Description
Book SynopsisBy examining at length for the first time those places in Scotland that inspired MacDiarmid to produce his best poetry, Scott Lyall shows how the poet''s politics evolved from his interaction with the nation, exploring how MacDiarmid discovered a hidden tradition of radical Scottish Republicanism through which he sought to imagine a new Scottish future. Adapting postcolonial theory, this book allows readers a fuller understanding not only of MacDiarmid''s poetry and politics, but also of international modernism, and the social history of Scottish modernism.
Trade ReviewThis is the first book I've read which takes a patient, detailed, cautious yet essentially humane evaluation of what MacDiarmid's politics were, how they came about and what their lasting significance might be...There are real insights into the poetry and literary practice of the man, and the literary, political and personal milieux of his life. -- Professor Alan Riach, University of Glasgow Given that MacDiarmid may well be the most influential but also the least understood of twentieth-century Scottish intellectuals and nationalists, Lyall's book plays an important role in explaining how a key moment in Scottish history may yet become part of a more usable past...[an] earnest and insightful study. Scottish Studies Review This is the first book I've read which takes a patient, detailed, cautious yet essentially humane evaluation of what MacDiarmid's politics were, how they came about and what their lasting significance might be...There are real insights into the poetry and literary practice of the man, and the literary, political and personal milieux of his life. Given that MacDiarmid may well be the most influential but also the least understood of twentieth-century Scottish intellectuals and nationalists, Lyall's book plays an important role in explaining how a key moment in Scottish history may yet become part of a more usable past...[an] earnest and insightful study.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Abbreviations; Map; Introduction: Imagining a Scottish Republic; 1. 'Towards a New Scotland': Selfhood, History, and the Scottish Renaissance; 2. Debatable Land; 3. 'A Disgrace to the Community'; 4. At The Edge of the World; 5. 'Ootward Boond Frae Scotland': MacDiarmid, Modernism, and the Masses; Index.
