Hugh MacDiarmid's Poetry and Politics of Place

This is the first book I've read which takes a patient, detailed, cautious yet essentially humane evaluation of what MacDiarmid's politics were, how they came about and what their lasting significance might be...There are real insights into the poetry and literary practice of the man, and the literary, political and personal milieux of his life. -- Professor Alan Riach, University of Glasgow Given that MacDiarmid may well be the most influential but also the least understood of twentieth-century Scottish intellectuals and nationalists, Lyall's book plays an important role in explaining how a key moment in Scottish history may yet become part of a more usable past...[an] earnest and insightful study. Scottish Studies Review This is the first book I've read which takes a patient, detailed, cautious yet essentially humane evaluation of what MacDiarmid's politics were, how they came about and what their lasting significance might be...There are real insights into the poetry and literary practice of the man, and the literary, political and personal milieux of his life. Given that MacDiarmid may well be the most influential but also the least understood of twentieth-century Scottish intellectuals and nationalists, Lyall's book plays an important role in explaining how a key moment in Scottish history may yet become part of a more usable past...[an] earnest and insightful study.