Deirdre of the Sorrows

By Kenneth Stevens

Praise for Kenneth Steven

'Strong and impressive work' - A. J. Alvarez

'There is a grave beauty in these lines, revealing a poetic voice of great sensitivity' - Alexander McCall Smith on Evensong

'An atmospheric, wintry tale of fragile human relationships set in a beautiful but unforgiving landscape' - James Robertson on The Ice and Other Stories

The story of Deirdre of the Sorrows is widely known in Ireland, yet all but forgotten across the water in Scotland. This great tragic love story, which has its roots in the ninth or tenth century, is very much shared by both countries. For Deirdre, according to the legend, fled with her lover Naoise to Argyll. The oldest song in Scotland is believed to be Deirdre's haunting farewell to her adopted land as she returns once more to Ireland.

In this new sequence, Deirdre of the Sorrows, Kenneth Steven beautifully reimagines the legend of this love story; he brings back to life Deirdre's journey and attempts to capture its timeless power.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Polygon
• Release date: May 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9780857909480

Kenneth Stevens

Kenneth Steven spent his first years in Helensburgh, but the bulk of his childhood and adolescence was spent in Highland Perthshire. He was born to writing parents, his father was a journalist and his mother a social historian. Kenneth has always been first and foremost a poet, fourteen of his collections have been published over the years, and he has made many poetry related programmes for BBC Radio. Birlinn published his novel, Glen Lyon , in 2013. www.kennethsteven.co.uk