Syllabus
THE HEBRIDES
Week 1
Course opening
Introduction – history, culture, and languages of the Hebrides (I)
No reading required
Week 2
Introduction – history, culture, and languages of the Hebrides (II)
Sorley MacLean (I) – Dàin do Eimhir (Poems to Eimhir)
Compulsory reading
MacLean, Sorley. Dàin do Eimhir. Edited by Ch. Whyte. Edinburgh: Polygon, 2007.
Additional reading
Dymock, Emma. The Poetry of Sorley MacLean. Glasgow: ASLS, 2011.
Hendry, Joy. “Sorley MacLean: The Man and His Work.” Sorley MacLean: Critical Essays. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1986.
MacAulay, Donald. “Introduction.” Modern Scottish Gaelic Poems. Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 1995.
MacInnes, John. “Language, Metre and Diction in the Poetry of Sorley MacLean.” Dùthchas nan Gàidheal: Selected Essays of John MacInnes. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2010.
MacLean, Sorley. “My relationship with the Muse.” Ris A’ Bhruthaich: The Criticism and Prose Writings of Sorley MacLean. Stornoway: Acair, 1997.
MacDonald, Donald Archie. “Some Aspects of Family and Local Background: an Interview with Sorley MacLean.” Sorley MacLean: Critical Essays. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1986.
Whyte, Christopher. “Cultural Catalysts: Sorley MacLean and George Campbell Hay.” The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature 3. Edinburgh: EUP, 2009.
Sorley MacLean website: http://www.sorleymaclean.org/english (biography, recordings, videos, photos, and other resources freely available)
Sorley MacLean: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/sorley-maclean/
A wide selection of other materials on Sorley MacLean can be obtained from the lecturer.
Week 3
Sorley MacLean (II) – “Hallaig” and other poems of place
Compulsory reading
Sorley MacLean - “Hallaig”, “Sgreapadal”, “Coilltean Ratharsair” (Woods of Raasay)
Additional reading
Bateman, Meg. “Skye and Raasay as Symbol in the Poetry of Sorley MacLean.” The Storr: Unfolding Landscape. Edinburgh: Luath, 2005.
Heaney, Seamus. “The Trance and the Translation.” The Guardian 30 November 2002.
MacInnes, John. “Hallaig – A Note.” Dùthchas nan Gàidheal: Selected Essays of John MacInnes. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2010.
+ all additional reading for Week 2
A wide selection of other materials on Sorley MacLean can be obtained from the lecturer.
Week 4
Derick Thomson
Compulsory reading
Thomson, Derick. An Rathad Cian (The Far Road, 1970).
Additional reading
Black, Ronald. “Sorley MacLean, Derick Thomson, and the Women Most Dangerous to Men.” The Bottle Imp 21: July 2017.
Byrne, Michel. “Monsters and Goddesses: Culture Re-energised in the Poetry of Aonghas MacNeacail and Ruaraidh MacThòmais.” The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature 3. Edinburgh: EUP, 2009.
MacAulay, Donald. “Introduction.” Modern Scottish Gaelic Poems. Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 1995.
Mitchell, Andrew. Taking You Home: Poems and Conversations. Argyll: Argyll Publishing, 2006.
Whyte, Christopher. “Interviews with Ruaraidh MacThòmais.” Glasgow: Baile Mòr nan Gàidheal / City of the Gaels. Glasgow: Roinn na Ceiltis, Oilthigh Ghlaschu, 2007.
Derick Thomson: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/derick-thomson/
A wide selection of other materials on Derick Thomson can be obtained from the lecturer.
Week 5
Iain Crichton Smith
Compulsory reading
Smith, Iain Crichton – the selection of poems from Taking You Home
Additional reading
Blackburn, John. The Poetry of Iain Crichton Smith. Glasgow: ASLS, 1993.
MacAulay, Donald. “Introduction.” Modern Scottish Gaelic Poems. Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 1995.
Mitchell, Andrew. Taking You Home: Poems and Conversations. Argyll: Argyll Publishing, 2006.
Iain Crichton Smith: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/iain-crichton-smith/
+ a good range of works by Iain Crichton Smith is available at the National Library
A wide selection of other materials on Iain Crichton Smith can be obtained from the lecturer.
ORKNEY
Week 6
Introduction – history, culture, and languages of Orkney
No reading required
Additional reading
Hall, Simon W. “Norse Past, Victorian Present: Orcadian readings of ‘Orkneyinga Saga’.” The Bottle Imp 25: July 2019.
Hall, Simon W. The History of Orkney Literature. PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2009.
The Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by J. Hjaltalin and G. Goudie, edited by J. Anderson. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1873. Also available in Icelandic at the Jan Palach Library
Week 7
George Mackay Brown
Compulsory reading
Mackay Brown, George – a selection of poems from Loaves and Fishes (1959) and The Year of the Whale (1965)
Mackay Brown, George – a selection of short stories from Hawkfall (1974)
Additional reading
George Mackay Brown: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/george-mackay-brown/
More GMB works at the English Studies Library: Magnus; Time in a Red Coat; Hawkfall
A good selection of works by George Mackay Brown is available at the National Library.
The novel Greenvoe and The Collected Poems of GMB can be obtained from the lecturer.
Week 8
Edwin Muir
Compulsory reading
Muir, Edwin – “The Labyrinth”, “Horses”, “The Horses”, “The Good Town”, “One Foot in Eden”, “The Cloud”
Additional reading
McCulloch, Margery Palmer. “Edwin and Willa Muir: Scottish, European and Gender Journeys, 1918–69.” The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature 3. Edinburgh: EUP, 2009.
Muir, Edwin. An Autobiography (1987). 2 copies at the English Studies Library.
Muir, Edwin. Collected Poems (1984). 2 copies at the English Studies Library.
+ a good selection of Muir’s poetry, prose and translations is available at the English Studies Library
The study Edwin Muir: Poet, Critic, Novelist (1993) by Margery Palmer McCulloch can be obtained from the lecturer.
SHETLAND
Week 9
Introduction – history, culture, and languages of Shetland
No reading required
Week 10
Modern and contemporary Shetland poetry
Compulsory reading
A selection of poems to be specified at the beginning of the Shetland section
Additional reading
Williamson, Christine. “A Deep, Owld Anchor.” The Bottle Imp 25: July 2019.
Robert Alan Jamieson: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/robert-alan-jamieson/
Christine de Luca: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/christine-de-luca/
T. A. Robertson: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/t-robertson/
Week 11
Scottish archipelagos in popular culture
Compulsory reading / viewing
Peter May
Ann Cleeves
To be specified according to the choice of the presenting student(s).
Additional reading
Agger, Gunhild, Tange, Hanne. “Auld Rock meets Nordic Noir: A Danish Gaze on Shetlandic Scandinavian-ness.” The Bottle Imp
Annotation
The aim of the course is to introduce students to the rich and varied literatures and cultures of the Scottish islands – the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland – that tend to be bypassed in survey courses on Scottish literature. Each section will be preceded by an introductory session sketching the history, culture, and linguistic situation of the given archipelago.
The seminar does not strive to be exhaustive, but rather to acquaint the students with selected illustrative topics, mostly from twentieth-century literature.