Homecoming

About the Book: 

Home is a deal made with midnight, something signed, sealed and promised before you were born. Journeying between two islands at opposite points of the planet, Alan Riach gathers stark, beautiful visions of international locations to reflect on the idea of 'homecoming'. His work poses important questions regarding the role of home as a place of departure, destination and residence.

Reviews: 

A major Scottish poet... DOUGLAS GIFFORD

I love the order and shape of the manuscript, the air and breath in it. The Scottish landscapes that close the book are the root and Right True End of the collection: 'Bus Stop, Alloway' and 'Lanarkshire, January', the February flightpaths and unexpected bursts of hail - all these poems are sharp, soar, and help you to really see - and maybe my favourite is 'Drumelzier': not a poem about an eldritch experience but one that is an eldritch experience. It's an extraordinarily rich and varied collection. LIZ LOCHHEAD

...lively and intelligent... wide-ranging, adventurous, often witty... EDWIN MORGAN

...full of passion and intelligence... Scotland is his agenda... ANDREW MCNEILLIE, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

About the Author:

ALAN RACH was born in Airdrie in 1957. He studied English literature at Cambridge University from 1976-79. He completed his PhD in the Department of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University in 1986. His academic career has included positions as a post-doctoral research fellow, senior lecturer, Associate Professor and Pro-Dean in the Faculty of Arts, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand 1986-2000. He returned to Scotland in January 2001 and is currently the Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow.