Marcas Mac an Tuairneir (Mark Spencer Turner) works in Gaelic, English and Polari and is a critically acclaimed and award-winning writer. He has published two poetry collections (Deò, Gracenote, 2013; Lus na Tùise, Bradan Press, 2016) as well as the co-authored pamphlet beul-fo-bhonn / heelster-gowdie (Tapsalteerie, 2017). His third collection, Dùileach, was published by Evertype in 2021 and a fourth, Polaris, is forthcoming. He is the editor of online Gaelic arts blog STAING and the Gaelic editor of The Poets’ Republic and Northwords Now.
Mac an Tuairneir was the recipient of the Wigtown Gaelic Poetry Prize in 2017, and was shortlisted four times in six years. He won the prize for poetry at the 2020 and 2021 Royal National Mòd. Mac an Tuairneir was named New Gaelic Playwright of the year by Comhairle nan Leabhraichean an Playwrights’ Studio Scotland in 2016. His two full-length plays Tilleadh and Turadh won the Stornoway Gazette Trophy at the Royal National Mòd in 2016 and 2017.
One of Gaeldom’s most exciting emergent singer-songwriters he was the recipient of the award for best new Gaelic song at the 2018 and 2020 Royal National Mòd. Mac an Tuairneir was a Mòd Gold Medal Finalist in 2016 and a Mòd Traditional Gold Medal Finalist in 2019. He is also known for his contemporary Gaelic songwriting and is currently working on an album of the first Gaelic-language pop music to be released since the 1980s.
Read the poems
Further Information
Visit Marcas Mac an Tuairneir’s website here.