Eggplant.place

10d

#verse #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #PoemADay #SmallPoems

Dh’fhalbh thu gu sàmhach
Ann an anail bheag
Chan eil againn ach cuimhneachain
Fiamh-ghàire
Gàireachdainn
Agus gaol

You left quietly
In a small breath
All we have are memories
Smiles
Laughter
And love

Edited 10d ago

253d

Dheigheadh sinn a dh’iasgach,
mi fhèin is m’ athair,
is lìonadh sinn an eathar le
peilichean de rionnach, liutha,
is dheigheadh sinn timcheall a’ bhaile
gu gach nàbaidh gus am biodh na peilichean falamh…

—Iain MacRath, “Dheigheadh sinn a dh’iasgach”
published in Don’t. Even. Ask. Too. Hot.: New Writing Scotland 42 (ASL, 2024)

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/newwriting/nws42/

#Scottish #literature #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #poetry #poem #FathersDay

Iain MacRath
Dheigheadh sinn a dh’iasgach

Dheigheadh sinn a dh’iasgach,
mi fhèin is m’ athair,
is lìonadh sinn an eathar le
peilichean de rionnach, liutha,
is dheigheadh sinn timcheall a’ bhaile
gu gach nàbaidh gus am biodh na peilichean falamh.
Chunnaic mi m’ athair an raoir,
ged a chaochail e o chionn fichead bliadhna.
Chunnaic mi air na naidheachdan e
seacaid-teasairginn timcheall air
is an eathar làn,
làn de dhaoine.

ALT

Iain MacRae
We’d go fishing

We’d go fishing,
me and my father,
and we’d fill the dinghy
with pails of mackerel, lythe,
and we’d go round the village
to each neighbour till each pail was empty.
I saw my father last night,
though he died some twenty years ago.
I saw him on the news
a safety jacket around him
and the dinghy full,
full of people.

ALT

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228d

A CHAOS OF LIGHT
New Writing Scotland 43
Ed. by Kirstin Innes, Chris Powici & Niall O’Gallagher

“writing that unsettles and challenges, that questions assumptions… A rich, boisterous, tender, charming, angry, sorrowful, gleeful mix”

The latest & best collection of new writing in English, Gaelic, & Scots, coming Aug 2025 – available for preorder from all good bookshops!

@writingcommunity

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/newwriting/nws43/

#Scottish #literature #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #Scots #poetry #shortstories #writing

Book cover: A CHAOS OF LIGHT
New Writing Scotland 43
Edited by Kirstin Innes and Chris Powici
Gaelic Editor: Niall O'Gallagher

A dark purple-black cover. The book title is in pale yellow. A beam of white light rises up from the foot of the cover, forming the letter I in LIGHT. It hits the bottom of the capita A in CHAOS – represented by an upwards-pointing solid triangle – and a burst of colour emerges from the right-hand s-de of the triangle, as if light was passing through a prism. Multicoloured sparkles rise from the right-hand edge of the cover where the spectrum of light hits it.

ALT

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228d

In Conversation with... Pàdraig MacAoidh (Peter Mackay)
1 August, Edinburgh. Tickets £12

Scotland’s Makar, Pàdraig MacAoidh (Peter Mackay) crafts verse that resonates with the landscapes & languages of his native Lewis. Join him for a fascinating discussion on poetry's role in today’s world, the interplay between Gaelic & Scots traditions, & what it means to be Scotland’s poetic voice today.

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/in-conversation-with-p-draig-macaoidh-peter-mackay

#Scottish #literature #poems #poetry #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #Scots

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6d

Live Literature: Folklore of Kintyre
26 Feb, online – free

Join author & storyteller Dougie Strang for an evening of folklore from Kintyre & wider Argyll. From Campbeltown Museum, this online event highlights aspects of heritage that cannot be easily represented through physical objects alone.

This event is open to anyone interested in the folklore, history, & culture of Argyll & Kintyre, including Gaelic.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/live-literature-folklore-of-kintyre-tickets-1982672868923

#Scottish #literature #folklore #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Argyll

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217d

Happy Glasgow Fair Monday!

“…on one occasion the Highland Queen was berthed by the master and a boy, the rest of the crew being quite incapable…”

Steamships, “steaming”, drunkenness & “smùid” – Donald Meek on going doon the watter, & early Scottish booze-cruising

https://meekwrite.blogspot.com/2013/04/maritime-and-linguistic-studies.html

#Scottish #Scotland #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #steaming #GlasgowFair #FairMonday #culturalstudies #19thcentury #20thcentury #alcohol #steamboat

A late 19th-century postcard. The printed text reads:

Mottoes for those going
“Doon the Watter”

If it's losing the boat,
or losing your drink—
lose the boat.

The image shows a colour illustration of a moustachio'd young man, standing at a bar, wearing a boater hat at a rakish angle, a dark green jacket, a yellow-and-white striped waistcoat and a red bow tie. He has one hand in his pocket as he looks over his shoulder, out of the door of the bar to see, in the distance, a steamship leaving the harbour. He raises a full pint mug to toast its departure.

ALT

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242d

An iarmailt cho soilleir tana
mar gum biodh am brat-sgàile air a reubadh
’s an Cruthaidhear ’na shuidhe am fianuis a shluaigh
aig a’ bhuntàt ’s a sgadan…

—Ruaraidh MacThòmais, “Leodhas as t-Samhradh”

Published in Scottish Religious Poetry from the sixth century to the present (Saint Andrew Press, 2024)

https://standrewpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781800830479/scottish-religious-poetry

#Scottish #literautre #poem #poetry #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #Hebrides #Lewis #summer

Leodhas as t-Samhradh
Ruaraidh MacThòmais

An iarmailt cho soilleir tana
mar gum biodh am brat-sgàile air a reubadh
’s an Cruthaidhear ’na shuidhe am fianuis a shluaigh
aig a’ bhuntàt ’s a sgadan,
gun duine ris an dèan E altachadh.
’S iongantach gu bheil iarmailt air an t-saoghal
tha cur cho beag a bhacadh air daoine
sealltainn a-steach dha’n an t-sìorruidheachd;
chan eil feum air feallsanachd
far an dèan thu chùis le do phrosbaig.

------------------------------

Lewis in Summer
Translator: Derick Thomson

The atmosphere clear and transparent
as though the veil had been rent
and the Creator were sitting in full view of His people
eating potatoes and herring,
with no man to whom He can say grace.
Probably there’s no other sky in the world
that makes it so easy for people
to look in on eternity;
you don’t need philosophy
where you can make do with binoculars.

ALT

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5d

Seo mi, ma tha sibh gam aithnicheadh, neo fiù’s mura h-eil,
a’ coimhead oirrbh bho oir an rìan-grèine,
mar gum b’e aonaran a bh’unnam
a’ fuireach a-muigh ràthad na mòintich
le prosbaig aig gach uinneag…

—Pàdraig MacAoidh, “Pluto”

Today, 18 February, is Pluto Day!

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/pluto/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Pluto #PlutoDay #planet #minorplanet #solarsystem #astronomy

Pluto
Pàdraig MacAoidh

(An dèidh Masadonais Katica Kulavkova)

Seo mi, ma tha sibh gam aithnicheadh, neo fiù’s mura h-eil,
a’ coimhead oirrbh bho oir an rìan-grèine,
mar gum b’e aonaran a bh’unnam
a’ fuireach a-muigh ràthad na mòintich
le prosbaig aig gach uinneag.
Can sibh gu bheil mi ‘iomallach’
ach tha mi an teas-mheadhan an neonitheachd agam fhìn,

Seo mi, cho ifrinneach sa shaoileadh tu:
le mo bheanntan ’s mo raointean reòite
’s mo bhrat meatain, naidhtreoidsein ’s CO2.
Tha mi cho puinnseanta ri là shàmhraidh ann an Nis.
Cha tig ur sòlas faisg orm, ’s co-dhìu aon chas agam
ann an dorchadas bith-bhuanta.

Tha mi ag ràdh ‘bith-bhuanta’ ach
Fad’ on robh mi a’ tuigsinnn tìde idr,
agus e air tighinn a-steach orm nach eil
mothaid cudromach ann an dòigh sam bith.
Tha mi nas tana na na Stàitean Aonaichte
ach tha coig gealaich agam ’s mi ag iarraidh tuilleadh baby.
Tha mi a’ gabhail sùil air croit Aonghas Phrionns’.

Seo mi, a’ seinn ‘Teann a-nall ’s thoir dhomh do làmh’
ann an oisean taigh-seinnse àiteigin ann an Glaschu
ach ged a bha mi riamh coimhead orm fhìn mar mheall den òr
chan eil duine a’ toirt suim dhomh.
O tha buannachdan ann a bhith neo-aithnichte,
a bhith beò air crìoch eadar dà ughdarras.
Aig a’ ghairm mu dheireadh thig mi sgrìob leam fhìn.

ALT

Pluto
Peter Mackay

(after the Macedonian of Katica Kulavkova)

Here I am, whether you recognise me or not,
looking at you from the edge of the galaxy,
as if I was a loner
living out the peat-road
with a telescope at each window.
You’ll say that I’m ‘remote’
but I’m in the middle of my own nothing.

Here I am, as hellish as you’d imagine:
with my mountains and frozen plains
and my cloak of methane, nitrogen and CO2.
I’m as poisonous as a summer day in Ness.
Your light won’t come close to me; I’ve at least one foot
in eternal darkness.

I say ‘eternal’ but
it’s ages since I understood time,
and it strikes me that
size doesn’t really matter at all.
I am thinner than the United States
but I have 5 moons, and want more baby.
I have my eye on Aonghas Prince’s croft.

Here I am, singing ‘Teann a-nall ’s thoir dhomh do làmh’
in the corner of a pub somewhere in Glasgow
and though I always thought of myself as a lump of gold
no one pays me any attention.
There are advantages in anonymity,
to living between two authorities.
At last orders I’ll go for a stroll by myself.

ALT

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206d

WRITERS!

Submissions are invited to NEW WRITING SCOTLAND 44! We want poetry & prose in English, Gaelic, & Scots from writers who are Scottish by residence, birth, or inclination. All successful contributors are paid – deadline 31 Oct!

@writingcommunity

Submit free via Submittable 👇

https://nws.submittable.com/submit

#Scottish #literature #writing #WritingCommunity #IAmWriting #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaelic #Gaidhlig

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238d

The Secret Commonwealth
30 June, online – ticketed

Dr Dòmhnall Uilleam Stiùbhart looks at The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies, compiled in the 17th century by minister, Gaelic scholar & folklorist Robert Kirk (1644–1692 – unless he’s still alive…)

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/secret-commonwealth-of-elves-fairies-domhnall-stiubhart-zoom-tickets-694148796737

#Scottish #literature #folklore #Gaelic #Gaidhlig

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214d

The Battle of Harlaw was fought #OTD, 24 July, 1411. Before the battle the Clan Donald bard Lachlann Mòr MacMhuirich composed this brosnachadh or incitement to battle. Each line contains 2 describing words, & each successive pair of lines all begin with the same letter while retaining the 7-syllable format of each line. The poet works through the entire Gaelic alphabet in sequence.

1/2

https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/inverurie/battleofharlaw/index.html

#Scottish #literature #poetry #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #medieval #history #battle

Brostughadh-catha Chlann-Domhnaill, Là Chatha Gharbhaich
Lachlann Mòr MacMhuirich

A Chlanna Cuinn, cuimhnichibh
Cruas an am na h-iorghaile:
Gu h-àirneach, gu h-arranta,
Gu h-athlamh, gu h-allanta,
Gu beòdha, gu barramhail,
Gu brìoghmhor, gu buan-fheargach,
Gu calma, gu curanta,
Gu cròdha, gu cath-bhuadhach,
Gu dùr is gu dàsannach,
Gu dian is gu deagh-fhulang,
Gu h-èasgaidh, gu h-eaghnamhach,
Gu h-éidith’, gu h-eireachdail,
Gu fortail, gu furachail,
Gu frithir, gu forniata,
Gu gruamach, gu gràineamhail,
Gu gleusta, gu gaisgeamhail,
Gu h-ullamh, gu h-iorghaileach,
Gu h-olla-bhorb, gu h-àibheiseach,
Gu h-innill, gu h-inntinneach,
Gu h-iomdha, gu h-iomghonach,
Gu laomsgar, gu làn-athlamh,
Gu làidir, gu luath-bhuilleach,
Gu mearghanta, gu mór-chneadhach,
Gu meanmnach, gu mìleanta,
Gu neimhneach, gu naimhdeamhail,
Gu niatach, gu neimh-eaglach,
Gu h-obann, gu h-olla-ghnìomhach,
Gu h-oirdheirc, gu h-oirbheartach,
Gu prap is gu prìomh-ullamh,
Gu prosta, gu prionnsamhail,
Gu ruaimneach, gu ro-dhàna,

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210d

Is ailbhean.co-shaoghal.net fear de dh’iomadh frithealaiche Mastodon neo-eisimeileach as urrainn dhut cleachdadh airson pàirt a ghabhail sa cho-shaoghal. Tha am frithealaiche seo ann do luchd na Gàidhlig.

https://ailbhean.co-shaoghal.net

Mu dhèidhinn: https://ailbhean.co-shaoghal.net/about
Rianachd le: @gunchleoc

#FeaturedServer #Gàidhlig #Alba #Scotland #Scottish #ScottishGaelic #Gaelic #Mastodon #Fediverse #FreeFediverse

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209d

The latest issue of NORTHWORDS NOW (#46, Summer–Autumn 2025) is available free online – featuring poems, short stories, articles & book reviews, in English, Gaelic & Scots

New writing, fresh from Scotland and the wider North
Sgrìobhadh ùr à Alba agus an Àird a Tuath

https://www.northwordsnow.co.uk/Issue46

#Scottish #literature #poetry #shortstories #shortfiction #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaelic #Gaidhlig

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202d

Cuil-lodair, is Briseadh na h-Eaglaise,
is briseadh nan tacannan –
lamhachas-làidir dà thrian de ar comas;
’se seòltachd tha dhìth oirinn…

—“Cruaidh?” (“Steel?”), by Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Derick Thomson, 1921–2012) – born #OTD, 5 Aug. A 🎂 🧵

1/6

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/cruaidh/

#Scottish #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury

Cruaidh?
le Ruaraidh MacThòmais

Cuil-lodair, is Briseadh na h-Eaglaise,
is briseadh nan tacannan –
lamhachas-làidir dà thrian de ar comas;
‘se seòltachd tha dhìth oirinn.
Nuair a theirgeas a’ chruaidh air faobhar na speala
caith bhuat a’ chlach-liomhaidh;
chan eil agad ach iarann bog
mur eil de chruas nad innleachd na ni sgathadh.

Is caith bhuat briathran mìne
oir chan fhada bhios briathran agad;
tha Tuatha Dè Danann fon talamh,
tha Tìr nan Og anns an Fhraing,
‘s nuair a ruigeas tu Tìr a’ Gheallaidh,
mura bi thu air t’ aire,
coinnichidh Sasannach riut is plion air,
a dh’ innse dhut gun tug Dia, bràthair athar, còir dha anns an fhearann.

ALT

Steel?
Translator: Derick Thomson

Culloden, the Disruption,
and the breaking up of the tack-farms –
two-thirds of our power is violence;
it is cunning we need.
When the tempered steel near the edge of the scythe-blade is worn
throw away the whetstone;
you have nothing left but soft iron
unless your intellect has a steel edge that will cut clean.

And throw away soft words,
for soon you will have no words left;
the Tuatha Dè Danann are underground,
the Land of the Ever-young is in France,
and when you reach the Promised Land,
unless you are on your toes,
a bland Englishman will meet you,
and say to you that God, his uncle, has given him a title to the land.

ALT

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198d

Anima Celtica: Ella Carmichael as scholar, activist & muse in the Scottish Celtic Revival

Ella Carmichael (1870–1928) was born #OTD, 9 Aug. Abigail Burnyeat talks about Ella Carmichael & her role in the Scottish Celtic revival. The first female student of Celtic at Edinburgh University, Ella Carmichael was also founder of the Celtic Union & the journal The Celtic Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoVzPDYfsoQ

#Scottish #literature #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #folklore #CelticStudies #CelticRevival

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2d

Nam sheasamh thall aig geat a’ phreiridh,
feur glan fom bhotannan,
lamhan fuar nam phocaidean,
faileadh an dup
gu fann
gu neo-chinnteach
a’ nochdadh mu mo chuinnlean…

—Anne Frater, “Aig an Fhaing”

Today, 21 February, is UNESCO International Mother Language Day

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/mother-language

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #poetry #language #minoritylanguage #MotherLanguageDay #UNESCO

Aig an Fhaing
Anne Frater

Nam sheasamh thall aig geat a’ phreiridh,
feur glan fom bhotannan,
lamhan fuar nam phocaidean,
faileadh an dup
gu fann
gu neo-chinnteach
a’ nochdadh mu mo chuinnlean
’s mi a’ coimhead cach cruinn
lachanaich le cheile
timcheall air an fhaing:
a’ bruthadh nan caorach,
guthan ard ag eigheachd
’s a’ gearain, ’s a’ gaireachdainn
’s gach druim thugams’
gam ghlasadh a-mach.
Mi seasamh, ’s a’ coimhead
’s a’ feitheamh airson facal
mo ghluasad gu feum.
Mi siubhal gu slaodach
a’ cruinneachadh nan uan
’s gan ruagadh romham
a-steach gu cach;
uain a’ ruith
gu meulaich math’r.
Boinneagan uisge
mar mhillean mialan
a’ leum as an dup,
agus crathadh cinn nan adharcan
fliuch, fuar, feagalach
a’ deanamh as.
Ceum no dha eile
’s chi mi aodannan nan gair’.
Mo lamhan fhin a’ breith air cloimh,
faileadh an dup air mo chorragan,
peant a’ camharradh mo chasan,
poll dubh bog air mo bhotannan
’s mo chanan fhin nam bheul.

ALT

At the Fank
Anne Frater

Standing over by the prairie gate
with clean grass under my wellies,
cold hands in my pockets,
the smell of the sheep dip
faintly
hesitantly
coming to my nostrils
as I watch the others gathered
around the fank
and laughing with each other:
pushing the sheep,
loud voices shouting
and moaning, and laughing
and all with their backs to me
shutting me out.
I stand and watch
and wait for a word
to move me to usefulness.
Moving slowly
gathering the lambs
and driving them before me
in towards the others;
lambs running
to a mother’s bleat.
Drops of water
jump from the sheep dip
like millions of fleas
and the horns’ head-shaking,
wet, cold, fearful
running off.
Another step or two
and I can see the laughing faces.
My own hands holding wool,
the smell of sheep dip on my fingers.
Paint marking my legs,
soft black mud on my wellies
and my own language on my tongue.

ALT

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2d

“An entire system of comharran – Gaelic navigational marks – surrounds the islands… A wealth of knowledge about the creatures which populate these fishing grounds is also encoded within the Gaelic language.”

—Alastair Cole: How Scottish Gaelic is helping protect Scotland’s seas

https://theconversation.com/how-scottish-gaelic-is-helping-protect-scotlands-seas-155660

#Scotland #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #MotherLanguageDay #UNESCO #fishing #fishingindustry #Hebrides #language #minoritylanguage

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