Conférence de Petra Johana Poncarová (Charles University, Prague ; University of Glasgow)

Organisée conjointement par HCTI et le CRBC

Lien de connexion à distance : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84666858174

“Radical Scottish Gaelic Magazines in the Twentieth Century and Contacts with Brittany”

In the twentieth century, the development of Scottish Gaelic literature was influenced by several radical magazines, often centred around the powerful figure of a founding editor. Examples include the group of periodicals established and ran by Ruaraidh Erskine of Mar in the 1900s – 1930s, and the quarterly Gairm (1952-2002), founded by poet and scholar Derick Thomson and author and producer Finlay J. MacDonald. These periodicals promoted a forward-looking vision of new Gaelic writing, supported Scottish political independence, and were keen to establish connections with fellow Celtic countries, including Brittany. They managed to attract a number of prominent Breton contributors, including François ‘Taldir’ Jaffrennou, Paul Diverres, Pierre Mocaër, and Pêr Denez. The lecture will explore these personal links and collaborations, present the digital resources created as part of Project ERSKINE (erskine.glasgow.ac.uk), and propose directions for future research. 

Petra Johana Poncarová, PhD, is based at Charles University, Prague, and currently works as a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Glasgow. She serves as secretary of the International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures (scotlit-iassl.org) and as one of the co-directors of Ionad Eòghainn MhicLachlainn | National Centre for Gaelic Translation (gaelictranslation.org). She was the manager of the 3rd World Congress of Scottish Literatures (Prague, 2022). Her monograph Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival was published in 2024 (Edinburgh University Press) and her edition of Derick Thomson’s Gaelic prose, An Staran, came out in 2025 (Acair). She writes her own poetry in Gaelic and is a recipient of a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust and the Gaelic Books Council (2025).