Robert Dinsmoor’s Scotch-Irish Poems

Robert Dinsmoor’s poetry is perhaps the greatest achievement of Scotch-Irish writing in the nineteenth century. His work frames a vibrant culture whose ties of faith, family and friendship crisscrossed the Atlantic. He records people, places and events with humour and compassion, and was rightfully accorded the status of the ‘Rustic Bard’ of New Hampshire. Dinsmoor’s writing encapsulates the hopes and aspirations of migrants asserting their place within a confident, awakening nation and stands as a pioneering articulation of postcolonial American literature. The recovery of his work is important. It underlines the power of art to find pathways between the Old and New Worlds; and how awareness of Scottish literature and traditions could be celebrated and extended in North America. This collection brings together the long out-of-print poetry of Robert Dinsmoor’s, arguably the greatest Scots-Irish poet of the 19th century. A detailied introduction by Scots-Irish experts Frank Ferguson & Alister McReynolds