“Once we made songs to be sung; now we write poems to be read.”

Donald John MacDonald emerged from a family steeped in the oral culture of the Gael with complete mastery of centuries-old classical metres. His importance in the Gaelic canon rests on his evolution into a modern literary poet-philosopher. His work deals with universal issues of love, religion, nationalism, war and death – but still resounds with the vocal melody and concrete imagery of the traditional bard. This new edition of his poems has given the opportunity to refresh translations which can only attempt to reflect the rich lyricism of the originals – which give pleasure to the ear as well as to the mind.