Talk on Orkney writer George Mackay Brown to be held in John O' Groats
A talk is to be given in Caithness next week on the life of celebrated Orkney writer, George Mackay Brown.
The event, in the Seaview Hotel in John O’ Groats on Wednesday evening, centres on the book Beyond The Swelkie which is an anthology of poetry and essays celebrating the centenary of George Mackay Brown. It was co-edited by Jim Mackintosh and Paul Philippou of Tippermuir Books and published in August.
Jim will be giving the talk and speaking about the book, reading extracts and discussing the continued relevance of Brown beyond his centenary.
George Mackay Brown, who died in April 1996 at the age of 74, was a Scottish poet, author and dramatist with a distinctly Orcadian character. He is regarded as one of the great Scottish writers of the 20th century.
Mackay Brown wrote of life and nature in his native Orkney Islands, encompassing poetry, novels, children’s stories, essays, plays, and media pieces. He studied with Edwin Muir at Newbattle Abbey College, near Edinburgh, and earned an MA from the University of Edinburgh in 1960.
Jim Mackintosh is the Makar of the Cateran EcoMuseum, the 2021 Makar of the Federation of Writers Scotland and has published six poetry collections of his own, the latest being Flipstones published in 2018. He has also edited two others Poetry Anthologies - The Darg marking the centenary of Hamish Henderson in 2019 and MindTheTime in 2017 raising awareness of football memories and its work in relation to dementia.
