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What they say:


about EATING THISTLES

“...Eating Thistles is a stone in history’s shoe....there is a feeling of eavesdropping on important, world-changing conversations...Moffatt [asks] questions that have no aswer, but insists that we keep looking....her tone is often mournful and mysterious, as if the full implications of historical events are still rippling, far off into the future.

             Helen Allison, NORTHWORDS NOW

about BEATHA ÙR, winner of the Federation of Scottish Writers Vernal Equinox Competition, Gaelic section, 2019

“...a crystalline image of the poet...scrutinising the comings and goings of the neighbours and their idiosyncracies.  It was this keen eye that affected me most...this poem with left me with questions in my mind.  That’s the power of excellent poetry.”

             Marcas Mac an Tuairneir

about AN SEUDAR ’S AN GIUTHAS, winner of the Duais Bàrdachd MhicDhòmhnaill Shlèite 2016

“...the feel and subject of An Seudar ’s an Giuthas (‘The Cedar and the Pine’) impressed us all for its originality and freshness. It has an appealing symmetry and a unity in its contrast...”

“...bha tarraing air leth ùr ann an An Seudar ’s an Giuthas a ghlac ar mac-meanmna. Tha an dà chuid aonachd is ioma-sgaradh san dàn seo...”

             Mark Wringe, speaking for judging panel for the MacDonald of Sleat Poetry Prize 2016

about CLANN NA COILLE, winner of the Wigtown Poetry Competition Scottish Gaelic Section 2016

“...a strange, other-worldly parable...it inspires one to question and to imagine, and it continues to haunt the reader...”

             Catriona Lexy Campbell, Judge for Wigtown Poetry Prize Scottish Gaelic Section 2016

about MILKWEED DOWN, runner up in the Words on the Waves Awards 2016

“There is a simple beauty in this mournful poem.  It is carefully crafted and pleasingly musical.”

             Jane Clarke, Poetry Judge in the Words on the Waves Award 2916

about LILIDH SA’ MHACHAIR, winner of the Wigtown Poetry Prize Scottish Gaelic Category 2015

"…a poem that is carefully crafted and emotionally complex.  What made it stand out was its weaving of different textures, its delicately handled imagery and - especially - its psychological heft."

"…a’ seasamh a-mach airson mar a tha e a’ fighe ri chèile innich eadar-dhealaichte, ìomhaigheachd air a làimhseachadh gu faiceallach, agus – gu h-àraidh – airson a chuideam saidgh-eòlach.

            Peter Mackay, Judge for the Wigtown Poetry Prize Scottish Gaelic Category 2015

about ECLOGUE, winner of the Words on the Waves Award 2015

"I was…captivated by the rhythm of this poem, its soundscape, and the musicality of the language…I loved its clarity, the repetitions that became imbued with further meaning, and instantly felt the frisson that told me this was the winner.”

             Afric McGlinchey, judge for the Words on the Waves Poetry Award 2015 

about ÀIRC, Highly Commended in the Wigtown Poetry Prize Scottish Gaelic Category 2014

"...a dark and challenging image of the lasting, destructive effects of mental illness..."

"...a well-crafted poem whose skillfulness is in itself a comfort...

"Sgialachd chianail, churanta ga cur an cèill ann am bàrdachd iùlmhor ealanta..."

              Anne Lorne Gillies, Judge for the Wigtown Poetry Prize Gaelic Category 2014 

about THE MOVING ISLAND, winner of the Baker Prize 2012

"‘The Moving Island’ is a deft and fascinating weaving of narratives, and of voices. It recalls the work of George Mackay Brown in how it opens itself to the myth and reality of island living and how easily a sense of sanctuary can turn into a sense of exile."

              Kevin MacNeil and Chris Powici, Judges for the Baker Prize 2012

"...an extraordinarily beautiful poem..."

              Roger Hutchinson, WEST HIGHLAND FREE PRESS

about ALONG THE COAST (published in Crannog 18):

“...Deborah Moffat’s haunting, sad but excellently-crafted ‘Along the Coast’ marks her as a promising and unafraid new poet. She has a collection due from Lapwing Press: 'All along the coast the young men lie in lonely rooms Listening for the welcoming sighs of women lying alone . . .' ”

              Kiosque, THE WESTERN WRITER'S CENTRE

about THE SCHOOL TEACHER’S WIFE (published in Oasis 110):

“...the beautifully sombre three sections from 'The School Teacher’s Wife'...which feels like a myth, something grown over time in a landscape rather than something written by an individual--disturbing, erotic and loaded with mute violence...a physically affective lyric.”

              Andrew Jordan, 10th MUSE     

about FAR FROM HOME:

"...certainly a talented writer..."

"The voice here is confident even in experiment, and manages to avoid sentimentality and typicality altogether."

"...poems which express emotional complexities..."

              Dr J D Ballam, New British Poetry, SUITE 101

“...poems with a light touch...”

poems “About family and personal relationships embedded in countryside descriptions”

“She deserves to become better known.”

               Sally Evans, POETRY SCOTLAND - more here

“An interesting delicacy and mystique...”

a “strange pull and counter-pull of attraction to the past and the running away from it.”

              Eric Ratcliffe, NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL - more here

Moffatt “...explores and searches for the pastoral on the fringes of the urban, whether in Mexico, bonny Scotland or Ireland, but there are poems on other themes too.”

               BOOKS IRELAND