The Correspondence Between Hugh MacDiarmid and Sorley MacLean:An Annotated Edition
Edited by Susan R. Wilson
EDITED ENDORSEMENT BEING APPROVED
This is both the first complete annotated edition of the letters exchanged by these major twentieth-century Scottish poets and the first major exploration of their long friendship and literary association. Spanning nearly fifty years this engaging correspondence offers a revealing and sometimes intimate look at their lively exchanges on a broad range of topics from major historical events such as the Spanish Civil War and WW II, to the mundane challenges of daily life.
The introductory chapters chart the development of MacDiarmid and MacLean's enduring friendship in relation to their quite different literary contexts and careers, discuss MacLean's significant contributions to MacDiarmid's Golden Treasury of Scottish Poetry, and situate MacLean's literary innovations in terms of Gaelic modernism. They thus provide comparative critical insights into the influence of cultural nationalism on each writer's developing poetics, their work as translators, and their mutual influence on each other's careers. These private letters in which culture, politics, and modern history intersect offer a fascinating glimpse at the creative processes and collaborative work of
Hugh MacDiarmid and Sorley MacLean. A full biographical and historical Introduction, bibliography and appendices complete the Edition.
Susan R. Wilson, a Canadian scholar of Scottish and Irish ancestry, holds a PhD in Scottish Poetry. She is currently a Sessional Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Victoria, Canada.