Recent writing
A selection of recent articles, essays and reviews:
- A Song of Home: a profile of the artist Paul Bloomer, for Caught by the River, 2019.
- The Heart of Beyond: an essay on 'remoteness' and centrality in fiction, in Boundless magazine, 2019.
- A Christmas Compass: North: a short story broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Christmas Day, 2018.
- The Noticing: a short story for The Simple Things magazine (not available online).
- The Worth of Words, The Island Review, 2018.
- "Drive Safely!", The Island Review, 2017.
- Why I Love ... Fair Isle, The Guardian, 2016.
- The Nameless Loch, Fallon's Angler issue 8 (not available online).
- The Magic of an Island: for the Scottish Book Trust.
- A review of Louise Gray's The Ethical Carnivore for Caught By The River, 2016.
- The Fear of a Retreat: a blog about the RLS Fellowship for the Scottish Book Trust, 2016
- An introduction to Wendell Berry's The Art of the Commonplace for Caught By The River's Nature Book Reader, 2015.
- The Way to My Grandparents' House, for the Scottish Book Trust's 'Journeys' project, 2015.
- Tom Nairn, in Darkness and Light, for Scottish Review of Books, 2014.
- First thoughts on the independence referendum result, and the way forward from here, for National Collective, 2014
- Review of The Fly Trap by Fredrick Sjoberg, Caught by the River, 2014
- Northern Lights: review of The Literature of Shetland in Scottish Review of Books, 2014
- So Long As We Can Imagine Better We Can Make Better: why I am voting Yes to Scottish independence. National Collective, 2014
- True North: why there is no need for 'island referendums'. Bella Caledonia, 2014
- Where I Write: a blog post for the Scottish Book Trust, 2014
- Farson's way: a profile of Negley Farson, writer, wanderer and angler. Caught By the River, 2013
- Islands Voices: on the Our Islands, Our Future autonomy campaign. Bella Caledonia, 2013
- A comment piece for The Guardian on Shetland 'home rule', 2013
The Things Around Me
The Things Around Me was a 'nature writing' collaboration with ornithologist and artist Will Miles. From the autumn of 2011 to the spring of 2012 I wrote a series of essays about a Shetland garden – its wildlife and plants, and the experience of getting to know the place. The essays can be read here.
New Statesman
Shetland Life
A selection of my articles and editorials from Shetland Life magazine:
- Of Poets and Dolls: Lemn Sissay and the nature of racism in Shetland
- West, to Greenland
- What is a Community?
- Editorial: On terror and extremism in Britain and Norway
- Editorial: On Harry Patch and remembrance
- Editorial: On education and technology
- Editorial: On privacy and press freedom
- Editorial: On drugs and society
- Editorial: On technology and agriculture
The Shetland Times
A selection of my Spaekalation columns:
