Iona: New and Selected Poems

By Kenneth Steven

"Steven has an Irish monk’s attentiveness to the fragility, mystery, and hidden beauties of things." —Peter Leithart, First Things

The book is a gathering together of all of Kenneth Steven’s poems concerning the island of Iona through the years. These comprise poems that have been published in journals both at home and abroad, and broadcast on BBC Radio. A lengthy introduction tells the story of the forging of those first links with Iona, and those that have come through adult years. This is a book both for those who know and love the island, and for those who may yearn to visit but have not yet had the chance. It’s essentially a love song to a precious and an extraordinary place that has been the author’s spiritual home from earliest childhood days.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paraclete Press
• Release date: Apr 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781640606319

Kenneth Steven

Kenneth Steven is a successful poet, novelist and children’s writer who has published some 25 books. His BBC Radio 4 documentary on the island of St Kilda won him a Sony Award. His previous novel, The Well of the North Wind (SPCK, 2016), was a spiritual tale set on 6th-century Iona, whilst Beneath the Ice (Saraband, 2016) tells the story of the Arctic Sami people. He grew up in Highland Perthshire in the heart of Scotland, and now lives in Argyll on the country’s west coast; it’s these landscapes that have inspired the lion’s share of both his poetry and prose.

Book preview