THIS revised and expanded anthology of Scottish religious poetry appears just 24 years after the publication of its acclaimed predecessor. Much has been kept from the first edition, especially in respect of medieval and early modern texts — both books begin with Edwin Morgan’s translation of Columba’s Altus Prosator. Some cuts are made with respect to 18th- and 19th-century contributors: Burns is reduced from four to three appearances, and Norman Macleod’s muscular Christian anthem “Courage, brother, do not stumble” disappears (shame!).
This pruning, together with the dropping of the original Latin and Norse versions of older poems, allows for a rich selection of work from living poets who were largely unrepresented before. I particularly warmed to Rob Mackenzie’s riff on Edinburgh Episcopalianism in “Blade Runner”; Carol Ann Duffy’s take on the trial and crucifixion of Jesus from the perspective of Pilate’s wife; Jackie Kay’s reflection on new beginnings, inspired by a walk across Holy Island; and “Breathing is the Place to Start” by Amy Philip, the first out transgender priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church.
It is also good to see two contributions from the distinguished poet Robert Crawford, one of the editors of the original anthology. He is represented here by a characteristically dense exploration of biology, and more specifically the chromosomes in our DNA, which he sees as articulating “a sort of Word made flesh”, and by a splendidly short poem, “My faith hangs by a thread”, in which he muses that, rather than go over it and worry whether it will snap, it is “better just to take it and sew”.
The editors of this new second edition say that they have come to regard this statement by Crawford as a metaphor for their endeavour. In a thoughtful introduction, they ponder what constitutes religious verse and whether it necessarily involves working within something already given or revealed. They contrast the more traditional definitions of Lord David Cecil and Helen Gardner with the much looser and more “modern” approach of R. S. Thomas, who saw religious poems as involving “brooding” on the self, destiny, and mystery, “without any irritable reaching after fact or reason”.
The editors themselves come down more on the side of the traditionalists, drawing on the writings of the contemporary Anglican poet and Church Times columnist Malcolm Guite, and commending his suggestion that a poem “can renew and deepen our vision of the world” at the same time as it may “enrich our understanding of theology”. There is certainly much in this anthology which achieves both these objectives.
The Revd Dr Ian Bradley is a Church of Scotland minister and Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History at the University of St Andrews.
Scottish Religious Poetry: From the sixth century to the present
Linden Bicket, Emma Dymock and Alison Jack, editors
Saint Andrew Press £25
(978-1-80083-047-9)
Church Times Bookshop £22.50