THE SCOTTISH FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN WRITERS

Little Pearls

Margaret Malloy

A pearl begins with a little bit of grit!

It cannot be formed in any other way.

What gives these poems their enduring value, and in many cases, their beauty, is that they are the product of some inner pain, experienced or observed.

There is a deceptive simplicity about the, carefully, chosen words.

They read easily but many, I feel, have been costly to compose.

Thank you, Pearl, for the delightful pastoral gems in your collection but a personal thanks most of all, for the profound spiritual truths you offer to each of us who have known struggle as we sough Christ's peace.

Thank you for sharing your gift!

Rev Fred Booth

Pointing at the Pachyderms

Ian McGregor

Ian McGregor's Selected Lyrics, 1978-2013: Basically, the ones he hasn't misplaced - look out for the collected lyrics if he ever gets into that cupboard.

They're explained! Learn the stories behind the words! (at least the ones he can remember the meaning of - you're on your own for some of them).

Plus an introductory essay on lyrics generally.

Commentary
Jock Stein

Poems on economic, social and political issues. From ‘War Talk:

Sheer / damage must be totally excused

by multiplying syllables till they spell

col-lat-er-al – well, to make an omelette

you need to break some eggs –

and what are eggs but tiny shells

in which the future of a species dwells?

Swift
Jock Stein

Poems on gardens, landscape and travel. From ‘High Poetry’:

Words pass through grit and grey, dance off

a grand chain with some misty faith posts,

straighten up our poetry to human height,

eternity a scree run for another day.

The Iolaire
Jock Stein

A long poem on the tragedy of the loss of The Iolaire outside Stornoway Harbour on the last night of 1918, in dialogue with Book Four of the Old Testament Psalms, constructed in the shape of a pibroch (theme and variations). Diglot English and Gaelic (translated by Maoilios Caimbeul, with an introduction by Alan Riach, professor of Scots Literature at Glasgow University).

Iona
Kenneth Steven

The book is a gathering together of all of Kenneth Steven’s poems concerning the island of Iona through the years. These comprise poems that have been published in journals both at home and abroad, and broadcast on BBC Radio. A lengthy introduction tells the story of the forging of those first links with Iona, and those that have come through adult years. This is a book both for those who know and love the island, and for those who may yearn to visit but have not yet had the chance. It’s essentially a love song to a precious and an extraordinary place that has been the author’s spiritual home from earliest childhood days.