Robin Robertson Books in Order

Forty-two poems explore the inner reaches of human experience. Robertson’s first collection brings together dark psychological journeys in verse, offering an introduction to the concerns and poetic voice developed across his later books.

This collection of lyric poems turns between inward reflection and attention to the surrounding world. Following A Painted Field, Robertson explores experience through verse that brings the observing self into conversation with what lies beyond it.

More than eighty writers recount their own public embarrassments, from disastrous readings and awkward festivals to bruising reviews and literary parties. Robertson’s edited collection explores what happens when the private work of writing meets an unpredictable audience.

Poems move from the end of childhood to the uncertainties of desire, exploring hesitation and the possibility of transformation. Robertson draws on the Scots idea of swithering to examine lives suspended between different feelings and forms.

Classical myth, personal experience and the natural world meet in poems haunted by violence and uncertainty. Translations and retellings accompany new work that places human vulnerability against nature’s force, allowing familiar scenes to become strange and threatening.

Greek myths and Ovidian transformations intertwine with memories of childhood on Scotland’s northeast coast. Amid uncanny presences, seascapes and recurring figures, Robertson’s poems also approach the possibility of finding a home and a measure of contentment.

Selected poems bring together Robertson’s work across love lyrics, unsettling narratives and darker meditations. The collection offers a route through the range of his writing, tracing a voice attentive to both beauty and the macabre.

Haunted by war, a Canadian veteran seeks a new life in America’s cities and finds work as a journalist. His journey through postwar New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco reveals a country divided by corruption and racial conflict.

A doomed shape-changer narrates tales of ordinary people encountering witches, ghosts, selkies and other unsettling beings. Drawing on Celtic folklore, these illustrated poems explore violence, revenge and transformation in a world where supernatural gifts can become curses.