Outwith: Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay
Copyright Grieves Estate.
The final stop for the Library's centenary celebrations taking selected treasures around Scotland is Shetland.
Outwith: Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay is a landmark exhibition at Shetland Museum and Archives, Lerwick. It focuses on the nine years (1933 to 1942) that poet Hugh MacDiarmid (pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve) and his wife Valda Grieve spent in the Shetland island of Whalsay. It also explores how the island influenced their lives and work despite persistent challenges.
The exhibition will feature original manuscripts of the poems 'Shag's Nest' and 'In Dury Voe' which were written in Whalsay. It will also include personal letters sent between Christopher and Valda in this period, all from the National Library's collections. Other loans include photographs from the Grieves Estate, Valda's knitting pattern books from Whalsay Heritage Centre, and visual art by Alexander Moffat (RSA) and Ruth Nicol (RSW).
Learn more about this exhibition at Shetland Museum and Archives. Please check ahead for opening times.
National Library Live
On Thursday 14 May Shetland Library will host a team of National Library staff giving taster talks about the Library's collections and resources, as well as drop-in games and activities. It is free for all to attend.
We will also deliver a series of community outreach events around Shetland from 12 to 15 May. More details to be announced.
The National Library of Scotland's OUTWITH programme has been kindly supported by Garfield Weston Foundation, the NLS Foundation, The Gannochy Trust, P F Charitable Trust, Stichting Teuntje Anna (TA Fund), The Ettrick Trust, William Grant Foundation, Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, and by supporters of the National Library's Centenary Appeal.
