Iain Crichton-Smith – författare

A true modern classic and inspirational Scottish novel.'Vividly depicted ... sheer beauty' OBSERVER'A masterpiece of simplicity' FINANCIAL TIMES'A simple but noble book ... this deserves to be read' SCOTSMAN'When she rose in the morning the house at first seemed to be the same. The sun shone through the curtains of her window. On the floor it turned to minute particles like water dancing. Nevertheless, she felt uneasy ... What had the girl said? Something about the 'burning of houses'. They just couldn't put people out of their houses, and then burn the houses down. No one had ever heard of that before. Not in the country...'In this modern classic, from one of Scotland's greatest writers, CONSIDER THE LILIES captures the thoughts and memories of an old woman who has lived all her life within the narrow confines of her community during one of the cruellest episodes of Scottish history - the Highland Clearances.

Growing up on the Isle of Lewis, Iain Crichton Smith spoke only Gaelic until he was five. But at school in Bayble and then Stornoway, everything had to be in English. Like many islanders before and since, his culture is divided: two languages, two histories entailing exile, a central theme of his poetry. His divided perspective sharply delineates the tyranny of history and religion, of the cramped life of small communities; it gives him a tender eye for the struggle of women and men in a world defined by denials.Deer on the High Hills: Selected Poems includes forty years' work and proves that big themes - love, history, power, submission, death - can be addressed without the foil of irony and acquire resonance when given a local habitation and a voice that risks pure, impassioned speech. Editor John Greening provides indexes, a preface and an essay on the life and work of this important poet.