The Weight of Quiet Things

The Weight of Quiet Things gathers essays, stories and poems that explore the deep, enduring relationship between the Scottish landscape and its people. Many of the contributing writers were born, raised and built their lives in Scotland, while a few are visitors who were changed by their time in Scotland – be it the isolation of the Highland hills, the voices in the howling gaoth mhór or the humble power of a lone damh. Together, these works trace a Scotland shaped by labour, collective memory and inheritance of a land that can never be owned. This is a collection about what we take from the land, what the land takes from us and the weight of what remains. The Weight of Quiet Things gathers essays, stories and poems that explore the deep, enduring relationship between the Scottish landscape and its people. Many of the contributing writers were born, raised and built their lives in Scotland, while a few are visitors who were changed by their time in Scotland – be it the isolation of the Highland hills, the voices in the howling gaoth mhór or the humble power of a lone damh. Together, these works trace a Scotland shaped by labour, collective memory and inheritance of a land that can never be owned. This is a collection about what we take from the land, what the land takes from us and the weight of what remains.