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Gaelic Literature of the Introduction |
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This page should display properly on PCs and laptops, but it may not display properly on iPads etc. This work is
based upon my thesis presented for the degree of M.Litt. at the Here the
bibliographical citations are presented as they were in the original work,
but with the annotations abbreviated in a number of cases. I have also modified the way in which some
of the sections are arranged. The present work
has been updated with the addition of material up to about 2006. I should point out that this new material
has not been researched as comprehensively as that in the original work. This has led to certain inconsistencies,
but I felt it better to update the work to some extent rather than not at
all. Sources Although the title of this
bibliography refers to the literature of Skye, it also encompasses the
literature of the islands immediately adjacent to Skye: Raasay, The main categories of my
source materials were periodicals, anthologies, individual collections and
miscellaneous books and articles in the libraries of As this is a bibliography
of printed works, there are no main entries for manuscript or other non-print
material, although references may be made to such material in the annotations,
along with listings in the ‘References and Sources’ section. Criticisms
: Translations Critical material is
normally referred to in the annotation, rather than being cited as a main
entry. Exceptions are made in two
cases. Subsequent to the first
publication of J.C.
Watson’s edition of the poems of Màiri Nighean Alasdair Ruaidh (1934) there has been some significant published
research concerning this work which is cited in this bibliography in the form
of main entries. A selection of critical
material on the poetry of Somhairle
MacGill-Eain is also cited in the form of main entries. Translations are not
normally noted unless they have been published alongside works cited. An exception has been made in the case of
Somhairle MacGill-Eain, with translations of some of his works made by other
poets being cited. Language
Use Where an author’s name is
used as a main heading, I normally use the Gaelic form if this occurs in any
of that author’s works which are cited.
However, there are certain exceptions.
For instance, the greater part of the work of Coinneach MacLeòid has
been published under the anglicised form of his name, Kenneth MacLeod ( 1, 2, 3, )
and this is the form which I use as the main heading. In all cases, appropriate cross-references
are made. Where any item cited is
exclusively in Gaelic, Gaelic descriptive terms are usually used within the
citation, e.g. fear-deasachaidh,
etc. Individuals: Poets, Songwriters, Traditional Singers,
Authors, Collectors etc. I generally include
material by persons who belong to the area through birth or long residence. Bibliographical
Form Citations are made in the
form of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Code, with modifications to
accommodate the nature and form of this work. Traditional
Poetry and Song: Known Authorship Included are the
works of those poets who have belonged to Skye and its adjacent islands,
either through birth or long residence.
The exact criteria may vary, depending upon circumstances. For instance, William Ross (1762-1790) was
born and spent his childhood years in Skye, but his active poetic life was
spent on the mainland Gaidhealtachd.
With the exception of one poem, ‘Còmhradh eadar
am Bàrd agus Blàth-bheinn’
I do not feel that he can be called a Skye poet, although I recognise that
there are those who will disagree with me on this point. Where a
recognised collected edition of a poet’s work exists, separate publication of
an individual item included in such an edition is not cited here unless there
are significant textual variations between the two versions and the variant
version is not noted in the collected edition. Where the
published title of a poem is descriptive, rather than derived from the text,
the first line is quoted in the annotation. Where recorded versions of
a poet’s work have been issued in conjunction with the printed text these are
noted and wherever possible, printed versions of tunes for poems or songs
published separately from the texts cited are noted. Traditional
Poetry and Song: Anonymous Included in this category
is any anonymous poem or song which, according to internal or external
evidence, may have originated in Skye or one of its adjacent islands. The strength of this evidence may vary from
the strong to the tenuous. Also included in this
category are versions from within the area of songs which may have originated
elsewhere or whose origins are indeterminate.
Within an oral tradition it is not uncommon for a song which has originated
in one place to travel over a wide geographical area with different versions
becoming embedded in the oral tradition of many different districts. Modern social conditions and modern media
have of course affected the oral tradition and a traditional singer’s
repertoire may now include items which do not have any clear link with his or
her home district. Traditional
Poetry and Song: Collections ‘Collections’ includes
collections of material from the repertoire of individual tradition-bearers
as well as collections made by both professional and amateur collectors. Such collections may include both material
of known authorship and anonymous material. Modern
Poetry and Song Raasay-born
Somhairle MacGill-Eain (Sorley MacLean) has been described by Domhnall
MacAmhlaigh as being the “vital and imcomparable link”
between the older, traditional poetry and the new, modern poetry (MacAmhlaigh 1976:54). There is a substantial section in this
bibliography devoted to the work of Somhairle
MacGill-Eain. There is a selective
listing of the work of new modern
poets who have worked and are working in Skye today. Traditional
Prose: Single Items Material listed in this
section ranges from transcriptions of full length tales taken from oral
recitation, through literary versions of traditional tales, to descriptive
and anecdotal material. All the items
have been collected from, or written by men and women from the area. Each item is listed under the name of the
reciter, collector or author within a single alphabetical sequence. As far as this section is
concerned, my definition of ‘traditional’ has a certain flexibility. Generally, material composed for
publication is included if the matter is traditional and the style does not
vary too much from the traditional.
For instance, the subject matter of Niall MacLeòid’s ‘Gaol
Gaidhealach’ in his Clàrsach an
Doire is certainly traditional, but his style varies so much from the
traditional that ‘Gaol Gaidhealach’ is listed in the section for
non-traditional creative prose. Traditional
Prose: Collections As well as single items,
there are several collections. For
example; tales and lore collected by Calum I.
MacLean, tales and lore collected from Hugh
MacKinnon and collections of the published compositions of individual
authors, most notably the Rev. Tormod
Domhnallach. Non-traditional
Creative Prose The short story is well
represented in this section in a wide range of styles from writers like Màrtainn
Domhnallach, Ailean Caimbeul,
Eilidh Watt etc.
Included too, is one of the few full length novels ever to be
published in Gaelic, Angus
Robertson’s An t-Ogha Mór. There is evidence of the
persistent influence of the Rev. Norman MacLeod, ‘Caraid nan Gaidheal’, in
the use of the dialogue form first popularised by him in An Teachdaire Gaelach.
This may be seen in items by John Lorne
Campbell and T. M.
MacCalmain. A number of sketches and
short plays are listed, most of them the work of Domhnall Grannd. Journalism
and Miscellaneous Prose Material in this section is
listed on a fairly selective basis.
Material written by people belonging to Skye and its adjacent islands
is usually only included if it has specific reference to the area. This means that what is listed for writers
like T. M.
MacCalmain and Màrtainn
Domhnallach does not represent anything like their total output. However, in such cases I try to include in
the notes some discussion of the nature and scope of their literary
activities. |
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