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The Collected Poems
1
547 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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182 people want to read
About the author
George Mackay Brown
183 books101 followersGeorge Mackay Brown, the poet, novelist and dramatist, spent his life living in and documenting the Orkney Isles.
A bout of severe measles at the age of 12 became the basis for recurring health problems throughout his life. Uncertain as to his future, he remained in education until 1940, a year which brought with it a growing reality of the war, and the unexpected death of his father. The following year he was diagnosed with (then incurable) Pulmonary Tuberculosis and spent six months in hospital in Kirkwall, Orkney's main town.
Around this time, he began writing poetry, and also prose for the Orkney Herald for which he became Stromness Correspondent, reporting events such as the switching on of the electricity grid in 1947. In 1950 he met the poet Edwin Muir, a fellow Orcadian, who recognised Mackay Brown's talent for writing, and would become his literary tutor and mentor at Newbattle Abbey College, in Midlothian, which he attended in 1951-2. Recurring TB forced Mackay Brown to spend the following year in hospital, but his experience at Newbattle spurred him to apply to Edinburgh University, to read English Literature, returning to do post-graduate work on Gerard Manley Hopkins.
In later life Mackay Brown rarely left Orkney. He turned to writing full-time, publishing his first collection of poetry, The Storm, in 1954. His writing explored life on Orkney, and the history and traditions which make up Orkney's distinct cultural identity. Many of his works are concerned with protecting Orkney's cultural heritage from the relentless march of progress and the loss of myth and archaic ritual in the modern world. Reflecting this, his best known work is Greenvoe (1972), in which the permanence of island life is threatened by 'Black Star', a mysterious nuclear development.
Mackay Brown's literary reputation grew steadily. He received an OBE in 1974 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1977, in addition to gaining several honorary degrees. His final novel, Beside the Ocean of Time (1994) was Booker Prize shortlisted and judged Scottish Book of the Year by the Saltire Society. Mackay Brown died in his home town of Stromness on 13th April 1996.
He produced several poetry collections, five novels, eight collections of short stories and two poem-plays, as well as non-fiction portraits of Orkney, an autobiography, For the Islands I Sing (1997), and published journalism.
Read more at:
http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org....
A bout of severe measles at the age of 12 became the basis for recurring health problems throughout his life. Uncertain as to his future, he remained in education until 1940, a year which brought with it a growing reality of the war, and the unexpected death of his father. The following year he was diagnosed with (then incurable) Pulmonary Tuberculosis and spent six months in hospital in Kirkwall, Orkney's main town.
Around this time, he began writing poetry, and also prose for the Orkney Herald for which he became Stromness Correspondent, reporting events such as the switching on of the electricity grid in 1947. In 1950 he met the poet Edwin Muir, a fellow Orcadian, who recognised Mackay Brown's talent for writing, and would become his literary tutor and mentor at Newbattle Abbey College, in Midlothian, which he attended in 1951-2. Recurring TB forced Mackay Brown to spend the following year in hospital, but his experience at Newbattle spurred him to apply to Edinburgh University, to read English Literature, returning to do post-graduate work on Gerard Manley Hopkins.
In later life Mackay Brown rarely left Orkney. He turned to writing full-time, publishing his first collection of poetry, The Storm, in 1954. His writing explored life on Orkney, and the history and traditions which make up Orkney's distinct cultural identity. Many of his works are concerned with protecting Orkney's cultural heritage from the relentless march of progress and the loss of myth and archaic ritual in the modern world. Reflecting this, his best known work is Greenvoe (1972), in which the permanence of island life is threatened by 'Black Star', a mysterious nuclear development.
Mackay Brown's literary reputation grew steadily. He received an OBE in 1974 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1977, in addition to gaining several honorary degrees. His final novel, Beside the Ocean of Time (1994) was Booker Prize shortlisted and judged Scottish Book of the Year by the Saltire Society. Mackay Brown died in his home town of Stromness on 13th April 1996.
He produced several poetry collections, five novels, eight collections of short stories and two poem-plays, as well as non-fiction portraits of Orkney, an autobiography, For the Islands I Sing (1997), and published journalism.
Read more at:
http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org....
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 29, 2017
As with most poetry I read, the books sit by my bedside for months as I cruise in and out of them, reading and rereading. This is particularly true with George Mackay Brown. The collection contains poems from many years, but they are classic, epic, sometimes monumental. The are regal, sweeping the subjects from birth to death.
It is a book of it's place – the Orkney Islands. Fishing, danger, the elements, and ever, the sea. Death is close for these men who fish. The violence of the sea is often reflected in their culture, too, but there is a tender sorrow at the core, the sorrow of being mortal.
These poems are a great comfort in all their misery, and seem far more eternal and contemporary than many contemporary works.
I will keep going back to the book.
Those to be returned to:
All poems including Hamnavoe in the title.
The Year of the Whale
The Sea: Four Elegies
Voyages
Stained Glass Windows(1998)
Elegy for a Child
St Magnus Day 1992
St Magnus Day
And many others.
It is a book of it's place – the Orkney Islands. Fishing, danger, the elements, and ever, the sea. Death is close for these men who fish. The violence of the sea is often reflected in their culture, too, but there is a tender sorrow at the core, the sorrow of being mortal.
These poems are a great comfort in all their misery, and seem far more eternal and contemporary than many contemporary works.
I will keep going back to the book.
Those to be returned to:
All poems including Hamnavoe in the title.
The Year of the Whale
The Sea: Four Elegies
Voyages
Stained Glass Windows(1998)
Elegy for a Child
St Magnus Day 1992
St Magnus Day
And many others.
January 30, 2010
What a beautiful Christmas present. Here is a treasure for a lifetime. In my second dip into it I felt the midwinter cadences and meditative calm of dying in his later work.
December 31, 2017
An outstanding poet with a strong sense of place but a stronger ear for music and prosody. Within the same context as (but better than) Heaney, almost as good as Manley Hopkins, who Mackay Brown studied extensively. Powerful stuff.
January 29, 2025
I don’t know what it is but I am hopelessly in love with GMBs writing. A wonderful book to read in over and over again.
August 23, 2024
George Mackay Brown is possibly my favorite poet, and he certainly stands as a seminal but underread author. His writing, spanning poetry, novels, children’s stories, essays, and plays, captures the essence of life and nature from the perspective of his native Orkney Islands.
I have read some critics refer to his poetry as ‘lean and simple’ or something to this effect. While I agree Brown’s writing style is minimalistic, his descriptions contain a distilled substance that deeply engages the reader with his lyrics. His poetry is not at all stark like that of, for example, Ezra Pound or Robert Lax. Rather, I would liken it more to the nature poetry of Tang Dynasty China. Tang poets, such as Li Bai and Du Fu, used vivid nature imagery and emotional depth to create a strong sense of place and reflection. In Brown’s lines, you will find a controlled passion, a kind of meekness in the truest sense of this term, weaving emotions, memories, and reflections into a coherent landscape.
Meekness, often misunderstood as weakness, is a blend of humility, patience, and gentleness. In literature, it represents a quiet strength and resilience. Brown’s poetry exemplifies this quality, offering a gentle yet powerful voice that provides solace and wisdom. As a witness to Brown’s work on my soul, I have found rest, and while I have never visited the rugged beauty of his Orkney Islands, Brown’s meanings traverse time and geography and have taught me how to be a human being in a confusing and problematic world.
I have read some critics refer to his poetry as ‘lean and simple’ or something to this effect. While I agree Brown’s writing style is minimalistic, his descriptions contain a distilled substance that deeply engages the reader with his lyrics. His poetry is not at all stark like that of, for example, Ezra Pound or Robert Lax. Rather, I would liken it more to the nature poetry of Tang Dynasty China. Tang poets, such as Li Bai and Du Fu, used vivid nature imagery and emotional depth to create a strong sense of place and reflection. In Brown’s lines, you will find a controlled passion, a kind of meekness in the truest sense of this term, weaving emotions, memories, and reflections into a coherent landscape.
Meekness, often misunderstood as weakness, is a blend of humility, patience, and gentleness. In literature, it represents a quiet strength and resilience. Brown’s poetry exemplifies this quality, offering a gentle yet powerful voice that provides solace and wisdom. As a witness to Brown’s work on my soul, I have found rest, and while I have never visited the rugged beauty of his Orkney Islands, Brown’s meanings traverse time and geography and have taught me how to be a human being in a confusing and problematic world.
November 3, 2012
I loved this collection. I need to read all his work now. Like all poetry it is best read aloud to really feel it.
April 29, 2013
What can one say? Loads I didn't understand - not being an academic or steeped in mythology, but wow!
Dipping in and out of this collection is like a bracing dip in the north atlantic!
Dipping in and out of this collection is like a bracing dip in the north atlantic!
April 13, 2016
Watch out for 'Hamnavoe'. 'Devastatingly good.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews