"LOST" poems by acclaimed Scots writer Nan Shepherd are to be published for the first time – after being discovered inside the dust jacket of a copy of one of her own titles.
The handwritten pieces – titled On a Still Morning; Achiltibuie; Next Morning and Rhu Coigach, A Headland on the Atlantic – were found within a first edition copy of In The Cairngorms.
All come from a private correspondence and have come to light thanks to Toni Velikova of the Scottish Poetry Library.
The work, which is signed and has been verified by the Nan Shepherd Estate, was donated to the Edinburgh institution and librarian Velikova has chosen to share them with Gutter magazine.
The title, which is dedicated to new Scottish writing, will publish them in its forthcoming edition, set to be released late next month. All have themes of land, with one "looking towards Europe".
Henry Bell, one of the editors of Gutter, said: "To include unknown poetry by one of Scottish poetry’s giants is both a thrill and a great privilege.
"Shepherd’s insightful, concentrated poetry of place, geology and ecology has, I think, more resonance in this strange year than it had even as it was written and I’m excited that these poems will finally find their way into so many hands.”
Co-editor Kate MacLeary added: “We’re delighted with this issue, which not only brings life these previously unpublished poems, but is packed with engaging, haunting and truly memorable new writing.”
The find comes almost 40 years after Shepherd's death in 1981.
Born at East Peterculter in 1893, the Aberdeen hill-walking enthusiast drew inspiration from the landscape and travelled widely.
Shepherd penned novels in addition to poetry and poetic prose and spent more than 40 years as an English lecturer.
In 2016 she and scientist Mary Somerville became the first women to feature on notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
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