{"product_id":"skaldance-gary-geddes-9780864923875","title":"Skaldance","description":"\u003cp\u003eGary Geddes's ancestors fished herring off the Orkney Islands, but his own fishing takes a different form. His new poetry collection, \u003ci\u003eSkaldance\u003c\/i\u003e, weaves in and out of the history of the islands like the wind, ocean, and invaders that have shaped the unique Norse-Scottish landscape and culture of the Orkadians.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAn outsider with a stake in these remote northern islands, Geddes takes on the role of Skald, the poet of Old Norse tradition, who reports on love, politics, and the past. With wry, quiet humour or bold theatricality, Geddes establishes connections with a people and a land where his forebears lived long ago. Neolithic voices, Viking graffiti, and a fourteenth-century Venetian voyager all have their say in the polyphony of speakers created by Geddes.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSo, too, do Armada refugees, Hudson's Bay Company recruits, and Italian POWs in these breathtaking poems that transcend period and time. Like the Scottish film \u003ci\u003eBreaking the Waves\u003c\/i\u003e, the tragic events of these poems are made bearable by moments of black humour. Yet, Geddes's long narrative poems also reverse the process, disarming readers with laughter before delivering the emotional punch.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhether light-hearted or tragic, ironically detached or passionately engaged, the poems in \u003ci\u003eSkaldance\u003c\/i\u003e are deeply felt, intelligent, witty, and exquisitely crafted.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Gary Geddes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0864923872\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780864923875\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Goose Lane Editions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/22\/2004\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 104\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.48w x 0.28d","brand":"Gary Geddes","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44716124930303,"sku":"9780864923875","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_1777f978-2559-4ce9-b8fd-2cae4f8482b6.jpg?v=1705681169","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/skaldance-gary-geddes-9780864923875","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}