Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
The Cadence of a Song - The Life of Margaret Fay Shaw - cover

The Cadence of a Song - The Life of Margaret Fay Shaw

Fiona J. Mackenzie

Publisher: Birlinn

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

The first biography of one of the twentieth century's foremost champions of Hebridean culture.
The American-born folklorist and musician Margaret Fay Shaw's passion for the Hebrides led her to the island of South Uist in 1929 and then to Canna in 1935 as the wife of the eminent folklorist John Lorne Campbell.
Her extraordinary work in documenting and preserving traditional Gaelic songs and customs remains a vital resource for understanding Hebridean music, and the Campbells' house on Canna is a unique collection of priceless material celebrating the Hebridean world. This vast archive also includes Margarets collection of still and film photography, which capture the essence of island life at a time when old traditions were vanishing.
This book celebrates the legacy and life of a remarkable woman, who herself wrote with such wit and flair of her travels and adventures and which took her from turn of-the-century Pennsylvania to 1920s New York, Paris, Nova Scotia and the Hebrides, where she lived until her death in 2004.
Fiona J. Mackenzie has been named as one of The List's Hot 100 Arts and Culture Contributors in Scotland for 2025.
Available since: 10/02/2025.
Print length: 384 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • Tenskwatawa: The Life of the Shawnee Prophet and Tecumseh’s Brother - cover

    Tenskwatawa: The Life of the...

    Editors Charles River

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    As settlers continued to encroach further west, the Shawnee, who were attempting to put together a confederacy of Native Americans to resist, stood firm and ready to fight them. Before America fought Britain in the War of 1812, they were engaged in Tecumseh’s War around the Great Lakes. The fighting made him famous and made a military hero (and eventually a president) out of William Henry Harrison, whose victory at Tippecanoe is considered the end of that war.  
    	Despite being one of their most tenacious opponents, Tecumseh almost immediately became a celebrated folk hero and respected leader in American history, all while continuing to be one of the most poignant symbols of resistance among Native Americans. He continues to be a household name across the United States today, nearly 200 years after his death.  
    	What makes Tecumseh’s legacy ironic is that the Shawnee were nominally led by a different man altogether, and that man just so happened to be Tecumseh’s brother. Lalawethika’s early life mostly consisted of abject failures, and he became an alcoholic, but in one of his alcohol-soaked stupors, he began to have visions of the Master of Life that turned him into the Open Door, the prophet named Tenskwatawa. It was Tenskwatawa who brought a new vision to the Shawnee, transforming himself from an object of pity and contempt into a religious leader who had thousands of followers. When the Americans fought at Tippecanoe, the gathering of Native Americans who they were attempting to disperse had congregated at a place colloquially known as Prophetstown. 
    Show book
  • Transformer - A Story of Glitter Glam Rock and Loving Lou Reed - cover

    Transformer - A Story of Glitter...

    Simon Doonan

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    In this funny and poignant memoir and cultural history, the television personality, columnist, and author of Drag pays homage to Lou Reed’s groundbreaking album Transformer on its fiftieth anniversary and recalls its influence on his coming of age and coming out through glam rock. 
    In November 1972, Lou Reed released his album, Transformer because he thought it was “dreary for gay people to have to listen to straight people’s love songs.” That groundbreaking idea echoed with the times. That same year, Sweden was the first country to legalize gender-affirming surgery, and San Francisco struck down employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. 
    Sometimes an artistic creation perfectly aligns with a broader social and political history, and Transformer—with the songs “Walk on the Wild Side,” “Perfect Day,” and “Vicious”—perfectly captured its time. “Walk on the Wild Side” was banned on radio across the country but became a massive hit when young people threatened to boycott stations that would not play it. The album's cover featured a high-contrast image of Lou, flaunting a new mascara'd glamrock incarnation, shot by legend Mick Rock, thereby underscoring his intention to create ""a gay album."" 
    In Transformer, Doonan tells the story of how Lou Reed came to make the album with the help of David Bowie, and places its creation within the course of Reed’s life. Doonan offers first-hand testimony of the album’s impact on the LGBTQ+ community, recalling how it transformed his own life as a 20-year-old working class kid from Reading, England, who had just discovered the joys of London Glam Rock and was sparked by the artistic freedom of Warhol’s The Factory. Transformer was a revelation—hearing Reed’s songs, Doonan understood how the world was changing for him and his friends. 
    A poignant, personal addition to modern music and LGBTQ+ history, Transformer captures a pivotal moment when those long silenced were finally given a voice. As transgender icon Candy Darling, highlighted in his lyrics, told Reed, “It’s so nice to hear ourselves.” 
    Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook. 
    This book would make a great gift for any music lover, LGBTQ+ activist, or history buff looking to learn more about the cultural impact of Lou Reed's Transformer album on the world.
    Show book
  • The Unselfishness of God - cover

    The Unselfishness of God

    Hannah Whitall Smith

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    In this autobiography, centered around her own testimony, Hannah Whitall Smith also reveals her beliefs on the truly loving, entirely unselfish, and genuine caring nature of God. Walking through the doubt she struggled with and the journey that brought her to faith, these elements of the Father’s character become easily apparent. Discussing theology, real world struggles, and finding the nearness of God even in the midst of pain and discouragement, Smith uses her story to tell of the loving faithfulness of God.  This series, published by ONE Audiobooks, seeks to produce Classic Christian titles read by handpicked audiobook narrators. ONE takes great care to cast these titles with readers who will provide an unmatched listening experience for these important works.
    Show book
  • The Japanese Famine of 1782-1788 - The Great Tenmei Famine - An Era of Scarcity - cover

    The Japanese Famine of 1782-1788...

    Sarah Willards

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The Tenmei era, spanning from 1781 to 1789, marked one of the most tumultuous periods in early modern Japanese history. Under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan faced a complex web of challenges that created the perfect storm for one of the country’s most devastating famines. The political leadership at the time struggled to manage internal pressures, while nature unleashed a series of disasters that exposed deep structural weaknesses in Japanese society and governance. 
    Politically, the Tokugawa regime was already under strain. After more than 150 years of relative stability, cracks had begun to appear in the shogunate’s centralized control. Corruption was increasingly evident among regional officials, and the rigid class system left little room for social mobility or adaptive governance. Daimyōs, or feudal lords, often prioritized local interests over national concerns, making unified responses to crises difficult. These issues weakened the ability of the central government to respond decisively to the hardships that were beginning to unfold. 
    Economically, Japan in the late 18th century was a fragile system, heavily reliant on rice production. Despite modest attempts at economic reform, the country remained vulnerable to crop failure, inflation, and regional imbalances. Merchant classes were rising in wealth and influence, while peasants bore the brunt of heavy taxation and poor harvests. The disconnect between economic policy and rural reality would prove fatal when disaster struck.
    Show book
  • Waters of the Sanjan - cover

    Waters of the Sanjan

    David Read

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    "Waters of the Sanjan is fiction based on fact, woven around the life of a known (Masai) warrior who lived at the turn of the century. It is an historical novel and the events portrayed were not unusual in the life of a warrior of those times. The customs and traditions are accurate; the places where events took place are real places and to date still go by the same name the Waters of the Sanjan, translated literally, Inkariak-oo-Sanjan, means "The Waters of Sweehearts", and in fact is a place that lies to the North of the famous treeless undulating savannah known the world over as The Serengeti, and to the Masai as Sirinket. Isirinket are the people that lived in the now unique Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. barefoot over the serengeti beating about the bush another load of bull waters of the sanjan home | about david | david's books | contact author, guide, farmer, soldier, father, grandfather and gentle man D R Waters of the Sanjan Available in English and German (Die Wasser des Sanjan) "Waters of the Sanjan is fiction based on fact, woven around the life of a known (Masai) warrior who lived at the turn of the century. It is an historical novel and the events portrayed were not unusual in the life of a warrior of those times. The customs and traditions are accurate; the places where events took place are real places and to date still go by the same name the Waters of the Sanjan, translated literally, Inkariak-oo-Sanjan, means "The Waters of Sweehearts", and in fact is a place that lies to the North of the famous treeless undulating savannah known the world over as The Serengeti, and to the Masai as Sirinket. Isirinket are the people that lived in the now unique Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. "The author is perhaps one of the last lifelong European Tanzanian settlers, who possesses an intimate knowledge of the Masai. He has, since childhood mixed freely in friendship with both their children and the elders, and has had a unique opportunity to observe their way of life and customs." Geoffrey Cotterell , Tanzanian Affairs Waters of the Sanjan is an accurate and admirable historic record of my people, recording their way of life at another point in time, yet not so very long ago. And because not many truly authentic books have been written about us, it is, I think, a valuable record of a proud people that will enlighten the reader and allow him to glimpse another world. He may, perhaps, shudder at the horror of some of the more violent sections, but he will emerge the wiser for knowing and understanding a little of what our forefathers had to cope with , and what they suffered, not only at the hands of encroaching colonialism, but at the hand of nature; climatic disaster, diseases of man and beast and inter/intra tribal wars that were the norm and claimed with monotonous regularity the lives of many." Foreword from Ole Ntekerei Memusi
    Show book
  • Journey Out of Silence - An Autobiography - cover

    Journey Out of Silence - An...

    William L. Rush

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Bill Rush's exceptional journey continues to encourage and inspire all who aspire to live fully and contribute to society. Bill lived with a significant disability of quadriplegic cerebral palsy. He did not have use of his arms, hands or voice. Society’s prejudices proved to be a greater obstacle than his disability in attaining his first life’s goal of completing college. William (Bill) L. Rush chronicled his extraordinary life from childhood until graduation from the University of Nebraska —Lincoln in Journey Out of Silence, first published in 1986. This second edition brings back into print Bill's original chronicle of his personal "Journey Out of Silence." It also contains an introduction to Our Life Our Way, the sequel.
    Show book