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February 03, 2012
Special! Turkish Poet's Abstruse New Song. Scottish Authors' Opinions
Hugh MacDiarmid’s ‘Glasgow 1960’
Returning to Glasgow after long exile
Nothing seemed to me to have changed its style.
Buses and trams all labelled "To Ibrox"
Swung past packed tight as they'd hold with folks.
Football match, I concluded, but just to make sure
I asked; and the man looked at me fell dour,
Then said, "Where in God's name are you frae, sir?
It'll be a record gate, but the cause o' the stir
Is a debate on 'la loi de l'effort converti'
Between Professor MacFadyen and a Spainish pairty."
I gasped. The newsboys came running along,
"Special! Turkish Poet's Abstruse New Song.
Scottish Authors' Opinions" - and, holy snakes,
I saw the edition sell like hot cakes!
Heavy irony, as the Scottish Review of Books - in an article defending the funding of a Museum of Literature by putting an end to the 2.4 million pounds spent in policing football games - put it.
Posted by claudia