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An Orkney Anthology: Selected Works of Ernest Walker Marwick
Orkney's history, folklore, language and way of life are skilfully recreated in this outstanding collection. The Anthology draws together a wealth of fascinating material from journals, newspaper articles and broadcast strips, and includes much previously unpublished writing. It forms a major new contribution to the story of Orkney.
The first of two volumes, this book focuses on Orkney's folklore and history. The articles range from unique collections of domestic, farming and sea superstitions to the remarkable ABC of Orkney Food, Fifty Years of Scapa Flow and Northern Witches, an account of witchcraft in Orkney.
Ernest Marwick combined research into archives and oral tradition in a blend of styles. Both the serious analytical articles, and the more anecdotal light-hearted pieces, will reward the student and the interested layman alike.
The Anthology has been meticulously and sympathetically edited by John Robertson, a close friend and fellow Orcadian. He has succeeded in highlighting the many themes and qualities of Ernest Walker Marwick's work, provided extensive, well-researched footnotes on historical and linguistic points, and supplied cross-references together with a glossary of Orkney words and expressions. In a number of places he has reworked and updated material for the benefit of the modern reader.
The first of two volumes, this book focuses on Orkney's folklore and history. The articles range from unique collections of domestic, farming and sea superstitions to the remarkable ABC of Orkney Food, Fifty Years of Scapa Flow and Northern Witches, an account of witchcraft in Orkney.
Ernest Marwick combined research into archives and oral tradition in a blend of styles. Both the serious analytical articles, and the more anecdotal light-hearted pieces, will reward the student and the interested layman alike.
The Anthology has been meticulously and sympathetically edited by John Robertson, a close friend and fellow Orcadian. He has succeeded in highlighting the many themes and qualities of Ernest Walker Marwick's work, provided extensive, well-researched footnotes on historical and linguistic points, and supplied cross-references together with a glossary of Orkney words and expressions. In a number of places he has reworked and updated material for the benefit of the modern reader.
491 pages, Hardcover
First published December 5, 1991
5 people want to read
About the author
Ernest W. Marwick
6 booksErnest Walker Marwick (1915 - 1977) was an Orcadian writer noted for his writings on Orkney folklore and history.
Marwick's father was a travelling salesman who had a smallholding in the parish of Evie, to the north of Mainland, Orkney. Diagnosed with scoliosis in 1925 when he was ten years old, Marwick could no longer attend school as his days had to be spent lying on a wooden board. He used the time of illness to read extensively.
After Marwick's marriage his home provided a meeting-place for local intellectuals, including George Mackay Brown and Robert Rendall. His Anthology of Orkney Verse was published in 1949.
From 1955 to 1960 he was on the staff of the Orkney Herald newspaper. He subsequently moved to The Orcadian, his writing covering literary subjects. Other media work undertaken by Marwick included broadcasting on local and Scottish national radio programmes.
Ernest Marwick was a founder member of the Orkney Heritage Society.
He died in July 1977, having swerved off a straight road and crashed into a farm steading when driving. In 2015, one hundred years after his birth, Orkney International Science Festival focused attention on the contributions he made to Orkney's heritage.
Marwick's father was a travelling salesman who had a smallholding in the parish of Evie, to the north of Mainland, Orkney. Diagnosed with scoliosis in 1925 when he was ten years old, Marwick could no longer attend school as his days had to be spent lying on a wooden board. He used the time of illness to read extensively.
After Marwick's marriage his home provided a meeting-place for local intellectuals, including George Mackay Brown and Robert Rendall. His Anthology of Orkney Verse was published in 1949.
From 1955 to 1960 he was on the staff of the Orkney Herald newspaper. He subsequently moved to The Orcadian, his writing covering literary subjects. Other media work undertaken by Marwick included broadcasting on local and Scottish national radio programmes.
Ernest Marwick was a founder member of the Orkney Heritage Society.
He died in July 1977, having swerved off a straight road and crashed into a farm steading when driving. In 2015, one hundred years after his birth, Orkney International Science Festival focused attention on the contributions he made to Orkney's heritage.
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October 16, 2017
A lovely compilation of Marwicks work. Definitely worth a read if you are interested in orcadian history.
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