'S e Polaris an ceathramh co-chruinneachadh aig a' bhard Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, a bhios a' sgriobhadh ann an Gaidhlig is Beurla is a tha air iomadh duais a choisinn le a chuid bardachd. Air ainmeachadh air An Reul-iuil, tha an co-chruinneachadh ga thogail air bun-bheachdan a' chinn a Tuath is ionnanachdan cananach is cultarail - tha 'Polaris' a' ciallachadh 'cananan' anns a' chriopto-chainnt gheidh Polairis. Tha an t-saothair ur-nosach seo a' trusadh sgeulachdan bho bheul-aithris, eachdraidh is cuisean laitheil, a bhuineas don na eileanan seo - Innse an Taibh - bun gu barr.
A' ceasnachadh mhodalan is thropaichean Aonachdach, Naiseantach is sgireil, 's e litreachas mar fhianais a tha seo, a' sgrudadh aithrisean nam meadhanan mora is a' sireadh mhion-ghuthan, a chaidh a chall no a sheachnadh, gus an toirt am barr is fon phrosbaig. Le bhith a' deanamh seo, tha buaidh mhor teoirig fheiminich is iar-cholonaich air a' bhardachd.
A' cur car air fasain laithreach is bardachd na Gaidhlig air fhoillseachadh le fein-eadar-theangachaidhean a' bhaird na cois, verso recto, bidh Polaris a' toirt a-steach dhreachan eile de bhardachd thusail Mharcais ann am moran den na mion-chananach tusanach den na h-eileanan seo: Beurla Ghallta, Gaidhlig na h-Eireann is Mhanainn, Cuimris, Cornais is Dearsaidhis, air an cumail ris a' cho-chruinneachadh le feadhainn den na baird is eadar-theangairean as fhearr aca. Nan cois, gheibhear eadar-theangachaidhean eile ann am feadhainn den na cananan den Roinn Eorpa, a bhios gam bruidhinn an-seo, cuideachd, a bharrachd air taghadh de bhardachd anns a' Pholairis, leis a' bhard fhein.
Ged a bhios a' bhardachd seo a' nochdadh gluasad bho chuspairean nan co-chruinneachaidhean foillsichte aig Marcas ('Deo', 2013; 'Lus na Tuise', 2016; 'Duileach', 2021), tha dluth-chaidreamh is coiteantachd sa bhardachd fhathast, rud a chord ris an luchd-leughaidh aige cho mor gu ruige seo is a choisinn Duais Ghaidhlig Bhaile na h-Uige ann an 2017 is Duais na Bardachd aig a' Mhod Bhiortail 2020 is a' Mhod Naiseanta Rioghail ann an 2021, am measg torr dhuaisean eile. 'S tric a tha na dain ann am Polaris nam bardachd subhachais is sin a' sireadh daimhean a chruthachadh tro choitcheannas cultarail is gnath-eolas cumanta, fhad 's a bheir iad meomhrachadh air co ris a tha e coltach a bhith a' buntainn ris na h-eileanan seo, fad nan chiad fhichead bliadhna den aonamh linn fhichead.
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Polaris is the fourth collection from award-winning Gaelic- and English-language poet Marcas Mac an Tuairneir. Named for the North Star, the collection builds on intersecting notions of 'northness' and linguistic and cultural identities - 'Polaris' means 'languages' in the gay cryptolect Polari. This ground-breaking new body of work harvests from a cross-section of folk narratives, historical accounts and current affairs, spanning the length and breadth of these islands - the Atlantic Archipelago.
Interrogating Unionist, Nationalist and regional models and tropes, the is literature of record, problematising mainstream narratives and seeking to uncover and foreground lost, unheard of, or otherwise marginalised voices. In this, the poetry is heavily indebted to feminist and post-colonial thought.
Inverting the current trend of publishing Gaelic poetry with the poet's own translations, verso recto, Polaris includes reimaginings and reworkings of Marcas' original works in many of the native minoritised languages of these islands: Scots, Irish, Manx, Welsh, Cornish and Jersey French, contributed by some of the their respective literatures' finest poets and translators. Alongside them also feature translations into some of the languages of Europe, which also find a home here, as well as selected works in Polari, contributed by the poet himself.
Whilst marking a departure from Marcas' three previous collections ('Deo', 2013; 'Lus na Tuise', 2016; 'Duileach', 2021) the poetry retains all the intimacy and universality that has so pleased Marcas' readerships, to date and secured for him the Wigtown Gaelic Poetry Prize in 2017 and the prize for poetry at the 2020 Virtual Mod and the 2021 Royal National Mod, amongst many other accolades. The poetry of Polaris is frequently that of celebration and seeks to build on cultural commonalities and shared experiences, whilst reflecting on what it is to belong to these islands, in the second decade of the twenty-first century.
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