Rab Wilson

Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the 1984-1985 national UK Miners’ Strike – the largest industrial action by a UK union in the 20th Century – Here We Go, Here We Go, Here We Go! Is comprised of Rab’s previous mining poems as well as new poems that relate to current social and economic problems in Scotland and the UK.Once he left school in 1977, Rab Wilson worked in the mining industry along the west coast of Scotland for eight years. On the 12th March 1984 Rab joined the Miners’ Strike, where he remained on strike until the 21st March 1985, after nearly a full year on strike.The poetry in this collection chronicles the events and aftermath of the Miners’ Strike, through the eyes of a miner who was very much involved in it, a momentous landmark of the working-class struggle. Rab has witnessed the first-hand implications of the demise of Scotland’s mining industry. No other Scots poet today is better placed than Rab to record the history and importance of Scotland’s mining industry and the challenging strike.

This new fascinating collaboration between eminent Scots astronomer John C. Brown and renowned Scots poet Rab Wilson combines a beginner’s introduction to the scientific workings of the universe together with inspired poems and haikus, and superb imagery from astro-photographers and artists.

Rab Wilson's new poetry collection 'Design' is a swoop of poetic imagination; featuring musings on the nature of the universe and of our human place in the cosmos.

This unique reflection on the world of Robert Burns places a range of photographic artworks by celebrated Scottish artist Calum Colvin alongside poems written in response to each work by 'weel-kent' Scots poet Rab Wilson.

This unique reflection on the world of Robert Burns places a range of photographic artworks by celebrated Scottish artist Calum Colvin alongside poems written in response to each work by 'weel-kent' Scots poet Rab Wilson. Colvin's multi-referential artworks are concerned with the very process of looking, perceiving and interpreting. The potential meaning of any individual piece is intrinsically linked to the viewer’s personal deconstruction of the image. Utilising the unique fixed-point perspective of the camera, Colvin creates and records manipulated and constructed images in order to create elaborate narratives which meditate on numerous aspects of Scottish culture, identity and the human condition in the early 21st century. At times witty, controversial and tender, the images are presented alongside poems in response by Rab Wilson which equally reflect on the life and aspects of Burns to dwell on who we are, and where we have been, toward what we may become. As Burns reflected through his art the world he inhabited, these works and words strive to reflect on a myriad of contemporary concerns.

Written mostly in Scots, Rab Wilson's A Map for the Blind deals with topics ranging from satirical social commentary to sublime shots of everyday life with his characteristic wit and insight. From a poignant reflection into the 'black hairt' of the coal industry, to a nostalgic and spirited look at classic bicycles, to wondering if anyone was listening to 'Holy Gordon's Prayer', Rab Wilson delivers a vibrant picture of Scotland which we can't fail to recognise.

Rab Wilson covers the variety of modern Scottish life through refreshingly honest and often humorous poetry, encompassing history, text messaging, politics, asylum-seeking hedgehogs and connoisseurs of Buckfast. Individual poems, whether set in the local supermarket or the former mining towns of his youth, have humour, pathos, sometimes indignation and always a warm immediacy. Rab Wilson is a free spirit who speaks and writes in Scots (in everyday letters and emails as well as poetry) with complete ease and unselfconsciousness. This inspirational collection reaffirms Rab Wilson’s position as one of Scotland’s leading poets and plays a part in the reinvigoration of the Scots language in modern Scottish society.