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Synopsis
100 Island Poems of Great Britain and Ireland includes poems by Betjeman, Harrison and MacDiarmid. A superb collection that celebrates the hundreds of varied islands scattered off Britain and Ireland's coasts. It includes such well-known poets as John Betjeman, Tony Harrison, Kathleen Jamie and Seamus Heaney, but also many lesser known voices. The work envelops large islands such as the Isle of Wight, as well as tiny ones such as Holy Island, and those that are remote from the north of Scotland. Here is a wide-ranging poetic response to the many offshore locales and civilisations scattered round our islands, often pinpointing a way of life quite different to that lived on the mainland. I was better with the sound of the sea Than with the voices of men And in desolate and desert places I found myself again Hugh MacDiarmid
This is truly wonderful anthology of poems inspired by the many beautiful islands all around our coast. All the major island groups are included: the Scillies, the Aran Islands, the Inner Hebrides, the Outer Hebrides, the Shetlands and the Orkneys. I love the way in which famous poets such as Seamus Heaney, Tony Harrison, Kathleen Jamie and John Betjeman rub shoulders with talented lesser-known poets such as the crofter on the Hebridean island of Colonsay and the 7 year old girl from the remote Shetland island of Foula. Reading this enjoyable anthology becomes a spiritual journey and one remembers of all those Celtic monks who prayed and fasted on so many of our remotest islands. I cannot reccomend this book too highly. The Foreword by the editor. James Knox Whittet, who himself was born and brought in the Hebridean island of Islay, is deeply moving and thought provoking and contains many wise insights.
Ann Jones
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