Duncan Williamson came from a large Scottish Traveller family. Born in a tent by Loch Fyne in 1928, with his Grandmother as the midwife, Williamson grew up surrounded by storytellers, ballad singers and musicians. He attended Furnace Public School, although the Travellers were often subject to prejudice in the local area. He left home at 13 working at everything from farm work to coaching boxing. He eloped and married his cousin Jeannie Townsley with whom he had seven children. Following her death he met and later married Linda Headlee who instigated the publication of his stories and encouraged him to take his reputed repertoire of three thousand tales from the tent to the world. David Campbell's desire to broadcast one of Duncan's stories on BBC Radio Scotland brought about their eventful meeting. Williamson died in 2007 aged 79. This first volume of A Traveller in Two Worlds follows Duncan Williamson's life until 1971. His story will be continued in Volume Two.
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The first of two volumes detailing the life of Duncan Williamson, highlighting his early traveller roots through to the second half of his life.
Duncan Williamson, born in a tent on the banks of Loch Fyne, lived between two worlds. With a mixture of folklore and tales of a Traveller's life, bound together by Williamson and Campbell's friendship, A Traveller in Two Worlds is a unique insight into a man acclaimed as the best-known and best-loved storyteller in the English speaking world. Our friendship often seemed like a marriage: protestations of undying affection, jealousies, dramatic estrangements and reconciliations, ultimately a bond and underlying mutual affection. To be with Duncan always had an intensity. He was hungry to devour every moment, his joys transparent and fiery, his glooms dense and dampening as bleakest November. His appetite for company was insatiable and without it he was soon bored. I had never known anyone to be bored with such demonstrative and demanding conviction. I used to feed him people, elixirs. He sprang to life and charmed each one. Equally, his anger could simmer and erupt like Hekla, into clouds that lingered long and darkly over months. DAVID CAMPBELL ON DUNCAN WILLIAMSON
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PRAISE FOR DAVID CAMPBELL: This Celtic collection is drawn from various age-old sources lovingly and lyrically retold by a master storyteller. THE SCOTSMAN on Out of the Mouth of the Morning PRAISE FOR DUNCAN WILLIAMSON : Scotland's greatest modern-day storyteller THE GUARDIAN
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781906817886
Publisert
2011
Utgiver
Vendor
Luath Press Ltd
Vekt
553 gr
Høyde
240 mm
Bredde
164 mm
Dybde
24 mm
Aldersnivå
G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
256

Forfatter

Biographical note

David Campbell grew up in the story and song-rich North East of Scotland, where he acquired a lifelong passion for poetry and the power of the spoken word. He graduated with Honours in English from the University of Edinburgh, then worked with BBC Radio Scotland for many years on a wide variety of programmes. He also reviewed books and drama extensively in the Scottish press and has published poems and short stories in Scottish literary magazines. He co-wrote the children's book The Three Donalds (Scottish Children's Press, 1996), and wrote Tales to Tell I & II (St Andrews Press, 1986 and 1994) and Out of the Mouth of the Morning (Luath Press, 2009). Widely regarded as one of Scotland's finest storytellers and as a popular ambassador of Scottish lore and literature, he has toured worldwide with his repertoire of talks and stories. He currently lives in Edinburgh.