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thebobsphere's review
4.0
Shetlandic, for those who do not know, is a dialect consisting of Scandinavian, particularly the Danish language Norn, later on this was fused with the Scottish dialect. This all explained by the author, Christine De Luca in Northern Alchemy’s introduction.
As a book blogger, I’ve read a lot of experimental, boundary pushing fiction but I never thought I’d read a poetry collection written in Shetlandic and although there was an English translation next to each poem, I still read the Shetlandic version first and then compared it to the English equivalent. In all it was a fun exercise.
Christine De Luca’s poems are about the natural world and all it’s guises. There are poems about the power of the sea, the first one called Gyaain ta da eela/Going evening sea-fishing. Water features a lot in this collection Bio-rhythms Da sea,hjarta, The sea, beloved one and Beach wark, Beach work.
Nature crops up in other forms though. The moon, birds, especially one poem about swans, farmland and rocks all make appearance, either helping humans or making humankind powerless.
There are a couple of poems which deviate from the natural world and focus on human nature instead. These are Queer things, Smiles/Strange things, Smiles and On da reboond/On the Rebound.
Every poem is a joy to read, having lived in a forest environment for 14 years, I could identity with Christine De Luca’s observations about sea, plant and bird life. There’s no use in pinpointing highlights as I thought each poem managed to stir memories and feelings. De Luca depiction of nature shifts, which I think is the essence of the natural world.
From a linguistic point of view, I enjoyed the similarities between Shetlandic and English, I also managed to identify words from Scottish dialect, mainly due to the fact that during my teen years quite a few Scottish authors incorporated it in their work, thus terms such as bairn (child) and ken (know) were familiar.
Just as a note that Northern Alchemy is a collection of Christine De Luca’s previously published poems with some unpublished ones as well. What struck me was how Christine De Luca manages to take a dialect and make it conjure powerful images, truly the power of language has no boundaries.
Many thanks to Patrician Press for providing a requested copy of Northern Alchemy
As a book blogger, I’ve read a lot of experimental, boundary pushing fiction but I never thought I’d read a poetry collection written in Shetlandic and although there was an English translation next to each poem, I still read the Shetlandic version first and then compared it to the English equivalent. In all it was a fun exercise.
Christine De Luca’s poems are about the natural world and all it’s guises. There are poems about the power of the sea, the first one called Gyaain ta da eela/Going evening sea-fishing. Water features a lot in this collection Bio-rhythms Da sea,hjarta, The sea, beloved one and Beach wark, Beach work.
Nature crops up in other forms though. The moon, birds, especially one poem about swans, farmland and rocks all make appearance, either helping humans or making humankind powerless.
There are a couple of poems which deviate from the natural world and focus on human nature instead. These are Queer things, Smiles/Strange things, Smiles and On da reboond/On the Rebound.
Every poem is a joy to read, having lived in a forest environment for 14 years, I could identity with Christine De Luca’s observations about sea, plant and bird life. There’s no use in pinpointing highlights as I thought each poem managed to stir memories and feelings. De Luca depiction of nature shifts, which I think is the essence of the natural world.
From a linguistic point of view, I enjoyed the similarities between Shetlandic and English, I also managed to identify words from Scottish dialect, mainly due to the fact that during my teen years quite a few Scottish authors incorporated it in their work, thus terms such as bairn (child) and ken (know) were familiar.
Just as a note that Northern Alchemy is a collection of Christine De Luca’s previously published poems with some unpublished ones as well. What struck me was how Christine De Luca manages to take a dialect and make it conjure powerful images, truly the power of language has no boundaries.
Many thanks to Patrician Press for providing a requested copy of Northern Alchemy
arirang's review
3.0
The latest book from the excellent Republic of Consciousness book club, Northern Alchemy by Christine De Luca is a collection of poems written in Shetlandic, with the author's conventional English renditions shown
From the blurb:
Shetlandic is a unique ‘dialect’ or language, a blend of Old Scots with strong Norse vocabulary and sound; the most distinctive within Scotland. Nordic poets, when they hear it, describe it as a ‘cousin language’.
There are already 4 excellent appreciations of the collection on Goodreads from four of my favourite reviewers and supporters of innovative literature from small presses:
Jackie: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3204909614
Neil: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3230700446
Robert: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3202007539
Alan: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3217548373
And the book club's own appreciation is here:
https://www.republicofconsciousness.com/the-conch/2020/3/26/march-book-of-the-month-northern-alchemy
Although much of the collection focuses on nature, the poem that most leaps to mind is 'Sam but different' which addresses the issue of the bilinguality of the islands and of these poems:
Hae’in, fae de start, mair es ee wye o spaekin
o makkin sense o things, we laern ta fit
what we say ta whit’s lippened. Takk peety apö dem
at’s born ta wan tongue: dem at nivver preeve
maet fae idder tables. Raised wi twa languages
is unconscious faestin: twa wyes o tinkin.
Een extends da tidder; can shaa wis anidder wirld
yet foo aa wirlds is jöst da sam, but different
Same but different
Having, from the start, more than one way of speaking,
of making sense of things, we learn to fit
what we say to what’s expected. Take pity on those
born to one tongue: those who never taste even a morsel
from other tables. Raised with two languages
is unconscious feasting: two ways of thinking.
One extends the other; can show us another world
yet how all worlds are just the same, but different.
From the blurb:
Shetlandic is a unique ‘dialect’ or language, a blend of Old Scots with strong Norse vocabulary and sound; the most distinctive within Scotland. Nordic poets, when they hear it, describe it as a ‘cousin language’.
There are already 4 excellent appreciations of the collection on Goodreads from four of my favourite reviewers and supporters of innovative literature from small presses:
Jackie: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3204909614
Neil: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3230700446
Robert: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3202007539
Alan: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3217548373
And the book club's own appreciation is here:
https://www.republicofconsciousness.com/the-conch/2020/3/26/march-book-of-the-month-northern-alchemy
Although much of the collection focuses on nature, the poem that most leaps to mind is 'Sam but different' which addresses the issue of the bilinguality of the islands and of these poems:
Hae’in, fae de start, mair es ee wye o spaekin
o makkin sense o things, we laern ta fit
what we say ta whit’s lippened. Takk peety apö dem
at’s born ta wan tongue: dem at nivver preeve
maet fae idder tables. Raised wi twa languages
is unconscious faestin: twa wyes o tinkin.
Een extends da tidder; can shaa wis anidder wirld
yet foo aa wirlds is jöst da sam, but different
Same but different
Having, from the start, more than one way of speaking,
of making sense of things, we learn to fit
what we say to what’s expected. Take pity on those
born to one tongue: those who never taste even a morsel
from other tables. Raised with two languages
is unconscious feasting: two ways of thinking.
One extends the other; can show us another world
yet how all worlds are just the same, but different.
jackielaw's review
4.0
“Raised with two languages
is unconscious feasting: two ways of thinking.
One extends the other; can show us another world
yet how all worlds are just the same, but different.”
Northern Alchemy, by Christine De Luca, is a collection of forty poems that are printed in both the original Shetlandic and an English translation. This innovative format works well as readers may challenge themselves to understand the blended dialect of Old Scots and Norse before enjoying the translated version.
The sense of place in each of the poems is strong. There is an appreciation of the beauty and power of the natural world, and man’s place in it. Contemporary references exist but the overall feel is elemental, the language vivid and full-flavoured.
Not all are set on the Shetland Islands. This Material World describes an Icelandic volcano.
“earth rearranging herself, unslept, unsettled;
reminding us of her ways and timelines, our momentariness”
A feeling of timelessness permeates the collection. Beach work sees the narrator shunning the tasks they should be completing to appreciate the moment and treasure it. The importance of such prioritisation comes to the fore when considering the subject of What’s in a name? – the losing of memory when elderly.
“if the name I chose for you eludes me.
I’ll still sense mountain, water, love.”
Although poignant this is a reminder that parents can still exist, and find contentment, beyond their recognition of offspring.
Several of the poems explore the harvesting of nature’s goodness on both land and sea. There is a sense of freedom in walks taken as narrators observe and listen to birds, beasts, fields and streams. Those of different generations are appreciated, their lives leaving an imprint. Births are celebrated.
“The heavens themselves blaze forth nativity,
wrap a blessing round a little one whose first breath
reincarnates the dust of galaxies”
The beauty and pathos within these pages offers a strong evocation of people as just one, transient part of wider nature. Senses are heightened and what is of true value respected. Although never sugar coating, the poems are appreciative of the life and beauty of existence.
An uplifting and powerful collection. Recommended for all, not just those who already enjoy reading poetry.
is unconscious feasting: two ways of thinking.
One extends the other; can show us another world
yet how all worlds are just the same, but different.”
Northern Alchemy, by Christine De Luca, is a collection of forty poems that are printed in both the original Shetlandic and an English translation. This innovative format works well as readers may challenge themselves to understand the blended dialect of Old Scots and Norse before enjoying the translated version.
The sense of place in each of the poems is strong. There is an appreciation of the beauty and power of the natural world, and man’s place in it. Contemporary references exist but the overall feel is elemental, the language vivid and full-flavoured.
Not all are set on the Shetland Islands. This Material World describes an Icelandic volcano.
“earth rearranging herself, unslept, unsettled;
reminding us of her ways and timelines, our momentariness”
A feeling of timelessness permeates the collection. Beach work sees the narrator shunning the tasks they should be completing to appreciate the moment and treasure it. The importance of such prioritisation comes to the fore when considering the subject of What’s in a name? – the losing of memory when elderly.
“if the name I chose for you eludes me.
I’ll still sense mountain, water, love.”
Although poignant this is a reminder that parents can still exist, and find contentment, beyond their recognition of offspring.
Several of the poems explore the harvesting of nature’s goodness on both land and sea. There is a sense of freedom in walks taken as narrators observe and listen to birds, beasts, fields and streams. Those of different generations are appreciated, their lives leaving an imprint. Births are celebrated.
“The heavens themselves blaze forth nativity,
wrap a blessing round a little one whose first breath
reincarnates the dust of galaxies”
The beauty and pathos within these pages offers a strong evocation of people as just one, transient part of wider nature. Senses are heightened and what is of true value respected. Although never sugar coating, the poems are appreciative of the life and beauty of existence.
An uplifting and powerful collection. Recommended for all, not just those who already enjoy reading poetry.
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