The Edinburgh Companion to Contemporary Scottish Poetry
Edited by Matt McGuire and Colin Nicholson
This is the first book to take political devolution as an organising context for the presentation and discussion of main currents in contemporary Scottish poetry.
The book combines thematic chapters with in-depth analysis of key poets writing in English, in Gaelic and in Scots, to address the central issues raised in work that is responding to changes in the socio-economic and political environment over recent decades: the influence of tradition (both national and international), the question of language, the rise of women's writing, the relationship between poetry and politics, and the importance of place to the Scottish imagination.
The chapters demonstrate a broad range of interests, while also offering detailed analysis of the many ways writers broach their subject matter, including close readings of poetry by Edwin Morgan, Kenneth White, Aonghas MacNeacail, Kathleen Jamie, John Burnside, Robin Robertson, Mick Imlah and Don Paterson, among others. Chapters by practicing poets and by academics deliver senses of the current range and quality of poetry in Scotland.
Key Features
*A thorough guide to contemporary Scottish poetry and poets, making the book an ideal course text
*Reflects the ways in which the work of Scottish poets reflects a radical cultural independence following Devolution
*Provides authoritative essays by the leading experts in the field
*Includes a valuable synoptic bibliography
Matt McGuire is a lecturer at the University of Glasgow.
Colin Nicholson is Professor of Eighteenth-Century and Modern Literature at Edinburgh University.