Litrichean na Bana-Bheachlanair : The letters of a bee-keeper, in Scottish Gaelic, with English translation (Scots Gaelic Edition)

Gàidhlig:Thòisich e le dealanach às na speuran, clach a’ tuiteam às an àird, cnò-chòco a’ tùirling às a’ chraobh, brice air a leigeil fo thogalach agus ga bualadh air a ceann – an litir bhon sheann leannan ag ràdh gun do smuainich e oirre.Dh’èirich an teachdaireachd gun iarraidh cuimhneachan de aoigheachd ’s pian a chreid i gun robh air an dìochuimhnichidh, cuimhneachan a chuir i ann an bogsa dìochuimhne o chionn fhada, ’s nach biodh i riamh a’ faireachdainn a-rithist.Sgrìobh i freagairt. Agus eile. ’S an dèidh sin, iomadh eile. Agus fhad ’s a rannsaich i na thachairt eatarra, chaith i an ùine leis a-rithist, ’s mu dheireadh thall rinn i a-mach builleach tuigse na thachairt agus na bha e a’ ciallachadh.A’ cur anns ar cuimhne an seann sgeul dhen Abelard ’s Heloise a’ coinneamh #MeToo, ’s ann anns an sreath seo a tha againn làn cnuasachadh air gaol ’s call, agus tha sinn a’ faireachdainn còmhla ris a’ bhana-bheachlannair (neo-ainmichte an seo) a toirt air-ais a fèin-aithne ’s a h-eachdraidh ’s a beatha.’S ann anns an sreath seo a tha trì dàin a choisinn moladh anns a’ Mhòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail 2021.Cuideachd ’s ann anns an sreath seo a bhios an leughadair a’ mealladh trì dàn a choisinn moladh (àite) anns a’ Mhòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail 2021.ENGLISH:It started off with a jolt out of the ethernet, a lodestone falling from on high, a coconut falling out of the tree, a brick tumbling off a construction site and knocking her on the noggin – a letter from an old love saying he still thought of her.The unsought-for correspondence stirred up memories of joys and pains she thought she had long forgotten, emotions she thought she had long ago sealed up in a forget-me-not box, never to be felt again.She wrote one response. And then another. And then many others. As she explored what had passed between them, relived their history, and finally worked herself back to a full understanding of what it was that had happened and what it meant.Reminiscent of the ancient story of Abelard and Heloise meets #Me Too, In this sequence of sonnets – here presented in the original Scottish Gaelic (or a’ Ghàidhlig, as purists would have it) and in English translation – we have a full reflection on love and loss, and we experience with the unnamed “beekeeper” of the title her reclamation of her self and her taking ownership of her identity and her history.This collection contains three prize-winning poems from the 2021 Royal National Mòd in Scotland. View Less