Coronach Press

Hexameter is a collective of six poets based in Dumfries and Galloway. They are: Robin Leiper, Alexandra Monlaur, John Priestley, Peter Roberts, David Mark Williams, Annie Wright. They are amongst the many exciting poets currently writing in Southwest Scotland’s flourishing literary scene. All are prize-winners or have been shortlisted for national competitions over the last few years. In Six by 6, they have come together in a way that allows each poet to showcase their distinctive voice while also creating a group identity. This book comprises six poems by each of the writers.

“Galloway is over-full of poets”, so said John MacTaggart two centuries ago. It remains a truism if you ask me, but volumes like this reek of quality not quantity. Four of the poets in this chapbook are weel-kent poets from the area, two less so, at least in my experience, but all have produced well-crafted work which is at times wryly humorous, at times dark, at times tender, but always displays the acute and intelligent observation that marks out the very best of poetry. This collection compares favourably with some of the area’s classic anthologies, ‘A Fatal Tree’ for instance, from the 1970s. It’s an important collection, not just for Galloway.

Hugh McMillan