The new Penguin book of Scottish verse

Abstract

This volume is the first anthology to offer a view over the entire history of Scottish poetry, extending from the sixth to the end of the 20th century, and representing each of its stylistic currents with clarity and verve. Readers will find here the great cornerstones of a poetic tradition which predates the Scottish nation. There are substantial selections from the medieval makers Robert Henryson and William Dunbar, and a generous representation of the remarkable folk literature known as the Border Ballads. The work of acknowledged masters such as Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson, and, in the 20th century, Hugh MacDiarmid, Sorley MacLean and Norman MacCaig, is augmented by that of neglected and unknown writers. The book concludes with selections from the best of Scotland's contemporary poets, including Douglas Dunn, Kathleen Jamie and Don Paterson. Throughout this volume, poetry in Gaelic, Latin and other languages is given in parallel text; poems in Scots are fully glossed. This comprehensive anthology -mingling Highland and Lowland, the religious and the profane, poems by kings and crofters - should be the guide to the whole poetry of Scotland.

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