The Love Songs of John Knox

Witty, piercingly intelligent and darkly humorous, Findlay's take on the man who terrified Mary Queen of Scots gives an original perspective on contemporary issues, from the war in Iraq to Celtic FC. This collection consists of poems and musings on contemporary Scottish culture, literature and identity, thematically linked by the iconic figure of John Knox. Knox's voice has echoed down the centuries, lampooned by Burns, mimicked by Carlyle, given homage by MacDiarmid, secularised in the radical polemics of Jon Maclean and Willie Gallacher, and continues today with Alistair Findlay. In funny reveries and letters to historical figures, Knox takes on a new role and highlights not only the clash of past ideas with those of the present, but also the similarities between them.