Sruth na Maoile

Description

Canongate, 1993. 275 pages. Hardback.

Modern Gaelic Poetry from Scotland and Ireland

Spanning writing covering a large part of this century, this anthology celebrates the first twenty-one years of the Scottish-Irish poetry exchange. Every spring and autumn since 1971, the filí of Ireland and the bàird of Scotland have gone on a week-long trip across Sruth na Maoile, or the Sea of Moyle, to bring their rich and diverse readings to enthusiastic audiences. The experience of the live reading as a medium for this poetry is reflected in the accessibility of the writing, and in the subjects addressed – from religion to politics to romantic love and, of course, the theme of language itself. Sruth na Maoile bears witness to the coming of age of a cultural fellowship, a reunion of two branches of the Gaelic language, separated to some extent by geography and by historical development but still united by a rich cultural heritage.
Both Irish and Scottish Gaelic poems are provided with parallel English translations.