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Fugitive Colours
Liz Lochhead’s new collection encompasses a life enriched with people, places and relationships; it is with humour and empathy that these relationships are captured, remembered and honoured in moments of joy and poignancy. There is sadness, truth, hope and optimism throughout the five sections in this collection, and each is varied in scope but are woven together as part of a life. This stunning new collection marks the end of Liz Lochhead’s term as Makar (Poet Laureate, 2011–2016) and features never before published work alongside poems written during her time as Makar. Throughout her career Liz Lochhead has been described as a poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster; she maintains that ‘when
somebody asks me what I do I usually say writer. The most precious thing to me is to be a poet. As a playwright, I’d like to be known as a poet in the theatre.’ Fugitive Colours is a brilliant, masterful collection.
somebody asks me what I do I usually say writer. The most precious thing to me is to be a poet. As a playwright, I’d like to be known as a poet in the theatre.’ Fugitive Colours is a brilliant, masterful collection.
112 pages, Hardcover
Published May 26, 2016
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16 people want to read
About the author
Liz Lochhead
86 books35 followersLiz Lochhead is a Scottish poet and dramatist, originally from Newarthill in North Lanarkshire. In the early 1970s she joined Philip Hobsbaum's writers' group, a crucible of creative activity - other members were Alasdair Gray, James Kelman, and Tom Leonard. Her plays include Blood and Ice, Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (1987), Perfect Days (2000) and a highly acclaimed adaptation into Scots of Molière's Tartuffe (1985). Her adaptation of Euripides' Medea won the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award in 2001. Like her work for theatre, her poetry is alive with vigorous speech idioms; collections include True Confessions and New Clichés (1985), Bagpipe Muzak (1991) and Dreaming Frankenstein: and Collected Poems (1984). She has collaborated with Dundee singer-songwriter Michael Marra.
In January 2011 she was named as the second Scots Makar, or national poet, succeeding Edwin Morgan who had died the previous year.
In January 2011 she was named as the second Scots Makar, or national poet, succeeding Edwin Morgan who had died the previous year.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 2, 2016
Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.
First impressions are important, and this book will certainly leave a positive first impression – it’s beautifully bound and the layout is fantastic, with high quality paper and a gorgeous rainbow illustration that hints of darkness, that the author created herself.
It’s a good metaphor for the type of poetry here – outwardly happy and occasionally inwardly dark, with interesting wordplay and a wide range of topics. Liz was the winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2015, as well as Scotland’s Makar. Pretty cool!
First impressions are important, and this book will certainly leave a positive first impression – it’s beautifully bound and the layout is fantastic, with high quality paper and a gorgeous rainbow illustration that hints of darkness, that the author created herself.
It’s a good metaphor for the type of poetry here – outwardly happy and occasionally inwardly dark, with interesting wordplay and a wide range of topics. Liz was the winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2015, as well as Scotland’s Makar. Pretty cool!
August 18, 2016
A lovely collection of poems from the former Makar. A mixed bag, grouped by themes, but the earlier, elegiac works, particularly those from Jura, stand out. A lot of references here to artistic and theatrical endeavours and her art school training shows a painter's view of many topics.
All through the book it is the voice of Liz Lochead that you hear. A marvellous poet and a great performer.
All through the book it is the voice of Liz Lochead that you hear. A marvellous poet and a great performer.
July 24, 2025
From a Mouse is glorious. Good poetry anthology!
January 4, 2017
Liz Lochead’s poetry is infused with a context that any Scot can relate to. I was gripped by the opening poem – “Favourite Place”, which resonated with my own seasonal trips to the highlands when I was small, but also felt steeped in sadness – a lifetime of happy routines turned inside out by bereavement. Liz captures moments and images vibrantly in some wonderful poetic snapshots – some of my favourites included “Autumn with a Magpie” where a pomegranate is described as “a bomb packed with garnets”, “Photograph Art student….1966” where the culture of the 60s is distilled into a portrait of a young woman, and “Some Old Photographs” that sparkle with life through her words – “drops on a rainmate are sequins”. I also enjoyed her insights on creativity in “Labyrinth” - you have to invent your own rules to obey - and in “Poets need not”, which acknowledges the anonymous rewards of writing.
It’s an interesting collection of poems, which I thought perhaps also gave an insight into the hard realities of being a professional poet. Mixed amongst the beauty are some poems that didn’t quite fit to me. Some that shone less than others. I wondered if these were perhaps the ones that had felt more like chores to the poet – those set in Jura Lodge for example, or the one written about the commonwealth. All the same, they were insightful in their way and it was a pleasure to read this collection as a whole.
It’s an interesting collection of poems, which I thought perhaps also gave an insight into the hard realities of being a professional poet. Mixed amongst the beauty are some poems that didn’t quite fit to me. Some that shone less than others. I wondered if these were perhaps the ones that had felt more like chores to the poet – those set in Jura Lodge for example, or the one written about the commonwealth. All the same, they were insightful in their way and it was a pleasure to read this collection as a whole.
January 28, 2017
This is a wonderful collection. ‘Spring 2010, and at His Desk by the Window is Eddie in a Red Shirt’ is a particular highlight – an affectionate tribute to the late Edwin Morgan and a welcome reminder of the stunning impact of Liz Lochhead’s recitation of Morgan’s poem for the opening of the new Scottish Parliament building back in 1999.
November 6, 2016
Beautifully moving words on grief and loss, love and friendship. Lizzie will always by my Queen of Scots
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews