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Join us for the launch of a book of poetry by C18th Scottish Gaelic poet, Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (Gaelic tutor to Charles Edward Stuart, popularly known as &#39;Bonnie Prince Charlie&#39;), newly translated into English by Taylor Strickland. &nbsp; Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair&rsquo;s poetry can be found in one volume, self-published in 1751, and was the first nonreligious work to be published in any of the Celtic languages. Dares Paradise presents two long poems by mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, newly translated by Taylor Strickland. In his translation, Strickland takes a subversive approach, writing in a transatlantic English idiom with Scots and Gaelic inflections. This is mac Mhaighstir Alasdair for the twenty-first century Anglophone reader.&nbsp;The poems offer a rare pre- and post-1745 Jacobite Uprising perspective on a world, and a language, at risk of disappearing. The first, &ldquo;Allt an t-Si&ugrave;cair,&rdquo; is a lyrical celebration of place, a vivid evocation of the landscape of the peninsula at Britain&rsquo;s westernmost edge. The second, &ldquo;Birlinn Chlann Raghnaill,&rdquo; considered mac Mhaighstir Alasdair&rsquo;s masterpiece, conjures instead a placelessness, recounting an epic sea journey from the Hebridean island of South Uist to Ireland that can be read as an allegory for persistence. Taylor Strickland is an award-winning poet and translator whose most recent book is Dwell Time. His collection Dastram/Delirium was 2023 Scottish Poetry Book of the Year and PBS-recommended.&nbsp;

Join us for the launch of a book of poetry by C18th Scottish Gaelic poet, Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (Gaelic tutor to Charles Edward Stuart, popularly known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'), newly translated into English by Taylor Strickland.   Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair’s poetry can be found in one volume, self-published in 1751, and was the first nonreligious work to be published in any of the Celtic languages. Dares Paradise presents two long poems by mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, newly translated by Taylor Strickland. In his translation, Strickland takes a subversive approach, writing in a transatlantic English idiom with Scots and Gaelic inflections. This is mac Mhaighstir Alasdair for the twenty-first century Anglophone reader. The poems offer a rare pre- and post-1745 Jacobite Uprising perspective on a world, and a language, at risk of disappearing. The first, “Allt an t-Siùcair,” is a lyrical celebration of place, a vivid evocation of the landscape of the peninsula at Britain’s westernmost edge. The second, “Birlinn Chlann Raghnaill,” considered mac Mhaighstir Alasdair’s masterpiece, conjures instead a placelessness, recounting an epic sea journey from the Hebridean island of South Uist to Ireland that can be read as an allegory for persistence. Taylor Strickland is an award-winning poet and translator whose most recent book is Dwell Time. His collection Dastram/Delirium was 2023 Scottish Poetry Book of the Year and PBS-recommended.

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Book Launch with Taylor Strickland

2-4 Clinton Rd

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