A daily dose of Gaelic poetry from BBC Radio nan Gaidheal

In the run-up to National Poetry Day on October 1, and the launch of a new book featuring a selection of 100 Favourite Gaelic Poems, BBC Radio nan Gaidheal offers a daily poetry prescription to its listeners throughout September.
By Kevin McRoberts
Published 31st Aug 2020, 08:48 BST

Over 20 listeners, young, old and in-between, have selected a poem and each weekday the station will feature one of their choices and listen as they say what it means to them, before getting the chance to sit back and enjoy a reading of the poem.

The poems will appear in a variety of programmes across each day and in a weekly omnibus edition on Sundays.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Amongst those taking part are Maggie Smith, from Lewis, with An Fhàinne Òir, in which poet Chrissie MacIver draws a vivid picture of a life and a community as she contemplates her mother’s wedding ring.

Powerful political verse home-grown in Tiree is the choice of Trail West’s Iain Smith with Òran Mhanitoba by Iain MacLean.

And the work of the 20th century poets, known at the time as the ‘new Gaelic poetry’, is the choice of Gaelic learner, Petra Poncarova, from the Czech Republic, who plumped for Bùrn is Mòine ‘s Coirc by Derek Thomson.

The readers are Catriona Murray, Catriona Johnston, Gilleasbuig Ferguson, Bill Innes and Shona Cormack.

Dàn a’ Là will feature throughout the daily schedule and begins today (Monday, August 31) on BBC Radio nan Gaidheal and BBC Sounds.