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'The Kaleidoscopic variety of An Leabhar Mor is comfortingly contained within a coherent and authoritative vision . . . a sumptuous collection of images.' (Irish Times )
'A wonderful collection' (Scotland on Sunday )
'A monument to contemporary culture' (Sunday Herald )
'The quality of the artwork is outstanding' (Scotsman )
'A wonderful collection' (Scotland on Sunday )
'A monument to contemporary culture' (Sunday Herald )
'The quality of the artwork is outstanding' (Scotsman )
The Scotsman - Tuesday 29 October 2002
"The quality of the artwork is outstanding"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Great Book of Gaelic is a wonderful collection of Irish and Scottish poetry written in the native tongues of those lands, collected from the earliest times of Celtic writing to the most recent recensions of Irish and Gaelic speaking writers. The preface is very nice - not only does it explain the purpose of the Great Book project (taking it's very name from an older Great Book of Gaelic lore), but it places the poems in the wider context of Celtic literature. All of the pieces are presented in the original Gaeilge/Gàidhlig along with English translations, and are accompanied by visual art done by calligraphers inspired by the poems. I was so inspired to see so much work still being done in the Celtic languages; I hope one day we'll see perhaps a similar anthology of Welsh and Breton work as well.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
`An Leabhar Mòr' is a real delight. It is a rich and enriching compendium - the first of its kind - of Gaelic poetry from Ireland and Scotland. The poetry spans great swathes of time from the 6th to the 21st centuries, and shows us that our ancestors weren't all that different from us - with similar preoccupations - love, death, lust, longing, and with a rollicking sense of humour which bounces readily across the p/ages.
The real joy is actually seeing and reading (aloud preferably,) the native language on the page - though there are English translations for each alongside - which is vital. Gaelic whether as Gaeilge or Gaidhlig is a beautiful, expressive language, but is going to be lost on the majority of non-native speakers without some sort of translation (though the particular interpretation of any piece of verse or prose is inevitably to some extent subjective, and open to further interpretation).
For each poem - there are accompanying `art works' and calligraphy by a range of living artists, who have interpreted each 'story' in their own individual way.
Anyone with the slightest interest in literature, and the Gaelic language in particular, will be sure to find something here to enjoy, to wonder at - and to ponder over.
The real joy is actually seeing and reading (aloud preferably,) the native language on the page - though there are English translations for each alongside - which is vital. Gaelic whether as Gaeilge or Gaidhlig is a beautiful, expressive language, but is going to be lost on the majority of non-native speakers without some sort of translation (though the particular interpretation of any piece of verse or prose is inevitably to some extent subjective, and open to further interpretation).
For each poem - there are accompanying `art works' and calligraphy by a range of living artists, who have interpreted each 'story' in their own individual way.
Anyone with the slightest interest in literature, and the Gaelic language in particular, will be sure to find something here to enjoy, to wonder at - and to ponder over.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
The perfect marriage
18 May 2007
Format:Paperback
If you are interested in modern Irish poetry this a beautiful and lyrical selection of some of the best writing from Ireland's past and present. The poetry spans all the depths meant to be explored through the medium of poetry and the artwork accompanying the poetry is equally moving. This is a unique marriage between calligraphers, artists and poets.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A book;the likes of which is rarely published.
10 Mar 2008
Format:Paperback
The Great Book of Gaelic brings together the work of more than 200 poets,visual artists and calligraphers from Scotland and Ireland to create a major contemporary artwork in the form of a visual anthology.
Leading poets and writers were selected to choose 100 Gaelic poems from almost every century from the 6th to the 21st.It includes the earliest Gaelic poetry in existance and represents the greatest Gaelic poets and their poetry about comedy,tragedy,love death,spiritual and the bawdy.
Then, 100 visual artists were chosen to interpret the poems . Furthermore a team of calligraphers and a topograpgher worked with the artists to integrate the key lines of poetry and the artist's images.
This book presents an outstanding collection pf poetry and art of Gaelic culture from the 6th century to the present times.
It took an amazing effort coupled with much assistange to bring this collection to fruition. It was published in 2002 and while it is still available in small numbers. It is already being offered by mdealers at prices many times exceeding the origional price. If you are a lover of Gaelic poetry and art,you will be enchanted with this beautiful book as soon as you see it;and want to acquire a copy of your own ,while you can.
Each poem and picture is presented on 2 facing pages. A Supplementary Text includes complete poems in Gaelic as well as English. A Biographies Section covers all the artist involved including photographs and their backgrounds. A detailed Index is also included.The paper quality,printing,and construction is excellent. It is fairly large at
8 3/4" X 10 1/4" X 1" and 321 pages.
Leading poets and writers were selected to choose 100 Gaelic poems from almost every century from the 6th to the 21st.It includes the earliest Gaelic poetry in existance and represents the greatest Gaelic poets and their poetry about comedy,tragedy,love death,spiritual and the bawdy.
Then, 100 visual artists were chosen to interpret the poems . Furthermore a team of calligraphers and a topograpgher worked with the artists to integrate the key lines of poetry and the artist's images.
This book presents an outstanding collection pf poetry and art of Gaelic culture from the 6th century to the present times.
It took an amazing effort coupled with much assistange to bring this collection to fruition. It was published in 2002 and while it is still available in small numbers. It is already being offered by mdealers at prices many times exceeding the origional price. If you are a lover of Gaelic poetry and art,you will be enchanted with this beautiful book as soon as you see it;and want to acquire a copy of your own ,while you can.
Each poem and picture is presented on 2 facing pages. A Supplementary Text includes complete poems in Gaelic as well as English. A Biographies Section covers all the artist involved including photographs and their backgrounds. A detailed Index is also included.The paper quality,printing,and construction is excellent. It is fairly large at
8 3/4" X 10 1/4" X 1" and 321 pages.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Across the Celtic Sea: Ireland meets Scotland
5 Jan 2008
Format:Paperback
This is to clarify the contents of this elegant "Great Book of Gaelic." The previous two reviewers may be misleading-- the book is not only Irish but Scots Gaelic in its verse and illuminations-- and the other Celtic languages are not represented. It plays off of the co-editor Theo Dorgan's work with the earlier "Great Book of Ireland" in format and intent. This new Leabhar Mór commemorates 1500 years of cross-channel cultural connection between Scotland and Ireland. The 100 poems in the Irish and Scots Gaelic languages (here with translations) were nominated by poets (both as judges and contributors) and span from the 6th c CE to today. Fifty artists each from Ireland and Scotland were commissioned to use graphic media (calligraphy, typography, collage, photography, and all the varieties of ink, pen, brush, and paint) to enhance and play off the verses. The lines of the poems, in fact, are partially inscribed on each of the artworks: this alone links the hundred poems and representations to each other.
The themes lament and celebrate. The work emerges from a period of hope with the peace in the North of Ireland symbolizing a reapproachment with the warring sides, each of whom in Ulster drew on Gaelic images and rhetoric in their territorial struggle. Also, such efforts as the Colmcille Project seek to re-orient the perspective of not so much British as Celtic isles and nations in the North Atlantic: this book carries such a mission into the realms of the aesthetic and the visual. The attention devoted to English, Scots Gaelic, and Irish, therefore, balances these three living sources of the words and ideas imagined here.
Essays on the poetic traditions, the art, and capsule bios of the writers and artists enhance this handsome volume. The originals were displayed in exhibition before being bound on handmade paper. A website also shows a sample of the work; the BBC also gave radio and TV coverage to this millennial project celebrating Gaelic history and identity. The content rewards close study, often with a magnifying glass, as you'd view a medieval manuscript. The scope recalls such disparate monuments as the Apocalypse Spanish texts of Beatus of Liebana (themselves inspiration for Umberto Eco's "Name of the Rose"), the ancient portrait of a Roman matron, fashion shoots and gallery photography, iconography, and doubtless dozens more influences I lack the erudition to compare.
The themes lament and celebrate. The work emerges from a period of hope with the peace in the North of Ireland symbolizing a reapproachment with the warring sides, each of whom in Ulster drew on Gaelic images and rhetoric in their territorial struggle. Also, such efforts as the Colmcille Project seek to re-orient the perspective of not so much British as Celtic isles and nations in the North Atlantic: this book carries such a mission into the realms of the aesthetic and the visual. The attention devoted to English, Scots Gaelic, and Irish, therefore, balances these three living sources of the words and ideas imagined here.
Essays on the poetic traditions, the art, and capsule bios of the writers and artists enhance this handsome volume. The originals were displayed in exhibition before being bound on handmade paper. A website also shows a sample of the work; the BBC also gave radio and TV coverage to this millennial project celebrating Gaelic history and identity. The content rewards close study, often with a magnifying glass, as you'd view a medieval manuscript. The scope recalls such disparate monuments as the Apocalypse Spanish texts of Beatus of Liebana (themselves inspiration for Umberto Eco's "Name of the Rose"), the ancient portrait of a Roman matron, fashion shoots and gallery photography, iconography, and doubtless dozens more influences I lack the erudition to compare.
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