Scottish Gaelic

On the shelves of the library at Cambridge University lies a book that symbolises the heart of Scottish Gaelic culture: the Book of Deer. It is a gospel book that was written in Deer in Aberdeenshire sometime between the 8th and 12th century. Within the pages of the book is the first ever writing that exists in Scottish Gaelic. "The Book of Deer is a tiny book but it has left a huge legacy for us, not only in the north east but for the whole of Scotland. We had to wait another 200-300 years after the Book of Deer to find any more evidence of written Scottish Gaelic" - Dr Michelle MacLeod, senior lecturer in Gaelic at University of Aberdeen.

The step-dancing of the Scotch Gaels in Nova Scotia is the last living example of a form of dance that waned following the great emigrations to Canada that ended in 1845. The Scotch Gael has been reported as loving dance, but step-dancing in Scotland had all but disappeared by 1945. One must look to Gaelic Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Antigonish County, to find this tradition. Gaelic Cape Breton Step-Dancing, the first study of its kind, gives this art form and the people and culture associated with it the prominence they have long deserved.

“Can Scotland be considered an English colony? Is its experience and literature comparable to that of overseas postcolonial countries? Or are such comparisons no more than patriotic victimology to mask Scottish complicity in the British Empire and justify nationalism?

The Art Of Forgetting is a visionary fusion of Celtic and Appalachia—a unique innovation that is at the heart of ‘Gaelic Americana’ singer-songwriter Kyle Carey’s novel sound. In The Art Of Forgetting, Kyle shows us through her compelling songwriting, her varied Trans-Atlantic (and now southern) influences and her expertise in Gaelic song—that the story of American folk music is diverse, rich and ever-evolving.