Makar
Barrabhàrd

Abair moladh gun deach urram a' Bharrabhàird orm ann an 2024, an dàrna thuras a chaidh a bhuileachadh air sgriobhadair na Gàidhlig.

Fad 2024 bidh mi a' comharrachadh bàrdachd ann an gach cànan na h-Alba, an sàs ann an tachartasan a bheir còmhla sgrìobhadairean de dhiofair coimhearsnachdan cànanach, gus an cuid eòlais a chumail romhaibh. Bheir sinn sùil air cruth, guth is eadar-theangachadh is tha mi an dòchas ur beachdan a chluinntinn, cuideachd.

A bharrachd air sin, bidh mi a' lìbhrigeadh bhùithtean-obrach air feadh na rìoghachd, a bheir cothrom de sgrìobhadairean de gach dhualchas, a' cleachdadh litreachas is cultar na Gàidhlig gus ur cuid sgrìobhaidh a bhrosnachadh. Tha fiughair orm ro bhith a' breithneachadh roinn na co-fharpais, is nur cuideachd airson bratach na bàrdachd a sgaoileadh.

It's hugely flattering to be the Makar for 2024, and only the second Gaelic writer to receive the honour.

Through 2024 I'll be celebrating poetry in all the languages of Scotland and using online events to bring together writers from different linguistic communities together, to share writing tips and experiences. We'll look at form, voice and translation, and I'm hoping for your recommendations, too!

I'll also be delivering some inclusive workshops around Scotland, open to writers of any background, using Gaelic literature and culture as creative impetus. I'm looking forward to judging one of the competition categories and joining with you to uphold the banner of poetry once more.

Edinburgh-based Marcas Mac an Tuairneir is an award-winning writer and singer, working in Gaelic, English and Polari. He is the Gaelic Editor of Northwords Now and writes a monthly Gaelic Arts and Culture column for The List. His fourth collection Polaris (Leamington Books, 2022) was shortlisted for the Saltire Society’s ‘Scottish Poetry Book of the Year’ Award, The Derek Thompson Prize and a Saboteur Award. In 2023 he won the National Gaelic Award for Arts and Culture and the Gold Medal for poetry at the Royal National Mòd, where he has won successive awards across literary genres.