Gairm was a Scottish Gaelic quarterly magazine founded in 1951 by Derick Thomson, and Finlay J. MacDonald (Fionnlagh Domhnallach). Its first issue was published in Autumn 1952. MacDonald served as an editor until 1964; Thomson remained present for decades until it ceased publication in 2004, producing just over 200 issues in total. [1] [2]
According to Alan Campbell, the magazine was a "one-man show;" he explained that Thomson "sustained something very valuable for a long period of time." [3] Although it had a relatively low circulation, it was influential on Gaelic literature as it was the longest-running Gaelic literary magazine of the 20th century, in circulation for more than twice as long as its predecessor, Guth na Bliadhna . Gairm attempted to encompass a variety of perspectives and themes, and "disseminated a lot of work that we weren't aware of" in the words of Martin MacDonald. [3] The extent to which Gairm was familiar to the wider literate Scottish Gaelic population is unknown, as information about literacy in the language only became available from 1971. Roger Hutchinson stresses the magazine's influence, [3] attracting influential writers including Sorley MacLean, Iain Crichton Smith, George Campbell Hay, and Dòmhnall MacAmhlaigh. [2]
Some of the most influential Gaelic poems of the twentieth century were published in the magazine, most notably "Hallaig" by Sorley MacLean in 1954. Gairm also published short stories by Eilidh Watt and Iain Crichton Smith. There were also translations (for example the poetry of Anna Achmatova translated by Crìsdean Whyte, Issue 125, Winter 1983–1984) and other Gaelic literary works (by Dòmhnall Eachann Meek or Dòmhnall MacAmhlaigh) were an important part of Gairm.
When Gairm ceased to publish, a new magazine, Gath (2003–8), took its place, followed by Steall , whose first issue was published in 2016. [4]
Sorley MacLean was a Scottish Gaelic poet, described by the Scottish Poetry Library as "one of the major Scottish poets of the modern era" because of his "mastery of his chosen medium and his engagement with the European poetic tradition and European politics". Nobel Prize Laureate Seamus Heaney credited MacLean with saving Scottish Gaelic poetry.
Modern Scottish Poetry: An Anthology of the Scottish Renaissance 1920-1945 was a poetry anthology edited by Maurice Lindsay, and published in 1946 by Faber and Faber.
George Campbell Hay (1915–1984) was a Scottish Symbolist poet and translator, who wrote in Scottish Gaelic, Scots and English. He used the patronymic Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa. He also wrote poetry in French, Italian and Norwegian, and translated poetry from many languages into Gaelic.
The Scottish Renaissance was a mainly literary movement of the early to mid-20th century that can be seen as the Scottish version of modernism. It is sometimes referred to as the Scottish literary renaissance, although its influence went beyond literature into music, visual arts, and politics. The writers and artists of the Scottish Renaissance displayed a profound interest in both modern philosophy and technology, as well as incorporating folk influences, and a strong concern for the fate of Scotland's declining languages.
Iain Crichton Smith, was a Scottish poet and novelist, who wrote in both English and Gaelic. He was born in Glasgow, but moved to the Isle of Lewis at the age of two, where he and his two brothers were brought up by their widowed mother in the small crofting town of Bayble, which also produced Derick Thomson. Educated at the University of Aberdeen, Crichton Smith took a degree in English, and after completing his national service in the Army Educational Corps, went on to become a teacher. He taught in Clydebank, Dumbarton and Oban from 1952, retiring to become a full-time writer in 1977, although he already had many novels and poems published.
A formal Gaelic language name consists of a given name and a surname. First names are either native or nativized. Surnames are generally patronymic, i.e. they refer to a historical ancestor. The form of a surname varies according to whether its bearer is male or female though for some surnames the adjectival form of a name such as Dòmhnallach can be used for both men and women. However, when used in the female form the first letter is lenited.
Angus Peter Campbell is a Scottish award-winning poet, novelist, journalist, broadcaster and actor. Campbell's works, which are written mainly in Scottish Gaelic, draw heavily upon both Hebridean mythology and folklore and the magic realism of recent Latin American literature. In an interview prior to his death, Sorley MacLean, who is, alongside Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, considered to be among the two greatest writers in the history of Scottish Gaelic literature, called Campbell one of the best living Scottish poets in any language.
Derick Smith Thomson was a Scottish poet, publisher, lexicographer, academic and writer. He was originally from Lewis, but spent much of his life in Glasgow, where he was Professor of Celtic at the University of Glasgow from 1963 to 1991. He is best known for setting up the publishing house Gairm, along with its magazine, which was the longest-running periodical ever to be written entirely in Gaelic, running for over fifty years under his editorship. Gairm has since ceased, and was replaced by Gath and then STEALL. He was an Honorary President of the Scottish Poetry Library, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Academy. In June 2007, he received an honorary degree from Glasgow University.
The Scottish Gaelic Renaissance is a continuing movement concerning the revival of the Scottish Gaelic language and its literature. Although the Scottish Gaelic language had been facing gradual decline in the number of speakers since the late 19th century, the number of young and fluent Gaelic speakers is quickly rising. A similar trend is also taking place in the language revival of Canadian Gaelic in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
Christopher Whyte is a Scottish poet, novelist, translator and critic. He is a novelist in English, a poet in Scottish Gaelic, the translator into English of Marina Tsvetaeva, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Rainer Maria Rilke, and a critic of Scottish and international literature. His work in Gaelic appears under the name Crìsdean MacIlleBhàin.
Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literary works composed in the Scottish Gaelic language, which is, like Irish and Manx, a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Gaelic literature was also composed in Gàidhealtachd communities throughout the global Scottish diaspora where the language has been and is still spoken.
The Archdeacon of the Isles was the only archdeacon in the diocese of the Isles, acting as a subordinate of the Bishop of the Isles. The number and names of the prebends, if any, associated with the archdeaconry in the later Middle Ages are not known. Before the break-away of the diocese of Man during the Western Schism, the archdeacons held Kirk Andreas as a prebend. The office seems to have fallen into disuse after the time of Alasdair Caimbeul, who received crown presentation to the position in 1592. It was to be revived in 1662.
CLÀR is a Scottish Gaelic publisher. Established in 1996, the company is run on a voluntary, independent basis and based in Inverness, Scotland. It was the publisher for the Ùr-sgeul project, specialising in new Gaelic fiction.
Mary MacPherson (née MacDonald), known as Màiri Mhòr nan Òran or simply Màiri Mhòr, was a Scottish Gaelic poet from the Isle of Skye, whose contribution to Scottish Gaelic literature is focused heavily upon the Highland Clearances and the Crofters War; the Highland Land League's campaigns of rent strikes and other forms of direct action. Although she could read her own work when it was written down, she could not write it down herself. She retained her songs and poems in her memory and eventually dictated them to others, who wrote them down for publication. She often referred to herself as Màiri Nighean Iain Bhàin, the name by which she would have been known in the Skye of her childhood.
John Murdoch was a Scottish newspaper owner and editor and land reform campaigner who played a significant part in the campaign for crofters rights in the late 19th century.
Iain Moireach (27 March 1938 – 17 November 2018) was a Scottish Gaelic writer from Barvas, Isle of Lewis. He wrote poetry, screenplays, and short stories.
Gath is the name of a Scottish Gaelic language magazine that was published by Gath Earranta. The first edition was published in August 2003, intending to replace the older Gairm magazine, which had closed. Gath aimed to reproduce the mainstream appeal of its predecessor, whilst attracting a younger audience with fresh topics, such as contemporary music and current events. Each issue contained a number of short stories, essays, and poems; over 500 short stories were published in the magazine. Bòrd na Gàidhlig provided a £5000 foundational grant and ongoing support, and Gath was published biannually from 2003 until at least 2008. The reception was generally positive. Writers who published in the magazine include some of the most respected Gaelic writers, such as Christopher Whyte, Aonghas Phàdraig Caimbeul, Maoilios Caimbeul, Meg Bateman, Aonghas Dubh MacNeacail, Iain Moireach, Alison Lang, Moray Watson, Rob Shirley, Fionnlagh MacLeoid, Gregor Addison and Eilidh Rosach. The editors were Dòmhnall E. Meek, Jo NicDhomhnaill, and Richard Cox.
Dàin do Eimhir is a sequence of sixty poems written in Scottish Gaelic by Sorley MacLean. Considered MacLean's masterpiece, the poems deal with intertwining themes of romantic love, landscape, history, and the Spanish Civil War, and are among the most important works ever written in Scottish Gaelic literature.