Recent writing
A selection of recent articles, essays and reviews:
- The Burial, Extra Teeth, 2021 (forthcoming).
- Un Immense Petit Monde, GEO magazine, France, 2021 (forthcoming).
- The Back of Ronas Hill, Fly Culture, 2020 (not available online).
- Old Man's Hands, Scottish Book Trust, 2020
- A Brief (and inadequate) introduction to the writing and writers of Shetland, British Council, 2020
- A Song of Home: a profile of the artist Paul Bloomer, 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, 2018 (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, 2016 (not available online).
- The Magic of an Island: for the Scottish Book Trust, 2016.
- 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, 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, 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:
