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Gaelic Literature of the Modern poetry and song |
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best viewed on a desktop or laptop PC MACGILL-EAIN,
Somhairle (Sorley MacLean) (1911 – 1996) Somhairle MacGill-Eain, Sorley MacLean, was born in
Raasay in 1911. Until his retirement
he worked as a schoolteacher: firstly in Mull, then Skye and Speaking of Somhairle’s place in Scottish Gaelic
poetry, Domhnall MacAmhlaigh has referred to his work as being the “vital and
imcomparable link” between the older, traditional
poetry and the new, modern poetry (MacAmhlaigh 1976: 54). Recognised not only as a major figure in
Scottish Gaelic literature, Somhairle MacGill-Eain was also recognised as a
major figure in 20th Century European literature. Exposition
and Criticism While I make frequent reference to such material
elsewhere in this work, it is not my practice to systematically list such
material, this being primarily a bibliography of printed source
material. However, I am making an
exception in the case of Somhairle MacGill-Eain; partly because of his
central position in Gaelic poetry and partly because of the volume of such
material which has been published. The
following is a select list: (1) Iain
Crichton Smith. ‘The Poetry of
Sorley MacLean’. An Gaidheal, 53 (1958), 99-100, 109-110. Also published as ‘Homage to
Sorley MacLean’ in Saltire Review, 5, No. 15 (Summer 1958),
37-40. (2) Sorley
MacLean. ‘Poetry, Passion and
Political Consciousness’,
Scottish International, 10 (May 1970), 10-16. Sorley MacLean describes, in a
discussion with Iain Crichton Smith, John MacInnes, Hamish Henderson and
Donald MacAulay, the political and personal forces that have shaped his life. (3) Derick
S. Thomson. The New Verse in Scottish Gaelic: a Structural Analysis. Osborn Bergin Memorial Lecture IV. Discusses the work of Somhairle
MacGill-Eain, Deòrsa Caimbeul Hay, Ruaraidh MacThómais, Iain Mac
a’ Ghobhainn and Domhnall MacAmhlaigh. (4) Domhnall
MacAmhlaigh (Fear-deasachaidh). Nua-bhàrdachd
Ghàidhlig. Dun Eideann:
Deasthaobh, 1976. Donald MacAulay (Editor).
Modern Scottish Gaelic
Poems. An
anthology of the work of Somhairle MacGill-Eain, Deòrsa
Caimbeul Hay, Ruaraidh
MacThómais, Iain Mac a’ Ghobhainn
and Domhnall MacAmhlaigh. In the introduction (pp. 19-45, 46-68), the editor
discusses the work of each individually, as well an the modern movement in
Scottish Gaelic poetry in general . A new
edition of this work was published in 1995 as part of the Canongate
Classics series. (5) Sorley
MacLean. Chapman, 16 (Summer 1976), 25-32. The poet discusses his work. (6) Breandan P. Ó Doibhlin. ‘Mórfhile Ghael Alba’. In
Aisti Critice agus Cultuir, Baile Atha Cliath: Foilseacháin Náisiúnta, [197-], dd. 113-138. (7) Brendan
P. Devlin. ‘On Sorley
MacLean’. Lines Review, 61 (June 1977), 5-19. This essay is in substance a
translation of the author’s original Irish essay (see above). (8) John
Herdman. ‘The
Poetry of Sorley MacLean: a Non-Gael’s View’.
Lines Review, 61 (June
1977), 25-36. While acknowledging that only the
original is the ‘poem’, the writer argues that it is possible for a non-Gael
like himself to make valid judgement upon the poetry
on the basis of translation. (9) John
Montague. ‘A Northern
Vision’. The Pleasures of Gaelic Poetry.
Edited by Seán Mac Réamoinn. A leading Northern Irish poet
discusses Somhairle’s poetry. (10) Raymond
J. Ross and Joy Hendry (editors). Sorley MacLean: Critical Essays. Edinburgh; Scottish Academic Press,
1986. 230p. Contains fifteen critical essays
from Scottish and Irish poets and critics, plus an introduction by Seumas Heaney and a register of Gaelic place names in Sorley’s poetry by Douglas Sealy (11) Máire Ní Annrachráin. Aisling
agus Tóir: an slánu i bhfiliocht
Shomhairle MhicGill-Eain. Maigh Nuadh: An Sagart,
1992. 220p. Text in Irish, published at Maynooth in (12) Seumas Heaney. ‘The Trance and the Translation’. The
Guardian (30th November 2002),
The Irish Nobel Laureate
celebrates Somhairle’s life and work. Texts: I The following includes published collections of
Somhairle MacGill-Eain’s work, collections of which
he is a joint author, and miscellaneous items. (1)
Somhairle MacGhill-Eathain,
and Robert Garioch.
Seventeen Poems for Sixpence. Includes eight poems by Somhairle:
Tri Slighean’, ‘An Cuilthionn’
(extract), ‘Coin is Madaidhean-allaidh’, ‘An
t-Eilean’, ‘A nighean a’ chùil bhuidhe’ (Gaoir na
h-Eòrpa), ‘Cha do chuir
de bhuaireadh riamh’ and
‘A’ Chorra-ghritheach’. (2)
Somhairle Mac Ghill Eathain. Dàin do Eimhir agus Dàin Eile. Glaschu: William MacLellan,
1943. 103p. illus. The section ‘Dàin
do Eimhir’ is a series of love poems, forty-eight
from a sequence of sixty. ‘Eimhir’ is a coalescence of two different women with whom
the poet had had painful love affairs.
Iain Crichton Smith has commented that these love poems also involve
problems of contemporary moral choice, (An
Gaidheal, 53:99). The sequence ‘Dàin
Eile’ has twenty-six long poems which include some on the theme of love as well
as a variety of other themes. They
include ‘Craobh nan Teud’
for George Campbell Hay, ‘An t-Eilean’: a hymn to
Skye, and the symbolist poem ‘Coilltean
Ratharsair’. The third sequence, ‘Eisgeachd’, has four short poems as well as the satirical
‘Road to the Isles’. There are also
translations of a number of the poems, partly the work of the poet himself,
and partly the work of others. With the exception of the extract
from ‘An Cuilthionn’, those of Soimhairle’s
poems which appear in Seventeen Poems
for Sixpence are included in this collection. (3)
Lines Review, 34
(September 1970), 39p. A special issue devoted to
Somhairle MacGill-Eain. There are five
English versions of Gaelic originals and fifteen Gaelic poems along with
English versions. Among the latter are
three poems from the ‘Dàin do Eimhir’
sequence not published in Dàin do Eimhir agus Dàin Eile. These
are: ‘Chan eil
mi strì ris a’ chraoibh nach lùb rium’, ‘Tha
sinn comhla, a ghaoil’ and ‘Aithreachas
an deaghaidh nam pòg’. (4)
Sorley MacLean, George Campbell
Hay, William Neill, and Stuart MaGregor. Four Points of a Saltire. Includes two extracts from ‘An Cuilthionn’ and fifteen other poems, all with English
versions (pp. 113-165). (5)
Sorley MacLean. From
the Height of the Cuilinn. I have not had sight of this item.
A poster poem published in 1971 containing the text of ‘An Uair a
Labhras mi mu Aodann’
with an English translation. Details in Twentieth
Century Publications in Scottish Gaelic (MacLeod 1980: 124). (6)
Sorley MacLean. Reothairt. I have not had sight of this item.
A poster poem published in 1973.
Details in Twentieth Century
Publications in Scottish Gaelic (MacLeod 1980: 124). (7)
Somhairle MacGill-Eain. Barran agus Asbhuain. Baile Atha Cliath:
Ceirmini Cladaigh, 1973. A record of Somhairle reading
thirty-one of his poems. There is an
accompanying booklet containing the texts of the poems, along with English
translations; some by the poet himself, others by Iain Crichton Smith. There is introductory material by Iain
Crichton Smith, Máirtín Ó Direáin
and Hugh MacDiarmid. (8)
Somhairle MacGill-Eain. ‘Clann Ghill-Eain’. Homage to John MacLean. Edited by T.S. Law and Thurso Berwick. Thurso: The John MacLean Society, 1973, p. 7. The spelling in this
version of the poem differs from that in Dàin do Eimhir agus Dàin
Eile, but it the poet’s definitive choice. An English translation is given. (9)
Domhnall MacAmhlaigh (Fear-deasachaidh). Nua-bhàrdachd Ghàidhlig.
Dun Eideann: Deasthaobh,
1976. Donald MacAulay (Editor). Modern
Scottish Gaelic Poems. (A new edition of this work was published in
1995 as part of the Canongate Classics series) This bilingual anthology includes
fourteen of Somhairle MacGill-Eain’s poems along
with the poet’s own English language versions. (10) Somhairle MacGill-Eain. Reothairt is Contraigh: Taghadh de Dhàin 1932-1972. Dùn Eideann: Canongate, 1977. Sorley
MacLean. Spring Tide and Neap Tide. Selected Poems
1932-1972. A bilingual selection of
seventy-one poems from Dàin do Eimhir agus Dàin Eile and other poems
composed during the period 1932 to 1972.
Fifty-five of these poems were composed before 1955. The translations are the port’s own. For a Gaelic language review of this book by Ruaraidh MacThómais (Derick Thomson) see Gairm
(101:94-96). For an English language
review by the same reviewer see Scottish
Review (8:38-40). (11) Somhairle
MacGill-Eain. Coin
is Madaidhean Allaidh. Glaschu: Comann Leabhraichean, 1990. A poster poem with the Gaelic text
of ‘Coin …’ along with an English translation. (12) Somhairle MacGill-Eain. O Choille gu Bearradh / Sorley MacLean. From
Wood to Ridge : Collected Poems in Gaelic and in
English Translation. 1st. edition. 2nd ed., 1990. 3rd ed. The first part, 1932-1940,
comprises twenty-eight poems. The
second is what Somhairle thought ‘tolerable’ of ‘An Cuilthionn’;
presented here in seven sections. The
third part, ‘An Tràigh Thathaich’,
has twenty-three poems from 1939 to 1941.
Part four is ‘Coilltean Ratharsair’. Part five, ‘An Iomhaigh
Bhriste’, has eleven poems from 1941 to 1944. The sixth part, ‘Blàr
/ Battlefield’, has six poems from 1942 to 1943. The seventh and final part has twenty-eight
poems from 1945 to 1972. There is a
parallel English version of each poem by Somhairle who has also written the
preface. The book concludes with notes on a number of the poems. (13) Angus
Peter Campbell (editor). Somhairle : dàin is deilbh : a celebration
on the 80th birthday of Sorley MacLean.
Stornoway: Acair,
1991. 125p. In Gaelic and English. I have not had sight of this book (14) Sorley
MacLean. Eimhir. Sorley MacLean,
translations by Iain Crichton Smith. Stornaway: Acair, 1999. 116p. Poems from the Eimhir
sequence in the original Gaelic with parallel English translations by Iain
Crichton Smith. Also includes an
obituary for Sorley MacLean by Iain Crichton Smith and a tribute to both
poets by Donald Meek. I have not had sight of this book (15) Ronald
Black (editor). An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish
Gaelic Verse. Includes, on pp. 288-335, an
extensive selection of Somhairle’s poetry with parallel English translations,
some by the author and others by the editor.
On pp. 764-770 there is a biographical and critical summary of the
poet’s life and work with notes on the selected poems. (16) Christopher
Whyte (editor). Dàin do Eimhir / Poems to Eimhir. Somhairle MacGill-Eain / Sorley
MacLean. Drawing on manuscript
and published sources, the editor brings together all but one of the Dàin do Eimhir sequence, including
six appearing in print for the first time. There are parallel English
translations and extensive notes. (I have not had sight
of this book) Texts: II Miscellaneous single items. (1) Sorley
MacLean. ‘A’ Bheinn’. An Gaidheal, 41 (1945-1946), 35. Another poem about the despair of
disappointed love. Five quatrains,
beginning ‘Dhìrich mi beinn
an uamhais’. (2) Somhairle MacGhill-Eathain. ‘Mhag mo reusan’. An Gaidheal, 41
(1945-1946), 74. (3) Somhairle
MacGhill-Eathain. ‘An t-Ailleagan’. An Gaidheal, 41 (1945-1946), 24. A love poem.
Twenty lines, beginning ‘Thainig thusa a nì bhuadhmhoir’. (4) Somhairle
MacGhilleathain.
‘Do Bhoirionnach Briagach
Coirbte’. Poetry A very bitter poem about the
betrayal of love. Four quatrains,
beginning ‘Na robh mise marbh san Fhàsaich’. There is an English prose translation. (5) Sorley
MacLean. ‘Feasgar
Samhraidh: Linne
Ratharsair’. Poetry Six lines, beginning ‘An ròs eadar
Beinn Dianabhaig’. (6) Somhairle
MacGhilleathain.
‘Chunna mi long as’ Chaol
Chanach’. Gairm, 7 (An t-Earrach 1954), 232. An exile song of great lyric
power. Three quatrains beginning ‘An nochd an Dun-éideann’,
and thirteen verse-couplets beginning ‘Gaoth an iar-dheas thar a’ Mhàim’. There is a
different version in Gairm,
31 (p. 67) under the title ‘Sruth Tràghaidh’. (7)
Somhairle MacGill-Eain. ‘Do Uilleam
MacMhathain’. Cencrastus, 31 (Autumn 1988), 8-9. For the Rev. William Matheson. (8) Somhairle
MacGill-eain.
‘A’ Ghort Mhòr
/ The Great Famine’. Somhairle: Dain is
Deilbh :
a celebration on the 80th birthday of Sorley MacLean. Edited by Angus Peter Campbell. Stornoway: Acair, 1991, pp.
6-9. This was the first publication of
this poem of anger and despair at the poverty and oppression suffered by so
many people. In nine parts, beginning
with ‘Neòil na gorta le samh sgreataidh’. There is a parallel English translation by
the poet. (9) Somhairle
MacGill-eain.
‘Air Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh’. Natural
Light: Portraits of Scottish Writers. Angela
Catlin. Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh is one of the Cuillin
Hills. Natural Light is a series of portraits by photographer Angela Catlin;
each portrait accompanied by a short extract from the subject’s work. The poem, of eighteen lines, is a lyrical
expression of the love of place and a haunting pain. Translations In Texts I and II English language versions noted
are by Somhairle MacGill-Eain himself, unless otherwise indicated. The following are those of his poems which
have been translated by others into both Scots and English. (1) 'Ban-Ghàidheal’ i Into Scots as ‘Hielant Woman’ by Douglas
Young (Lindsay 1946:101-103; Lindsay
1966: 94-95; Lindsay 1976:105-107; Young 1952:
266-267). ii Into English as ‘Highland Woman’ by Derick
Thomson (1977: 291-292) (2) ‘Bha ‘m bàt agam fo sheòl
‘s a’ Chlàrach’ Into English as ‘My boat was under sail …’ by Derick Thomson (1977:287-288) (3) ‘Bu tu camhanaich air a’ Chuilthionn’ i Into Scots as ‘Ye were the
Dawn’ by Douglas Young (Lindsay 1946:100;
Lindsay 1966: 92-93; Lindsay 1976:103; Young 1952: 264-265). ii Into English as ‘You were a daybreak on
the Cuilthionn’ by Iain Crichton Smith (1971: 57) (4) ‘Calbharaigh’ i Into Scots as ‘My een are nae on ii Into English as ‘My eyes are not on (5) ‘Cha do chuir de bhuaireadh’ i Into Scots as ‘I never kent sic glawmerie’ by Robert Garioch (MacGhill-Eathain
1943: 25; Young 1952: 264-265) ii Into English as ‘Never was I so tormented’ by Iain Crichton Smith (1971:19). (6) ‘Coin is Madaidhean-allaidh’ i Into English as ‘Dogs and Wolves’ by
J.M. Russell (Young 1952:
270-271) ii Into English as ‘Dogs and Wolves’ by Iain
Crichton Smith (1971: 41) (7) ‘An Cuilthionn’ Part of the finale translated into English as ‘Who
goes there on an evil night/’ by Douglas Young (1952: 268-271) (8) ‘ ‘S mi ‘m Bhoilseabhach
nach tuig suim’ i Into English as ‘though I’m a Bolshevik
who would never sing’ by Iain Crichton Smith (1971: 42) ii Into English as ‘As a Bolshevik who gave
no heed’ by Derick Thomson (1977:
268) (9) ‘An Trom-laighe’ Into Scots as ‘The Widdreme’
by Sydney Goodsir Smith (Lindsay 1946:103-104; Lindsay 1966: 96-97; Lindsay
1976: 107-108; Young 1952: 272-273). (10) Iain
Crichton Smith. Poems to Eimhir:
Sorley MacLean. Poems from Dàin do Eimhir
translated from the Gaelic. (11) Seumas Heaney. English version of ‘Hallaig’. The
Guardian (30th November 2002), ____________ Music ‘Bha ‘m Bàt Agam Fo Sheòl’. Gairm, 16 (An Samhradh 1956), 335-337. The text of the poem is given
along with Iain Whyte’s setting in staff notation. ____________ Audiovisual
Materials (1)
Somhairle MacGill-Eain. Barran agus Asbhuain. Baile Atha Cliath:
Ceirmini Cladaigh, 1973. A record of Somhairle reading
thirty-one of his poems. There is an
accompanying booklet containing the texts of the poems, along with English
translations; some by the poet himself, others by Iain Crichton Smith. There is introductory material by Iain
Crichton Smith, Máirtín Ó Direáin
and Hugh MacDiarmid. (2)
Iain Crichton Smith (presenter). Hallaig: poetry and landscape of Sorley MacLean. Camach Hill: Eagle Eye
Productions, 1990. Videocassette, VHS,
60 mins. A documentary by Timothy Neat, filmed on Skye, in which Somhairle reads his poems
in Gaelic and English. Includes a
contribution from Seumas Heaney. I saw this film on television some time
ago, but have not seen it again when writing this entry in 2006 ____________. Website Somhairle
MacGill-Eain Air-loidhne (Sorley MacLean Online), is devoted to the life
and work of Somhairle. It is at http://www.sorleymaclean.org
and is available in both Gaelic and English. |
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A-C D-Domhnall Domhnallach-Dz E–G H–L M–MacA MacB–MacC MacD MacE-MacK, MacLa-MacLeod MacLeòid A-H MacLeòid I-Z MacM-MacN MacO-MacZ M N O-Q R-Z Annie Arnott An Cabairneach Carmina Gadelica
Catriona
Dhùghlas Tormod Domhnallach Marjory Kennedy-Fraser Angus Lamont K. N. MacDonald Johan MacInnes Hugh MacKinnon Calum I. MacLean Sorley MacLean Kenneth MacLeod Niall MacLeòid Màiri
Nighean Alasdair Cairistiona
Mhàrtainn Alexander Morison Kenneth Morrison Angus Nicolson Portree
HS Magazine Lachlann
Robertson Frances Tolmie I Frances Tolmie II Somhairle
MacGill-Eain The New Poetry Books
etc: A-L Books etc: MacA-MacL Books etc: MacM-Z Periodicals, MSS, AV |
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© Sabhal Mòr Ostaig 2018