Old World

Writing out of older Scottish traditions that are ludic, intellectually deft and linguistically complex, Robert Crawford also stands with fellow poets, Liz Lochhead, Douglas Dunn and Simon Armitage as a contemporary master. Nimbly traversing the globe, ‘Old World’ is a generous, playful collection featuring the traditional forms of haiku and riddle, versions of Mexican, Chinese, Old English and Greek poems, a tincture of Scots work, and many pieces that present an ageing planet dealing with 21st-century issues from European war to climate change and AI. These poems speak both of the menaced plenitude of living beings, and of frailties associated with growing old.