Archipelago is one of the most important and influential literary magazines of the last
twenty years. Running to twelve editions, it was edited by Andrew McNeillie, with the
assistance later of James McDonald Lockhart, and began as an attempt to reimagine the
relationships between the islands of Ireland and Britain. Archipelago has brought together
established and emerging artists in creative conversations that have transformed the study
of islands, coasts and waterways. It journeys from the Shetlands to Cornwall, from the
Aran Islands to the coast of Yorkshire, tracing the cultures of diverse zones through some
of the best in contemporary writing about place and people.
This collection gathers poetry, prose and visual art in clusters grouped around the Irish
and British archipelago, with contributions from an array of significant artists. It includes
newly commissioned work as well as an interview between Andrew McNeillie and
Robert Macfarlane on the development of Archipelago across the years.
Archipelago was one of the most vital literary magazines of the early decades of the century. It ran to twelve numbers from 2007 to 2019, edited by scholar-poet Andrew McNeillie with the assistance later of James Macdonald Lockhart. Begun as an attempt to reimagine the relationships between the islands of Ireland and Britain, it brought together divergent voices in creative conversations that have transformed the study of islands, coasts and wilderness. The work journeys here and there from the Shetlands to Cornwall, and from the Aran Islands to the coast of Yorkshire, exploring the cultures of diverse zones through some of the best in contemporary writing about landscape, place and people. It lends a telling perspective to our world now fast being defined by climate and environmental degradation.
A gathering of poetry, prose and visual art
centred upon the Irish and British archipelago,
these varied contributions beckon the reader
towards a 'Raised Beach' of words and images
against the attrition of digitised modernity
through this constellation of writers and artists.
