Scott Hastie | |
|---|---|
 Photo of the Author and Poet Scott Hastie taken at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire | |
| Born | Peter Scott Hastie 13 April 1954 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Occupation | Poet, writer |
| Nationality | British |
Scott Hastie (born 13 April 1954 in Edinburgh), is an author and poet. He was brought up and educated in Berkhamsted, prior to college studies in Brighton.
Several small press editions of Hastie’s poetry first appeared in the early 1970s, at a time when he was also editor of the college magazine for Sussex University and Brighton Polytechnic (1974–75) These early anthologies prefaced the first substantial hardback collection of his work Selected Poetry (1991) which soon found a core audience with its broadly romantic themes, celebrating love and the beauty of the natural world. "To write and sell poetry at a profit these days is a minor victory and a major achievement. Scott’s words gently unlock and force you to face and look at the world with a little more optimism. There are moments of deep joy and others, which take your breath away with simple incredible honesty" [1]
An increasingly spiritual emphasis was apparent in his next collection New Poetry, which followed in 1995. "Scott Hastie’s verse is sympathetic, humanistic and positively affirmative. Accessibility is the touchstone of all Hastie’s output… The spiritual element in his writing is clear." [2]
Hastie has also written and been published quite extensively in the field of local history. His detailed studies of life in one historically significant part of South West Hertfordshire have provided a detailed panorama of English life through the ages. "Scott Hastie’s passion for local history has to date spawned no fewer than five carefully researched and lavishly illustrated hardback volumes. A Hertfordshire Valley, first published in 1996, continues to be a best selling seminal work today" [3]
Hastie’s first novel, Reunion, was published in 2003 and his most recent collection of poems: Meditations was published in 2013. His poetry is now regularly featured and showcased in online blogs and web journals, especially in the US and Asia. He commented, "The over-arching theme of my work is a personal investigation into the positive potential of the human spirit." [4] "Scott Hastie writes meditative, reflective poetry that is steeped in the traditions of English verse. Concise and richly evocative, he should be widely read." [5]
Given the growing cross-cultural interest in his work, a new more substantial and comprehensive edition of his work: Angel Voices was brought forward for publication in 2014. "Angel Voices is Scott Hastie's fourth and most significant collection of poetry to date, providing definitive evidence of his evolved voice and enlightened philosophy." [6]
More recently, his poetic output has been re-edited and consolidated into the spiritually themed landmark collection threads, already widely translated and released to international acclaim in 2016. "Via an invisible gilded chain of perception, Scott Hastie generously leads us through an enthusiastic re-invention of the possibilities of new experience. His inspired words bestride the world with such ease, touching the deepest sensibilities of human beings everywhere." [7]
A new collection, Pranic Poetry, Scott’s first for nearly four years, was finally published in March 2020. Seemingly always destined to be released at the very beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, it really struck a chord with readers all around the world. Hence the accelerated release of his first fully retrospective collection Timeless: the best of Scott Hastie’s poetry 1990–2020 and its companion volume Splinters of Light: quotations from the poetry of Scott Hastie. The planned publication of both these titles soon being advanced by six months, into the Autumn of the same year, to help satisfy the ever-accelerating international demand for his work.
"It is at times like these that we need the fairest glimpses of hope, rejuvenation and a deeper understanding of the potential to realize our very best - especially in the face of such on-going adversity. Perhaps this is why Scott Hastie’s poetry achieves such an impact and is so well received around the world. Scott Hastie’s writing inspires such clarity of thought, perception and heartfelt compassion for the emotional rainbow that is the human spectrum of existence, shedding multitudes of color and light where otherwise there might have only been storms, darkness, sorrow and pain, all without any real hope of joy and redemption.” [8]
"Timeless is surely an appropriate trademark for some highlights of Scott Hastie’s body of work to date. After all, he has produced some of the most gallant and elegant poetry of the 20th & 21st Centuries." [9]
And, as if to echo this sentiment, only recently an anthology featuring some of Scott Hastie's poetry has been inducted into the Polaris time capsule, launching via the 2024 Space X Astrobotic Griffin lander / NASA VIPER Rover to the Lunar South Pole. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIPER_(rover)
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Watford, and the county town is Hertford.
Berkhamsted is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, 26 miles (42 km) north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town of Hemel Hempstead. Berkhamsted, along with the adjoining village of Northchurch, is encircled by countryside, much of it in the Chiltern Hills which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Kings Langley is a village, former manor and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, 21 miles north-west of Westminster in the historic centre of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills. It now forms part of the London commuter belt. The village is divided between two local government districts by the River Gade with the larger western portion in the Borough of Dacorum and smaller part, to the east of the river, in Three Rivers District. It was the location of Kings Langley Palace and the associated King's Langley Priory, of which few traces survive.
South West Hertfordshire is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, represented since 2019 by Gagan Mohindra, a Conservative.
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Ashlyns School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The school was established in 1935 as the final location of the Foundling Hospital, a children's charity founded in London in 1739. The Berkhamsted building converted into a school in 1955. Ashlyns School is noted as an example of neo-Georgian architecture and is a Grade II listed building.
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The Hertfordshire County Football Association, also simply known as Hertfordshire FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The Hertfordshire FA was founded accidentally in 1885 after the existing teams agreed to hold a meeting to discuss their position, and ended up affiliating.
This article gives brief information on schools that cater for pupils up to the age of 11 in the Dacorum district of Hertfordshire, England. Most are county maintained primary schools, sometimes known as "junior mixed infant" (JMI). A small number are voluntary aided church schools or independent (fee-paying). The Local Education Authority is Hertfordshire County Council.
Northchurch is a village and civil parish in the Bulbourne valley in the county of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It lies between the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring.
Kings Langley Palace was a 13th-century Royal Palace which was located to the west of the Hertfordshire village of Kings Langley in England. During the Middle Ages, the palace served as a residence of the Plantagenet kings of England. It fell into disuse sometime during the 16th century and became a ruin. Today, nothing remains of the building except for some archaeological remains. The site is a scheduled ancient monument.
The Parish Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted, is a Church of England, Grade II* listed church in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It stands on the main High Street of the town and is recognisable by its 85-foot (26 m) clock tower.
Egerton House was a small Elizabethan mansion which stood on the High Street in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire in England. Built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, it was demolished in 1937 and the site is now occupied by the Art Deco Rex Cinema. As well as its architectural merit, Egerton House was noted for its occupancy by the Llewelyn Davies family and its literary association with J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan.
Dean Incent's House is a 15th-century timber-framed house in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. It is reputed to be the birthplace of John Incent, a dean in the Church of England who held office at St Paul's Cathedral from 1540 to 1545.
Ashlyns Hall is a country house at the edge of Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.
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William Cooper was a British veterinary surgeon, agriculturalist and industrialist who specialised in the manufacture of agricultural insecticides for livestock. He is credited with developing the first successful sheep dip, Cooper's Dip, in 1852.
Berkhamsted Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.