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Polygon New Poets
Moder Dy = Mother Wave
Winner of an Eric Gregory Award, 2020
Winner of a Somerset Maugham Award, 2020
‘The old Shetland fishermen still speak with something like reverence of the forgotten art of steering by the moder dy (mother wave), the name given to an underswell which it is said always travels in the direction of home’
Written in English, interspersed with Shetlandic dialect throughout, this eagerly awaited debut collection from Shetland poet Roseanne Watt contains profound, assured and wilfully spare poems that are built from the sight, sound and heartbeat of the land as much as from the sea. In rigorously controlled, concise, and vivid language Watt offers glimpses of the landscape alongside which we find the most complex and mysterious of human experiences.
Winner of a Somerset Maugham Award, 2020
‘The old Shetland fishermen still speak with something like reverence of the forgotten art of steering by the moder dy (mother wave), the name given to an underswell which it is said always travels in the direction of home’
Written in English, interspersed with Shetlandic dialect throughout, this eagerly awaited debut collection from Shetland poet Roseanne Watt contains profound, assured and wilfully spare poems that are built from the sight, sound and heartbeat of the land as much as from the sea. In rigorously controlled, concise, and vivid language Watt offers glimpses of the landscape alongside which we find the most complex and mysterious of human experiences.
64 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 4, 2019
2 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Roseanne Watt
4 books7 followersRoseanne Watt (b. 1991) is a Scottish poet, filmmaker, and musician. She writes in both English and Shetland dialect. Her first poetry collection Moder Dy won multiple awards, including the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award in 2018 and the Somerset Maugham Award in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 27, 2020
I mean, words can't really describe how much I love this collection. Love isn't even quite the right word in that sentence, because it doesn't catch the hum of memory and loss and connection that these poems evoke.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
There were two absolutely standout collections for me in a year of reading a lot of very, very good poetry: Inside Me An Island, and Moder Dy. These are the kind of books that you read cover to cover, caught in the language and the meanings behind; the kind of books you pick back up when you need a reminder of beauty even in the harshness of the world; the kind of books you read again and again because they make you feel like you do, in fact, belong.
If you have any interest in poetry, in language, in islands, in salt-worn coasts and generational memory and the hum and swell of the sea, please read this.
(It's also fuel for the thesis - getting to read the loveliest things like this and have it be research is one of the nicest things about my current Masters project!)
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
Lass, du's parched dy tongue
o dy ain lan, Knappit
dy words sae dry dey sift
atween dy teeth like saand
spriitin doon an ooerglass.
Lass, you've parched your tongue of your own land./'Propered'/ your words so dry they sift between/ your teeth like sand flitting down an hourglass.
There were two absolutely standout collections for me in a year of reading a lot of very, very good poetry: Inside Me An Island, and Moder Dy. These are the kind of books that you read cover to cover, caught in the language and the meanings behind; the kind of books you pick back up when you need a reminder of beauty even in the harshness of the world; the kind of books you read again and again because they make you feel like you do, in fact, belong.
If you have any interest in poetry, in language, in islands, in salt-worn coasts and generational memory and the hum and swell of the sea, please read this.
(It's also fuel for the thesis - getting to read the loveliest things like this and have it be research is one of the nicest things about my current Masters project!)
July 21, 2024
Half of my family is from the Shetlands, if you go way, way back. And so in 2018, K. and I went to the Shetlands, partly to find my great, great, great progenitor's croft and partly to see the puffins, and eat all the tiffin. We found the croft and the grave in Walls ('inlets of the sea' in Shaetlan), as I stood there looking at it, I wondered what possessed that buried man's sons to sail around the world for 2 years just to arrive in Nelson, New Zealand, a place not that dissimilar to where they came from (albeit a little bit warmer).
When you're in the Shetlands you very quickly realise that there's two equally strong influences on the culture. One is Scots Gaelic, and the other is Norwegian Viking. This makes geographical sense as Shetland is equidistant (about 300km) from Bergen in Norway and Edinburgh in Scotland. The combination of languages has created the most beautiful sounds any Germanic language has ever made and listening to Shaetlan spoken is liking being in a lucid dream.
Roseanne Watt has created an exceptional collection of poems with her forked tongue. There's a certain Selkie like effect hearing her poems in Shaetlan and then English.
These poems sit comfortably next to what seems her spiritual progenitor, Christine De Luca's work.
My favourites are Rain Gös, Akker, and Tirrick Skull. I've copied the latter out below in both Shaetlan and English.
Tirrick Skull
Noo du is nae mair
as pipper bon, tom
sockets stoorin
at de wind'e erts,
dem gates o air
du put by in de hadd
o dy mindin;
noo, weet saand
is aa de bruks o maettir
dat wance granted
dee dy bu
o lift
Arctic Tern Skull
now you are no more
than paper bone,
empty sockets glowering
at the wind's directions,
those paths of air
you stored in memory's nest;
now wet sand is all
that remains of matter
which granted you
your house of sky
If you're struggling to say it properly, you could try putting on a Scottish accent. Better yet, listen to Roseanne Watt herself. She reads a few of the poems in this clip including Rin Gös.
https://www.facebook.com/highlandbookprize/videos/roseanne-watt-reading-from-moder-dy/686018405542798/
It'll be the best thing you do all day.
When you're in the Shetlands you very quickly realise that there's two equally strong influences on the culture. One is Scots Gaelic, and the other is Norwegian Viking. This makes geographical sense as Shetland is equidistant (about 300km) from Bergen in Norway and Edinburgh in Scotland. The combination of languages has created the most beautiful sounds any Germanic language has ever made and listening to Shaetlan spoken is liking being in a lucid dream.
Roseanne Watt has created an exceptional collection of poems with her forked tongue. There's a certain Selkie like effect hearing her poems in Shaetlan and then English.
These poems sit comfortably next to what seems her spiritual progenitor, Christine De Luca's work.
My favourites are Rain Gös, Akker, and Tirrick Skull. I've copied the latter out below in both Shaetlan and English.
Tirrick Skull
Noo du is nae mair
as pipper bon, tom
sockets stoorin
at de wind'e erts,
dem gates o air
du put by in de hadd
o dy mindin;
noo, weet saand
is aa de bruks o maettir
dat wance granted
dee dy bu
o lift
Arctic Tern Skull
now you are no more
than paper bone,
empty sockets glowering
at the wind's directions,
those paths of air
you stored in memory's nest;
now wet sand is all
that remains of matter
which granted you
your house of sky
If you're struggling to say it properly, you could try putting on a Scottish accent. Better yet, listen to Roseanne Watt herself. She reads a few of the poems in this clip including Rin Gös.
https://www.facebook.com/highlandbookprize/videos/roseanne-watt-reading-from-moder-dy/686018405542798/
It'll be the best thing you do all day.
March 11, 2025
Review on my blog, not posting here as it includes a video.
https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2020...
2nd reading:
Been almost 5 years since I first read this book of poetry, crazy how time flies. Nothing has changed in my opinion of this smart little book, love the local dialect used, it gives just enough away in the words and flow for me to be tantalisingly close to understanding it. The words are so poetic that they make the English language feel watered down, even an exciting word like "drizzle" pales in comparison.
Favourite this time around were the haikus, especially "Lukkie Minnie's oo" it takes a little while to sink in but it always gives a chuckle.
See you in another 5 years Moder Dy
https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2020...
2nd reading:
Been almost 5 years since I first read this book of poetry, crazy how time flies. Nothing has changed in my opinion of this smart little book, love the local dialect used, it gives just enough away in the words and flow for me to be tantalisingly close to understanding it. The words are so poetic that they make the English language feel watered down, even an exciting word like "drizzle" pales in comparison.
Favourite this time around were the haikus, especially "Lukkie Minnie's oo" it takes a little while to sink in but it always gives a chuckle.
See you in another 5 years Moder Dy
January 9, 2022
yesyesyesyesyes the selkies, the sea, the language, the everything
March 13, 2022
A luminous collection full of the sea, sounds and words of the Shetland islands. Roseanne Watt uses a mixture of Shetlandic and English to explore her home islands, interspersing short and long poems, on sea-caves, birds, fishermen, language and water. She is consciously exploring the divide between Shetlandic and "proper" English, and the ways in which Shetlandic is more expansive, detailed, and suitable for describing her island home. Keen-eyed, her poems are beautifully observed and have a timeless feel: there is a sense of history being alive, and that, though the world is constantly changing, the past is not forgotten. However, some of Watt's subjects, such as foxes or sea-birds, have been meditated on too often in poems, and her work can feel too familiar. Her best pieces for me were those that embraced Shetlandic, especially her "Mother Tongue" poem, which cleverly explores how it feels to move through two language and two ways of thinking. Certainly a poet to watch.
August 23, 2023
Do we come from language? From the sea or a heron? And where do we go?
I loved reading this book of poems even the ones in Shetland, rocks rolling around in our mouths and then dropping…
It is a very unusual book full of wonder, grief and love.
I loved reading this book of poems even the ones in Shetland, rocks rolling around in our mouths and then dropping…
It is a very unusual book full of wonder, grief and love.
July 24, 2019
Stunning poetry collection by a phenomenal Shetland poet, which will especially resonate with anyone thinking about language, loss, place, and displacement.
August 5, 2024
★★★★ - 4/5 stars
this was such a wonderful introduction of shaetlan, and i devoured it quickly! i'm not particularly familiar with the shetland dialect, however as an orcadian there was definitely enough crossover (i assume due to the past shared language of norn, and now scots, still influencing both dialects) that i could mostly follow along - with only needing to flip to the glossary for the odd word here and there. even still, i think this is a great text for someone completely unfamiliar to the dialects to dip their toes into, due to mix of poems that contain shaetlan with english translations opposite, english poems, and english poems with only a few words or phrases in shaetlan. there is also a fantastic glossary at the back to refer to. i also really appreciated the poem notes at the end - the note about yurden in particular was fascinating!
for me, the strongest poems were in part one (stoal), with my favourite poems in shaetlan being 'saat i de blöd' (my personal favourite of the whole collection) and 'de selkie steps'. i also enjoyed 'de slockit licht/the slockit light', however i ironically preferred the english translation over the shaetlan. there is also 'moder dy' hiding in the very back of the book behind the glossary, which i also enjoyed greatly, however i found the english translation there lacking. it was trying to capture the vibes of the shaetlan poem, rather than the translation of it and for me, i found that it didn't really manage either.
overall, i really enjoyed this collection of poems and i hope to read more texts in the future that celebrates the island's language, history and culture!
• instagram • goodreads •
this was such a wonderful introduction of shaetlan, and i devoured it quickly! i'm not particularly familiar with the shetland dialect, however as an orcadian there was definitely enough crossover (i assume due to the past shared language of norn, and now scots, still influencing both dialects) that i could mostly follow along - with only needing to flip to the glossary for the odd word here and there. even still, i think this is a great text for someone completely unfamiliar to the dialects to dip their toes into, due to mix of poems that contain shaetlan with english translations opposite, english poems, and english poems with only a few words or phrases in shaetlan. there is also a fantastic glossary at the back to refer to. i also really appreciated the poem notes at the end - the note about yurden in particular was fascinating!
for me, the strongest poems were in part one (stoal), with my favourite poems in shaetlan being 'saat i de blöd' (my personal favourite of the whole collection) and 'de selkie steps'. i also enjoyed 'de slockit licht/the slockit light', however i ironically preferred the english translation over the shaetlan. there is also 'moder dy' hiding in the very back of the book behind the glossary, which i also enjoyed greatly, however i found the english translation there lacking. it was trying to capture the vibes of the shaetlan poem, rather than the translation of it and for me, i found that it didn't really manage either.
overall, i really enjoyed this collection of poems and i hope to read more texts in the future that celebrates the island's language, history and culture!
• instagram • goodreads •
December 13, 2019
I was immediately attracted to this collection by its cover: a luminous sphere that glows within a frame of deepest black. It pulled me towards it like the ‘Mother Wave’ of the title guided the ancient fisherman of Shetland towards land. These are poems of instinct and timeless knowledge, and Roseanne Watt certainly knows how to steer her craft. The sequences are grouped into three sections that contain elements of ancient Shetlandic lore and a keen sense of physical landscape that serves to navigate the poet towards her own personal truth. While some Shetlandic poets write unapologetically in dialect, Roseanne Watt’s combination of both English and her narrative Shetlandic enables her to express two very different ways of being. The resulting contrast is a pushing and pulling between languages, in which Shetlandic represents the more guttural, elemental vocabulary, a language tied to the rhythms of sky, sea and earth, and English its more urban daughter. There is a sense of distance too, both in place and time, that contributes to the collection’s sense of loss, and a residual feeling that something crucial is being eroded, not only for the poet, but in our collective nature. Yet there is a purpose present in the flat emptiness of the Shetlandic landscape and the animals that inhabit it. Their bones and disembodied voices are like portents, at once solid and elusive, reminiscent of our own time on earth. In this way, Shetland symbolises the elemental aspects of our nature to which the Moder Dy will ultimately return us, come what may. Watt eloquently combines two very different modes of expression to find music in the silence and light in dark spaces. This is a collection that asserts itself quietly and intelligently. An absolute gem.
March 8, 2025
I can smell the sea, the kelp and the tidelines in these poems. Very powerful. The Shetland language is beautiful. The Shetland voice is beautiful. It's like two people writing. She is a master in both languages.
It reminds me of a linguist I knew who had a talent for languages almost mystical. I watched him switch from one language to another, fluent in both, it was a physical transformation. It struck me that this was what fluency means. A whole being. I remember thinking this is the true power of language, this ability that humans have. This book is like that.
It reminds me of a linguist I knew who had a talent for languages almost mystical. I watched him switch from one language to another, fluent in both, it was a physical transformation. It struck me that this was what fluency means. A whole being. I remember thinking this is the true power of language, this ability that humans have. This book is like that.
January 23, 2023
Aert du is fir o aert du wis made
hame- trowe tae aert 🤍
Let us be red, alive and undone
let us be barely human.
A beautiful set of poems. Watt’s connection to her Shaetlan roots is so refreshing and you can feel the passion, depths in her work. Beautiful craft - truly felt like I was embarking on this journey - through the seas, souls, caves of stories and dreams embellished with creativity and curiosity.
January 23, 2023
"We'll follow the wind
no doubt:
try to find some common language in it."
The past and present, places and memories, and the memories of places, come together. I love the combination of Shetlandic and English, the place of language in the poems, and the language of the place. I also love the presence of the sea, the haafman, shoormal, skröf, and the selkie, and how the place and the language are intertwined.
"Dese wirds ir my hansel tae dee."
no doubt:
try to find some common language in it."
The past and present, places and memories, and the memories of places, come together. I love the combination of Shetlandic and English, the place of language in the poems, and the language of the place. I also love the presence of the sea, the haafman, shoormal, skröf, and the selkie, and how the place and the language are intertwined.
"Dese wirds ir my hansel tae dee."
August 11, 2022
This collection was atmospheric, visceral & vivid, with precise images. Each poem bled into the other with its own gentle contrast and difference but remained cohesive. Particularly fantastic images to note were of the streetlight which "glistened like an altar" or was its own "sunken, sundered world" that "best become of us". I devoured this collection so fast, I now want to read it back slowly.
September 15, 2020
Absolutely gorgeous.
Read
October 28, 2020Stunning! I didn't want it to end. And I know I will return to this collection time and time again.
December 4, 2020
Perfection
December 31, 2020
Brilliant poetry.
January 9, 2021
This was my literary highlight of 2020, found by chance in a bookshop in Dornoch. Quite magical poetry, and wonderful to feel the rhythms and the music of the sea throughout it all.
Read
March 8, 2022WHAT an exquisite piece !! I am so excited by this one very keen to see what Roseanne does next best wishes and love
April 30, 2022
Beautiful book, with gorgeous and engaging verses.
December 28, 2024
Breathtaking, vivid and playful.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews