The Magicians of Edinburgh

Description

Edinburgh has long inspired writers, from Robert Louis Stevenson to Hugh MacDiarmid. In this sparkling new collection of poems about the city in the twenty-first century, renowned poet and novelist Ron Butlin draws on his experience as Edinburgh's Makar, or Poet Laureate. With verve and wit, Butlin leads the reader on a journey through multi-faceted Edinburgh, a place of sweeping vistas and strip bars, grand towers and failed tramlines, world heritage and homelessness. Underlying all these poems, whether satirical or celebratory, is a deep love for the architecture, landscape and people of Scotland's capital city. The Magicians of Edinburgh will delight long-time residents and visitors alike.

Ron Butlin is a poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer and opera librettist whose works have been broadcast in the UK and abroad and have been translated into many languages. His volumes of poetry include the award-winning 'Ragtime in Unfamiliar Bars' (Secker & Warburg, 1985) and 'Histories of Desire' (Bloodaxe, 1995). His 'New and Selected Poems' was published by Barzan in 2005. His novels include 'The Sound of My Voice' (winner of the Prix Mille Pages 2004 and Prix Lucioles 2005, both for Best Foreign Novel), 'Night Visits' and most recently Belonging. He was appointed Edinburgh Makar in May 2008.

'Edinburgh poems in the fullest sense. A consistently successful collection' * Edinburgh Review * 'Butlin is the best, the most productive Scottish poet of his generation' -- Douglas Dunn