The Armstrong nose - Hamish Henderson

Hamish Henderson's correspondence charts his life and concerns over the past forty years and in doing so illuminates the life of a nation. Born in 1919 in Perthshire, Hamish Henderson served in the Second World War and went on to work at the newly-founded School of Scottish Studies until his retirement in the late 1980s. A champion of the folk scene and oral tradition, he looms large in any history of Scottish culture. The correspondence between Henderson and MacDiarmid forms the centrepiece of the book which includes Henderson's letters to the "Scotsman" and the "Daily Worker" on the relevant subjects of the day. There are contributions from and to correspondents such as Jeannie Robertson and a host of others on the political and folk scene as the chronologically-presented letters move through the debates and achievements of the post-war period. The book provides a critical overview of the life and work of Hamish Henderson by the editor, Alec Finlay. A treasure-house of letters, private thoughts and literary conflicts, this impressive volume provides a fascinating record of events, people and cultural history.