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Iain Crichton Smith
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After the Dance
As a child Iain Crichton Smith was raised speaking Gaelic on the island of Lewis. At school in Stornoway he spoke English. Like many islanders before and since, his culture was divided: two languages and two histories entailing exile. His divided perspective delineated the tyranny of history and religion, of the cramped life of small communities, and gave him a compassionate eye for the struggle of women and men in a world defined by denials. After the Dance proves that big themes – love, history, power, submission, death – can be addressed without the foil of irony and acquire resonance when given a local habitation and a voice that risks pure, humane, impassioned speech. This updated edition includes the story 'Home'
The Poetry of Iain Crichton Smith
John Blackburn's SCOTNOTE study guide analyses the religious, political and historical themes and patterns of Crichton Smith's work, and is a suitable guide for senior school pupils and students at all levels.
Deer on the High Hills
Growing up on the Isle of Lewis, Iain Crichton Smith spoke only Gaelic until he was five. But at school in Bayble and then Stornoway, everything had to be in English. Like many islanders before and since, his culture is divided: two languages, two histories entailing exile, a central theme of his poetry. His divided perspective sharply delineates the tyranny of history and religion, of the cramped life of small communities; it gives him a tender eye for the struggle of women and men in a world defined by denials. Deer on the High Hills: Selected Poems includes forty years' work and proves that big themes - love, history, power, submission, death - can be addressed without the foil of irony and acquire resonance when given a local habitation and a voice that risks pure, impassioned speech. Editor John Greening provides indexes, a preface and an essay on the life and work of this important poet.
Selected Stories
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The Leaf and the Marble
In his fifth collection for Carcanet, Crichton Smith's powers prove undiminished. In what is essentially an extended love poem to his wife, The Leaf and the Marble begins as a holiday in Italy, and is transformed into an exploration of the founding myths of classical Rome. With the legend of Aeneas and Dido playing a central role, the poems explore the violence and cruelty of Roman society and contrast this with the world of Nature. While Crichton Smith contends that Rome was founded on the denial of love, the poetry in this collection is a testament to the enduring and humane potential of that love.
Ends and Beginnings
Ends and Beginnings is Iain Crichton Smith's most ambitious collection for years. It begins in elegy, with the exiles and deaths about which he writes so memorably, and progresses through place, history and positive change. After a trip to the Golan Heights, he conceived a major poem on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, using an unaccustomed Biblical idiom. He considers the isolated people of his native Lewis, and those isolated in a wider culture-scholars, writers, lovers, the old-whose need for communion is thwarted by estranging disciplines or by the depredations of history.
Selected Poems
One of Scotland's most interesting and highly praised writers, his reputation is built upon a considerable body of work in both English and Gaelic that encompasses a wide range of genres including novels, short stories, plays, and poetry.
Listen to the Voice
This collection of the best of Iain Crichton Smith's short fiction brings together not one but many voices, both public and private. Ranging from inner promptings towards self-discovery, through the unconscious comedy of everyday speech, to the rantings of near madness, these stories display the peaks of Smith's wry, surrealistic humour, and his confessional mode in re-telling the past. The longer stories, illustrative of Smith's novels, are represented by 'Murdo' and the seminal 'The Black and the Red'. There are also outstanding short pieces such as 'Listen to the Voice' and the poignant vignette, 'The Dying'.
