Two Men at Once' is one of Norman MacCaig best known poems. He was indeed two men at once: Edinburgh, the city where he was bornand lived as a teacher and poet, was his home, but no other place shaped his poetry more than Assynt in Sutherland. It is here that he wouldspend many a summer on family holidays, walking the hills and fishing the lochs. MacCaig's fresh eye saw remarkable newness even in theeveryday and each poem is a tiny revelation, a new look at an old friend. This collection celebrates, renews, and rediscovers Norman MacCaig'sAssynt.
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.
His poems on death really resonated with me, but many of the others didn’t strike a chord. I think these poems would be really beautiful to those who know and love Scotland well.