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News

Updated June 2010

Deborah writes:

Issue 64 of the Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) magazine Cothrom, published by Clì Gàidhlig, has an article I wrote about Marcel Cohen's book, "In Search of a Lost Ladino." (see my recommendations page for more about this book). Cothrom is an excellent magazine with articles in Gàidhlig at all levels. The articles included in each issue cover a wide range of topics, and many, though not all, have English translations.

Also in the same issue of Cothrom there is news of a new edition of "Bho Chluaidh gu Calasraid: from the Clyde to Callander," which was edited and translated by Micheal Newton. I read this book recently, and you will find information about the contents of the book on my recommendations page. The new edition has been published by the Grimsay Press.

Issue No 75 of the Frogmore Papers, published in March, includes my poem "The Marvel of the Parish." This is a nifty little magazine, with a smart, bright, cover by Neil Gower and some intriguing drawings byAlexey Talimonov. As for the poetry--there's plenty of good stuff in this issue, as always; I particularly liked the poems by David Briggs, Michael Curtis, Jeremy Page and Caroline Price.

"The Forward Book of Poetry 2010," published last autumn, includes my poem, "Along the Coast." The book is "a collection of the best poems of the year from the Forward Poetry Prizes," or at least that's what it says on the cover. My poem was originally published in the Galway magazine Crannog. The book includes poems by poets whose writing I have long admired, among them Ciaran Carson, Michael Longley, and Derek Mahon, and I was pleased to be introduced to a number of poets whose work I hadn't come across before--specifically, I liked the work of Sheenagh Pugh and Ruth Stone. I discovered that Stone (born 1915) has lived for a long time in Vermont, and she seems to have absorbed the dryness of tone that I remember from my childhood there. The book is published by Forward Ltd. in association with Faber and Faber, and can be purchased in all the usual places--bookstores, and on-line. It's great for me to be in this book, but if it weren't for the editors and publishers of Crannog, it wouldn't have happened; my thanks to them.

Obituary:

In January 2006, I lost a good friend and mentor, Sandy Tulloch, or Dr. A. K. Tulloch. Sandy was a man of many talents and skills. He was a consultant eye specialist, a keen model engineer, a photographer, and a hill walker. His biggest love was traditional Scottish music, and he was probably best known for his vast knowledge of the music he loved and played so well.

Sandy was a lifelong friend of Sir Jimmy Shand, and was first described to me as the “archivist” of Shand’s work. Certainly, you could always count on Sandy to supply you with all the information you required about any tune ever recorded by Shand, and indeed Sandy had information about almost every tune ever heard in the Scottish and the Irish tradition! He had transcribed thousands of tunes and he gave out his transcriptions generously. He was equally generous with his praise and support for the many outstanding young accordion and fiddle players in Scotland. He collected and built instruments, mainly accordions, but also fiddles, and over the last few years Sandy would champion the single row melodeon--a rarity, nowadays--when playing at Letham Village Hall and elsewhere.

Sandy Tulloch will be greatly missed.