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For the Islands I Sing: An Autobiography
George Mackay Brown wrote this memoir in the years before his death in 1996, offering a simple, bardic honesty turned on himself.
Unknown Binding
,
192 pages
Published
February 1st 1998
by John Murray Publishers
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Books about books always offer a bonus. They lead you to other books. I first heard of Orkney-born poet George Mackay Brown through reading Howard's End is on the Landing (well worth a read in itself). For the Islands I Sing is his autobiography.
I got my copy secondhand and it is not in the best condition. The first page is torn and it is warped from a soaking (I hope it was dropped in the bath rather than the toilet). Oddly for me, this did not put me off, rather, it added character to the book ...more
I got my copy secondhand and it is not in the best condition. The first page is torn and it is warped from a soaking (I hope it was dropped in the bath rather than the toilet). Oddly for me, this did not put me off, rather, it added character to the book ...more
I read this to help me get a sense of the Orkneys, where I'll be spending a week later this summer, and it does provide a strong sense of place. The initial chapters give a short history of the islands and their people that was very evocative. After that, Brown comes across as a willfully eccentric person who lived a rather lonely life, with a lot of alcohol. I admit I found the long literary passages too rambling and skipped over them.
view all 3 comments
It's beautifully written and as with pretty well everything else, George Brown hid more than he revealed but what's wrong with being private? In the book he traces his life which, with a digression to Edinburgh in his relative youth, was spent in Stromness and indeed rarely did he leave Orkney. But then read his poetry and novels and get how the islands were his life blood and inspiration. His was a modest life from a material sense but rich in imagination and in the mysticism of the Orcadian pa
...more
Sep 05, 2009
Abailart
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biography-autobiography
Off to the Orkney Islands next week. What better way to prepare than reading again the words of the lovely poet.
GMB beautifully describes certain sections of his life, then either omits or rushes through sections of others.
A few too many words and a bit rambling but I liked the descriptions of Orkney my fathers birthplace.
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George Mackay Brown, the poet, novelist and dramatist, spent his life living in and documenting the Orkney Isles.
A bout of severe measles at the age of 12 became the basis for recurring health problems throughout his life. Uncertain as to his future, he remained in education until 1940, a year which brought with it a growing reality of the war, and the unexpected death of his father. The followin ...more
More about George Mackay Brown...
A bout of severe measles at the age of 12 became the basis for recurring health problems throughout his life. Uncertain as to his future, he remained in education until 1940, a year which brought with it a growing reality of the war, and the unexpected death of his father. The followin ...more
