Edwin Morgan Knihy

A new Selected to commemorate the centenary of Scotland's first official Makar in modern times, Edwin Morgan.

In this volume Michael Rosen introduces Edwin Morgan's animal poems. Morgan's empathy with animals is well represented, from the still very topical 'The White Rhinoceros' to the prehistoric 'The Bearsden Shark' and the famous 'The Loch Ness Monster's Song'. Birds, beasts and fish, real and imaginary, are all here in this selection.

A mixture of Morgan's science fiction poems and concrete poems. There's the famous encounter between humans and aliens in 'The First Men on Mercury', early digital tongue-twisting in 'The Computer's First Christmas Card' and the effects of teleportation in 'In Sobieski's Shield' - on earth or in outer space Morgan explores what it is to be human.

Introduced by Liz Lochhead, in this selection we journey round Scotland in Canedolia, study its history in Picts, home in on Morgan's own city of Glasgow in Glasgow Sonnet v, imagine the country's future in The Coin.

Edwin Morgan (1920-2010) is one of the giants of modern literature. In Touch With Language presents previously uncollected prose, with topics ranging from Gilgamesh to Ginsberg, cybernetics to sexualities, international literatures to the changing face of his home city of Glasgow. Everyone will find surprises and delights in this new collection.

Introduced by Ali Smith, the title of this group of poems about people is taken from Morgan's poem 'Pelagius', the theologian who is a kind of alter ego. Morgan has the ability to enter into so many lives: the blind hunchback of 'In the Snack-bar', Jesus's judge in 'Pilate at Fortingall', the Polish juggler and acrobat 'Cinquevalli' (another alter ego), even Rameses II in 'The Mummy'. 'Morgan, I said to myself, take note, / Take heart. In a time of confusion / You must make a stand.'

Introduced by Jackie Kay, this selection of poems include the famous Strawberries and One Cigarette and four from Morgan's autobiographical sequence, Love and a Life - love in all its aspects.