There is no deviousness or malice in George.  He is as acute in his critical assessments as in his judgement of character.  An unblinking directness is equally a hallmark of his own writing – less Scottish than Norse in its inheritance, its saga-like clarity and drive.  He uniquely embodies a one-man bardic tradition;  his output a wondrous repository of time and place, an almost mediaeval marriage of inspiration and craft.  His characters are pared to essentials;  with a vibrancy of description and expression which imprints itself on the emotional retina, and resonates in the mind.  “Keeping the sources pure” as he puts it, his finest lyrics (often in different colours of biro on multi-coloured paper) have the formal perfection of a rose garden:  blooms impeccably pruned but of a profusion and radiance inimitably their own.

This publication also includes a GMB story and poems, previously unpublished, an interview with GMB conducted by William Sharpton and a section 'In Memorium GMB' with contributions from Esther Garke, Stewart Conn, Margaret Tait and Gerry Cambridge.

from George Mackay Brown:  an appreciation

Chapman literary magazine No. 84, 1996
4 Broughton Place
Edinburgh EH1 3RX