First published in 1983, Hugh MacDiarmid: The Terrible Crystal is a detailed introduction to the poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid.

Hugh MacDiarmid's poetry shows a persistent search for a consistent intellectual vision that reveals, in all its facets, the source of creativity recognised by the poet as 'the terrible crystal'. This introduction to his poetry shows that MacDiarmid's great achievement was a poetry of evolutionary idealism, that draws attention to itself by a series of culture shocks. It places MacDiarmid as a nationalist poet in an international context: a man whose unique concept of creative unity enabled him to combine the Scottish tradition with the linguistic experimentation of Joyce and Pound.

Hugh MacDiarmid: The Terrible Crystal is ideal for those with an interest in the poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid, Scottish poetry, and poetry and criticism more broadly.