Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBEis a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He currently lives in Scotland... (wikipedia)
I've always liked Muir without knowing quite why.
Reading a poem aloud to an audience is gestural as much as precise.
On the whole I think Nationalism has been a very positive force in Scotland over the last two or three decades.
A poet's cultural baggage and erudition can interfere with a poem.
A poem can have an impact, but you can't expect an audience to understand all the nuances.
I've got this funny feeling, you know, that I've done my poetry, written my poetry; been there, done that, don't want to go back.
The negative aspects of Scottish Nationalism are a kind of aggressive complacency, that sort of boasting; but that's an expression of insecurity, I think, of a lack of confidence.