"In _Scotland's Books- poet Robert Crawford tells the story of Scottish imaginative writing and its relationship to the country's history. Stretching from the medieval masterpiece of St. Columba's Iona - the earliest surviving Scottish work - to the energetic work of twenty-first century writing by authors such as Ali Smith and James Kelman, this outstanding account traces the development of literature in Scotland and explores the cultural, linguistic and literary heritage of the nation. It includes extracts from the writing discussed to give a flavour of the original work, and its new research ranges from specially made translations of ancient poems to previously unpublished material from the Scottish Enlightenment and interviews with living writers. Informative and readable, this is the definitive single-volume guide to the marvellous legacy of Scottish literature." - Penguin jacket notes
Robert Crawford is a Professor of Modern Scottish Literature at St. Andrew's University, and has published six collections of poetry. With Mick Imlah he edited the Penguin Book of Scottish Verse (2006).
The book includes 15 photographs of manuscripts and books in the collections of the University of St. Andrew's. ( )