The World's Room

by Norman MacCaig

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

MacCaig was born in Edinburgh and divided his time, for the rest of his life, between his native city and Assynt in the Scottish Highlands. He registered as a conscientious objector during World War II. In 1967 he was appointed Fellow in Creative Writing at Edinburgh. He became a reader in poetry in 1970, at the University of Stirling.

Reviews

[Boy Blue · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection finds MacCaig at his most introspective and domestic. The title is incredibly apt. Many of his earlier poems felt like he was writing them while immersed in the very nature he was writing about. Now they feel a little more like he's sitting in a room, summoning them up. The journey inwards started with the epic Inward Bound in the previous collection carries on.

There is a bit more humour and light-heartedness here but overall the collection is probably the weakest of his I've read so far.

I did enjoy Return to Scalpay, Hogmanay, Two-year-old, and Birthdays.

The last one I really enjoyed felt like MacCaig taking stock of his own life. A lot of his poems are starting to trend that way but this one does it so delicately.

Old Crofter

The gate he built last year
hangs by its elbow from the wall.
The oar he shaped this summer
goes through the water with a swirl, a swivel.

The hammer in his great hand
pecks like fowl in the grain.
His haycocks are lopsided.
His lamp stands on the dresser, unlit.

One day the rope he has tied
will slither down the rock
and the boat drift off idly
dwindling away into the Atlantic.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

has a few gems in it but underwhelming compared to what one usually gets from his work