Archipelago was one of the most vital literary magazines of the early decades of the century. It ran to twelve numbers from 2007 to 2019, edited by scholar-poet Andrew McNeillie with the assistance later of James Macdonald Lockhart. Begun as an attempt to reimagine the relationships between the islands of Ireland and Britain, it brought together divergent voices in creative conversations that have transformed the study of islands, coasts, and wilderness. The work journeys here and there from the Shetlands to Cornwall, and from the Aran Islands to the coast of Yorkshire, exploring the cultures of diverse zones through some of the best in contemporary writing about landscape, place and people. It lends a telling perspective to our world now fast being defined by climate and environmental degradation.
A gathering of poetry, prose and visual art centred upon the Irish and British archipelago, these varied contributions beckon the reader towards a 'Raised Beach' of words and images against the attrition of digitised modernity through this constellation of writers and artists.
"This book is thrilling: it leaves the reader scrambling for ground: Is every possible interpretation or nuance about archipelagoes contained here? The possibility enthrals. Within the compendium individual writers reveal their own sources so the effect is like a Russian doll of mysteries within mysteries. The editors are to be praised for uniting these threads into a rare and colourful garment."
Irish Examiner
"This is both a lengthy and weighty volume. But its 578 pages are full of gems of good writing and observation."
