Traditional Influences on the Poetry of Sorley MacLean with Dr. Emma Dymock 10:30am
Traditional Influences on the Poetry of Sorley MacLean with Dr. Emma Dymock 10:30am
10:30am Class.
Sorley MacLean/Somhairle MacGilleEathain is rightfully known as a poet who brought Modernism to Gaelic poetry in the 20th century. However, while his work is undoubtedly groundbreaking in its scope, his background, steeped in Gaelic culture, should not be ignored. Rather than tradition being an aspect of his work which could be viewed as restrictive, his knowledge of the Gaelic old songs, his family of tradition-bearers and his awareness of Gaelic history actually provided him with the rootedness which was necessary to connect his poetry to the important threads running from past to present within cultural and political contexts of his day. In this workshop we will explore the traditional influences of his work, with particular emphasis on the Gaelic oral tradition. This workshop will be accessible for all levels of Gaelic learner - the discussion will be in English, with poetry, prose passages and song lyrics provided for study in the original Gaelic.
Presenter’s Bio
Dr Emma Dymock teaches classes in Celtic Studies in Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh. She is an editor, researcher, and writer, specialising in the field of Scottish Gaelic literature and culture and the Scottish Literary Renaissance. Her PhD thesis (2008) focussed on the political and landscape symbolism in the poetry of Sorley MacLean and she has published widely in this area, co-editing Caoir Gheal Leumraich/White Leaping Flame: Sorley Maclean, Collected Poems (Polygon, 2011) with Christopher Whyte, as well as editing Naething Dauntit: the Collected Poems of Douglas Young (Zeticula, 2016). Most recently, she is co-editor of Scottish Religious Poetry from the Sixth Century to the Present with Linden Bicket and Alison Jack (Saint Andrew Press, 2024) and she is currently editing for publication the correspondence between Sorley MacLean and Douglas Young.
Emma serves on the Association for Scottish Literature’s Education Committee, where she contributes teaching materials for use in Higher Education, and she is a Trustee of the Saltire Society.