Kirjahaku

I’m relieved to find such things are there, in spite of hunger and carnageunder the same moon, and my place in their terrible chain; glad that my mother’s hands, after long years of sustaining us all, will place on her table, once again, her annual offerings at tomorrow’s feast. From Late Night Christmas ShoppingTomorrow’s Feast is Stevenson’s third poetry collection and reflects the challenges of today’s world. At the forefront of the poet’s consciousness here is the legacy faced by the next generation. In many ways, as the title implies, the book is a tribute to youth. Its scope is wide and deep, profoundly personal as well as political, employing a range of poetic forms, including a virtuosic libretto in verse, a contemporary retelling of Coleridge’s epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner set during the refugee crisis.

The twelve stories in Letting Go take us on a journey through landscape, language and turbulent times, from the mid-19th century to the present day, and into the future. Stevenson’s array of characters from many walks of life and nationalities – including a traveller, a wood carver, chicken farm workers, a nurse, an architect and a magician – meet and part, some becoming reacquainted. Themes exploring identity, creativity and the environment, echo and connect throughout the different narratives, sometimes carried in snatches of song. The author leads us outward from her native Scottish Borders to Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Gàidhealtachd, south to England, across the Atlantic to Apartheid South Africa and, finally, to the melting Arctic.

Singers, politicians, a fish-gutter, queens, a dancer, a marine engineer, a salt seller, sportswomen, scientists and many more – Quines celebrates and explores the richly diverse contribution women have made to Scottish history and society.

CAT WUMMAN, is Stevenson’s second short story collection – nine different stories presenting contemporary Scottish life inspired by folk tales from around the world, Scots ballads and the poetry of Coleridge and Hugh MacDiarmid. These dark tales (which include four weddings but no funeral!) will irresistibly draw the reader in.

In this new edition of her first full-length collection, Gerda Stevenson invites readers into a world rich with music – skipping rhymes, heartfelt laments and lively dance tunes. Her poetry dances across themes of butterflies, snowberries and the bittersweet echoes of childhood, alongside reflections on Bosnia, Iraq and Scotland’s own landscapes. If This Were Real weaves together narratives that resonate deeply with our shared humanity.