A Gathering: A Personal Anthology of Scottish Poems

by Alexander McCall Smith (Contributor)

This anthology is a personal curation and not just a simple collection of poems. Each poem, handpicked by Alexander McCall Smith, leads the reader from one poem to the another. Intimate in tone, the editor shares the pleasure he finds in these poems through short epigraphs written for each piece. Grouped together in themes, Islands, Friendship, Love and Marriage, through to War and Conflict, Secrets, and Joy, this book would make the prefect gift for any occasion. It is a book for readers with a deep love of poetry, as well as those who are looking for the key that will open up the world of poetry. It includes poetry Hugh MacDiarmid - George Mackay Brown - Edwin Muir - Sorley MacLean - Naomi Mitchison - Robert Louis Stevenson - Sir Walter Scott - Nan Shepherd - Iain Crichton Smith - Muriel Spark

Genres: Poetry, Scotland

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published June 23, 2020

About the author

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Reviews

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only suitable place to read this is sat on Arthur's seat or some other suitably Scottish setting. Definitely enhances the experience.

[Tanya (Novel Paperbacks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection that introduced me to so many poets I am excited to read more of. This was a powerful and emotional reading experience.

[Léa — streetvenus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une superbe collection de poèmes à laisser décanter tranquillement, comportant une sélection émouvante qui amorcera la (re!)découverte d’auteurs qui valent le coup d’œil. Dans mon cas, force est de constater que le poème est un des exercices littéraires qui me parle le plus. Cependant, j’ai eu un handicap flagrant en ce qui concerne ma maîtrise et connaissance de l’argot et du patois écossais (et pourtant j’y suis quand même exposée et j’en connais la teneur basique), ainsi que de vieilles formes d’anglais du XVIIe, XVIIIe. (Oui, je pense à toi, la fable sans fin que j’ai fini par abréger, ne voulant pas passer ma soirée dans le dictionnaire). Certains poèmes donc, peuvent donner du fil à retordre aux étrangers à moins d’être un•e littéraire Anglo-saxon•ne accompli•e. Il y avait parfois des traductions pour les formulations plus obscures mais ça ne m’a pas suffit.
Ça vaut quand même le coup, si les auteurs écossais vous intéressent, de vous plonger dedans. C’est une merveilleuse façon d’en apprendre sur des endroits, des époques et des vies qui sont loin de nos expériences personnelles.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully curated collection.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

A beautiful selection of poetry.
Unfortunately, I'm not versed enough in Gaelic to appreciate the poems that were in this language.

[Susanne (Pages of Crime) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I enjoyed reading Alexander McCall Smith's explanations better than some of the poems!!

[Dreichet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book as an introduction to Scotland’s wealth of poets.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of poems from a wide variety of poets. Lots of interesting information included too.