A Scots version of Sorley Maclean’s seminal work, Dain do Eimhir, has been published
by Stornoway-
Sangs tae Eimhir is written and translated by Scots language expert Derrick McClure and is the first complete version of Sorley’s great lyrical love poems to have been brought out in Scots and Gaelic, bypassing an English translation.
Sorley Maclean’s original collection was published in 1943, with a selection translated into English in 1971 by Iain Crichton Smith.
The poems speak of love but also about political considerations, in particular the Spanish Civil War and the rise of Fascism in Europe at the time.
Acair manager Agnes Rennie called Dain Do Eimhir a “landmark in Gaelic poetry, which
has never been surpassed in terms of impact” and added they were “delighted” to have
brought out this Scots-
She added: “I think it’s a wonderful book; it’s got a very contemporary feel to it – but the subject matter is still as relevant today as the day it was written.”
Mr McClure, who is convener of the parliamentary working group on the Scots language, said of it: “Translating has been a hobby of mine for a very long time. Having done some translating of modern Gaelic poetry, I thought I would try the most difficult one of them all — D‡in do Eimhir.
“MacLean uses traditional metres and rhyme schemes and I have tried to convey this in my translations, though I felt myself at liberty not always to use perfect rhymes.”
Mr McClure, who knows five languages, added: “Sorley MacLean is one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century, there’s no doubt. The intense emotional conflicts that he describes – they are timeless.”
He called Sangs tae Eimhir “a contribution to what I like to see as the building of bridges between Scots and Gaelic, the two sides of the national culture.”
Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan, who wrote his PhD thesis in Scots and is now a government education minister with responsibility for Scots and Gaelic, said Sangs tae Eimhir was “important because it makes a connection between Scotland’s two traditional languages in a way that doesn’t often happen.
“But, above all else, it makes people aware of the magnificent achievement of Sorley MacLean as one of Europe’s great poets of the 20th Century.”
Sangs tae Eimhir is available from Acair and all good bookshops, priced £11.95.
Gaelic love poems in Scots 4/7/11
by Katie Laing