS & SUPER-BEASTS, & “Sredni Vashtar” is in THE CHRONICLES OF CLOVIS ☝️

#Scottish #literature #shortstories #Saki #humor #humour #horror

There are a number of collections of Saki’s short stories ...

2024-12-18T12:54:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…0csl
_________________________

There are a number of collections of Saki’s short stories available free online via [@gutenberg_org](https://mastodon.social/@gutenberg_org )

4/4

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/152

#Scottish #literature #shortstories #Saki #humor #humour #horror

Saki’s “Tobermory”, “The Boar-Pig”, “Esmé”, & ...

2024-12-18T12:53:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…dnyf
_________________________

Saki’s “Tobermory”, “The Boar-Pig”, “Esmé”, & many others are hilarious – like PG Wodehouse with an open razor. But his horrifying winter tale “The Interlopers” is a work of Gothic art, worthy of the tradition of Hogg & Stevenson

3/4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwoa-e4TC64

#Scottish #literature #shortstories #Saki #humor #humour #horror #Gothic

FERRETS CAN BE GODS “Children in Saki are often victors in the ...

2024-12-18T12:52:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…xjwg
_________________________

FERRETS CAN BE GODS

“Children in Saki are often victors in the battle against authority; his stories salute their boldness but have no truck with sentiment. The children are usually nasty, brutish and short, and loved for it.”

—Katherine Rundell on Saki, for the London Review of Books

2/4

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n16/katherine-rundell/ferrets-can-be-gods

#Scottish #literature #shortstories #Saki #humor #humour #horror

“In story after story, epicene young men, difficult children, ...

2024-12-18T12:50:49Z

“In story after story, epicene young men, difficult children, or wild beasts set out to shake up the stifling complacency around them.”

Hector Hugh Munro (1870–1916) – Saki – was born #OTD, 18 Dec, in Myanmar. Although born in the Raj & raised in England, his parents were Scots & he considered himself to be Scottish, too. Fatema Ahmed looks at his fierce, funny, & wicked fiction

1/4

bookstodon group (npub1ny7…uv57)

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/43602/untameable-saki

#Scottish #literature #shortstories #Saki #humor #humour #horror

Bruce, Burns, & the Jacobites! 16 Jan, Stirling – tickets ...

2024-12-17T17:02:12Z

Bruce, Burns, & the Jacobites!
16 Jan, Stirling – tickets by donation

Join Dr Murray Cooke as he explores the interplay between Bruce, Burns & the Jacobites – iconic figures within Scotland’s history. Where do they connect & what are the influences at play?

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bruce-burns-and-the-jacobites-tickets-1091161355989

#Scottish #literature #history #RoberttheBruce #RobertBurns #JacobiteStudies #Jacobites #culturalstudies

Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp winter evening a ...

2024-12-17T15:38:48Z

Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp winter evening
a young man and two girls, under the Christmas lights –
The young man carries a new guitar in his arms,
the girl on the inside carries a very young baby,
and the girl on the outside carries a chihuahua…

—Edwin Morgan, “Trio”
published in CENTENARY SELECTED POEMS (Carcanet, 2020)

https://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781784109967

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Glasgow #Christmas #EdwinMorgan

A KICK UP THE ARTS A Scottish Arts & Culture Podcast – 12 ...

2024-12-17T14:41:25Z

A KICK UP THE ARTS
A Scottish Arts & Culture Podcast – 12

Nicola Meighan talks to writer/musician Malachy Tallack to chat about his book/LP THAT BEAUTIFUL ATLANTIC WALTZ. It’s a psalm; a song; a quiet meditation on love, loss, landscape, family & country music. Listen on all podcast platforms, or on akickupthearts.org

https://akickupthearts.org/2024/12/12/episode-twelve/

#Scottish #literature #music #novel #countrymusic #Shetland

“But the great generation, I am afraid, is at an end; and even ...

2024-12-17T13:18:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…wunu
_________________________

“But the great generation, I am afraid, is at an end; and even during my own college days, the spirit appreciably declined”

Stevenson is modest, but accurate: in 1838 a 4-day snowball fight at the University was only quelled by the army (& a professor)

👇 The Life of Sir Robert Christison, Bart. (1886)

3/3

#Scottish #literature #RobertLouisStevenson #RLS #Victorian #19thcentury #Edinburgh #winter #snowball #snowballfight

“Of old, Edinburgh University was the scene of heroic ...

2024-12-17T13:16:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…ck80
_________________________

“Of old, Edinburgh University was the scene of heroic snowballing; and one riot obtained the epic honours of military intervention.”

—Robert Louis Stevenson, PICTURESQUE NOTES: EDINBURGH (1878)

2/3

Get PICTURESQUE NOTES as a free ebook from [@gutenberg_org](https://mastodon.social/@gutenberg_org )

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/382

#Scottish #literature #RobertLouisStevenson #RLS #Victorian #19thcentury #Edinburgh #winter #snowball #snowballfight

As a student at Edinburgh University, Robert Louis Stevenson was ...

2024-12-17T13:14:00Z

As a student at Edinburgh University, Robert Louis Stevenson was arrested for taking part in a two-day snowball riot between the university & Surgeons’ Hall… although as he was only a spectator (he claimed, successfully) he was let off with a warning

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🎨 : “Snowballing Outside Edinburgh University”, by Samuel Bough (1822–1878). Watercolour on paper, 1853

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/20538

#Scottish #literature #RobertLouisStevenson #RLS #19thCentury #Victorian #winter #snowball #snowballfight

Currently on BBC Sounds: TAKE FOUR BOOKS A.L. Kennedy talks about ...

2024-12-16T16:08:35Z

Currently on BBC Sounds: TAKE FOUR BOOKS

A.L. Kennedy talks about her new novel, ALIVE IN THE MERCIFUL COUNTRY, & its connections to 3 other literary works: MOBY-DICK by Herman Melville (1851); PETERSBURG by Andrei Bely (1913); & THE LORD OF THE RINGS by JRR Tolkien (1954)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00261ts

#Scottish #literature #novel #ALKennedy #MobyDick #HermanMelville #Petersburg #AndreiBely #LOTR #LordoftheRings #Tolkien

Lewis Grassic Gibbon dedicated SUNSET SONG to Jean Baxter, a ...

2024-12-16T15:58:38Z

Lewis Grassic Gibbon dedicated SUNSET SONG to Jean Baxter, a north-east poet, Doric champion, & the inspiration behind Gibbon’s leading character, Chris Guthrie. Neil Drysdale (npub1flc…lgqh) speaks to Alison Baxter, whose book ANOTHER SONG AT SUNSET chronicles the life of her grandmother

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6646279/how-sunset-songs-chris-guthrie-was-inspired-by-my-grandmother/

#Scottish #literature #SunsetSong #20thcentury #LewisGrassicGibbon

“Coming Out”: In conversation with Lavender Menace 5 Feb, ...

2024-12-16T13:01:04Z

“Coming Out”: In conversation with Lavender Menace
5 Feb, National Library of Scotland at Kelvinhall, Glasgow – free

Join the Lavender Menace bookshop co-founder Sigrid Nielsen & other members of the community group for a showing of the 1983 documentary film “Coming Out”.

https://www.nls.uk/whats-on/coming-out/

#Scottish #literature #archives #bookshop #bookselling #queer #queerbooks #queerhistory #Edinburgh

It’s very interesting to see this alongside Edwin Morgan’s ...

2024-12-16T12:19:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…79md
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It’s very interesting to see this alongside Edwin Morgan’s own 1956 essay, “Translation” – which looks at how poetry is translated generally, alongside the possibilities of machine translation … featured in our collection of Morgan’s prose writing, IN TOUCH WITH LANGUAGE

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/edwin-morgan-in-touch-with-language/

#Scottish #literature #EdwinMorgan #computer #computers #computing #translation

The Computer’s Other Realities In this video for the Edwin ...

2024-12-16T12:18:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…6t6a
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The Computer’s Other Realities

In this video for the Edwin Morgan Trust, Vlad Butucea introduces us to an algorithm that he has trained to generate Edwin Morgan-like poetry. He discusses translation, queering language, dominant languages, & the human/non-human

https://edwinmorgantrust.com/2021/03/25/vlad-butucea/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #EdwinMorgan #computer #computers #computing #translation #algorithm

goodk kkkkk unjam ingwe nches lass? start again goodk lassw enche ...

2024-12-16T12:17:26Z

goodk kkkkk unjam ingwe nches lass? start again goodk
lassw enche sking start again kings tart! again sorry…

—Edwin Morgan, “The Computer’s Second Christmas Card”
published in COLLECTED POEMS (Carcanet, 1990)

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #EdwinMorgan #computer #computers #computing #Christmas

A Dream of Snow The Orkney writer George Mackay Brown ...

2024-12-15T16:57:40Z

A Dream of Snow

The Orkney writer George Mackay Brown (1921–1996) was fascinated by the Christmas story, retelling it time & again in his poems, short stories, & plays. In 2012, to mark the writer’s centenary, Edinburgh University curated this online exhibition from their major collection of George Mackay Brown books & manuscripts, covering the whole festive season from Advent through to Epiphany

https://exhibitions.ed.ac.uk/exhibitions/a-dream-of-snow

#Scottish #literature #GeorgeMackayBrown #poetry #Orkney #Christmas