The Voice of the Bard

by Timothy Neat, John MacInnes (Contributor)

The Voice of the Bard presents biographical portraits of fourteen poets and singers. All are Scottish Highlanders-most are unknown outside their local communities-and all are twentieth-century exponents of rich literary traditions whose origins can be traced to the pre-Christian era. This is a book of great importance and is illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs and a wide variety of song-poems. It reveals a hidden layer in the history of the Scottish Gaidhealtachd and paints a mini-history of Highland life.

356 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

Timothy Neat was born and brought up in Cornwall. He completed a degree in Fine Art at the University of Leeds and moved to Scotland in 1968. From 1973 to 1988, he lectured in History of Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee. During his time there, he became the founder-editor of a fine-art periodical called Seer.

Also well known as a filmmaker, Neat made a number of independent films and documentaries, including The Summer Walkers (1976), Hallaig (1984), Play Me Something (1989) and Walk Me Home (1993).

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book 15 years ago in Scotland and finally read it. Lovely document of a culture disappearing, and a bardic tradition predating Christianity and continuing into modern Scotland. I found most interesting the Foxfire-like documenting of the words of several of the poets -- it's not just the verse but the cultural context and the personal lives. No one in this book "made a living" as a bard -- there was crofting, fishing, merchant marine, collecting kelp from the sea, weaving tweed (and even musical-hall comedy). The Gaelic is lovely to hear, and if the book ever is reissued, I hope it comes with a CD. Some of the translations into English are a bit sing-songy and sentimental. This surprised me a bit, since Gaelic speakers are seldom sentimental, often lyric (it's built into the language to a certain extent), and the bards tended (according to the book) to work in broken rhythm.