Riding lights: Poems

by Norman MacCaig

61 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

MacCaig was born in Edinburgh and divided his time, for the rest of his life, between his native city and Assynt in the Scottish Highlands. He registered as a conscientious objector during World War II. In 1967 he was appointed Fellow in Creative Writing at Edinburgh. He became a reader in poetry in 1970, at the University of Stirling.

Reviews

[Caspar "moved to storygraph" Bryant]

absolutely popping norman is a bit of a master at consistency there's so no weakness here. A beautiful collection though does make me curious about his first two - he hunted down and burned every copy he could find. THey're not included in most Collecteds of Norm so far as I know

[Boy Blue · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourites included; Encounter, Back to Sutherland After a Long Absence, After, Harpsichord Playing Bach, Fiat, Climbing Suilven, and Laggandoan, Harris.

There were a few poems where MacCaig's adherence to the rhyme scheme didn't quite work and part of the poem feels like it would rather be anywhere else. But otherwise the simplicity and clarity of his poems are their strengths. He also has a keen eye on nature, though this feels for lack of a better word, natural.

MacCaig does seem obsessed with the seasons in a way only a man who grew up in a city could be. Perhaps it's also an antipodean view of mine, our seasons aren't quite as dramatic as those of the high latitudes MacCaig lived in.

He also seems to love the mid phrase rhyme, and will happily split a sentence across lines to get his desired rhyming effect.

Later in the year I will be Climbing Suilven so that one had a particular resonance for me.