Moder Dy

This is a celebration of language, place, and the mystery of being alive' ~Janice Galloway

A shimmering, unforgettable collection' ~John Glenday

‘Not only are wildlife and landscape, weather and ocean treated with a buoyant sensibility, but there is an emotional sensitivity too’ ~The Wee Review

An atmospheric offering from the Northern Isles' ~Herald Poem of the Day

Extraordinarily intricate and multi-layered. An exercise in linguistic navigation. Unputdownable' ~Roger Cox, Yorkshire Post

Held me in thrall. Watt writes in English and in Shetlandic dialect, providing her own translations of the latter, bringing levity and precision to both' ~Gavin Francis, The New Statesman

I really can't overstate just how damn good I think this collection is, how rich it is, or how much I want everybody I know to read it. I am absolutely in awe of what Roseanne Watt has done here, hers is a voice to follow' ~Haley Anderton, Desperate Reader blog

Moder Dy refers to an undercurrent believed to run east from Foula, taking Shetland fishermen back home. No islander today would know how to “read” the sea surgace in order to latch onto it, and despite the testimony of past generations of fisherfolk there is no conclusive scientific proof that it exists. As a metaphor for the impulse behind Watt’s poetry, though – a half-remembered undercurrent pulling one back home – it’s just about perfect' ~David Robinson, Scotsman Sessions

This collection of work – bold, compassionate, life-affirming – underlines Watt’s role as one of the most significant young voices not just in Shetland but in Scotland at large. … This bonny book has never been far from by hand since I acquired it… I should probably order another cover now' ~Shetland Times

Watt’s poetry has a strength, suppleness and economy that Morgan himself would have welcomed. It has the rich sparseness of haiku' ~The Bottle Imp (Best Scottish Books, 2019)

an incredible work of poetics, social history, and translation, …all happening before our eyes' ~Paris Review

this collection is beautiful and profound from start to finish and explores the land, heart and soul of Roseanne’s home, Shetland' ~Boom Saloon

Her smouldering, susurrus tones ensure these poems crackle into the ears like the best sounding bonfires' ~Michael Pedersen, Electric Literature