The Work of Verse

The first chapter provides an introduction to, and overview of, ‘occasional’ verse and performed verse, and considers the functions of newspaper poetry columns. Its broad remit underpins the detailed studies in the later chapters, and sets up the arguments about the work done by Scottish working-class poetry that re-occur in these. It contains an opening section discussing why working-class poetry came to seem so prevalent in Scotland, and how it became considered vital to Scottish cultural identity. This is followed by subsections on the role of occasional verse in commemorating and celebrating particular events or social occasions, the rise of newspaper poetry columns, and the way in which these columns fostered poetic communities.