We were delighted to see that Atlantic Books Today gave a little shout-out to Gaelic Nova Scotia Month (May 2019) with a listicle on recent Gaelic-centred publications, and especially pleased for author Michael Newton, whose two most recent books are included: The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic, and Seanchaidh na Coille, The Memory-Keeper of the Forest. Both are CBU Press books.

Seanchaidh na Coille also recently received a lengthy and glowing review in International Review of Scottish Studies, vol. 43 (2018), pp. 141-44.

The book is “an unparalleled and formidable stòras (treasure-trove) of Scottish Gaelic written expression, both prose and poetry, gleaned from Canada’s sizeable yet subaltern body of knowledge created by members of its Highland and Hebridean diaspora.”

“Taken as a whole, the materials presented are a testament to Newton’s capabilities as both a diligent and conscientious researcher, presenting here an extensive and accessible survey of source materials that have long remained out of reach to both everyday readership and researchers in various disciplines lacking the necessary linguistic capabilities.”

May is Gaelic Nova Scotia Month, an annual celebration calling attention to the deep-rootedness of Highland Gaelic culture in our region. That Gaelic runs deep here is no secret, but overcoming more than a century suppression and institutional forgetting is not easy. Thus the need for a month wherein efforts are made to call attention to the language and culture, and the great strides being made to resuscitate them.

We like to think that CBU Press was part of the effort, with numerous important publishing contributions. Check out the Press’s Celtic/Gaelic list here. These books are still very much in print and available from Nimbus publishing.

Congratulations to Michael Newton, on yet another accolade, this time from the Scottish Gaelic Awards, presented last evening (November 14, 2018) in Glasgow.

Sponsored by The Daily Record, alongside headline sponsor Bòrd na Gàidhlig the awards celebrate Gaelic culture, education and language highlighting the excellent work undertaken to maintain growth and heritage. The awards are now in their sixth year and were attended by more than 200 guests including finalists, event sponsors and members of the Gaelic community. The event itself was a celebration embracing traditional and modern entertainment.

The International Award, sponsored by MG Alba (Gaelic TV) is presented to an individual, event, group or organization that best promotes Gaelic outside Scotland.

We are very pleased for Michael, and honoured to have partnered with him on three publications: Celts in the Americas, The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic and most recently, the seminal Seanchaidh na Coille / Memory-Keeper of the Forest: Anthology of Scottish-Gaelic Literature of Canada.

Michael holds a PhD in Celtic Studies from the University of Edinburgh. He has written many articles and numerous other books about Scottish Gaelic tradition, culture, history and literature, in Scotland and in North America, including We’re Indians Sure Enough: The Legacy of Scottish Highlanders in the United States (2001) and Warriors of the Word: The World of the Scottish Highlanders (2009). In April 2014, Michael was recipient of the inaugural Saltire Award from the Scottish Heritage Centre, St. Andrews University, Laurinburg, NC.

CBU Press author and friend Michael Newton recently (August 28-30) returned from Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 2018 hosted by the University of Edinburgh’s dept. of Celtic and Scottish Studies, where he have a paper titled: “An Gruagach-Solais: rekindling arcane lore from 18th-century eastern Perthshire.”

On returning, Michael learned that he has been nominated as an international scholar in the 6th annual Scottish Gaelic awards—staged by Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Creative Scotland among others—in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Scottish-Gaelic scholarship.

September 7-9, 2018, Michael will be at the annual North Carolina Folk Festival in Greensboro, where he will participate in a symposium led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddons. Michael’s paper is titled: “Scottish Highland Music and Dance Tradition and Its Legacy in Early America.” “Although relatively small in comparison to the dominant Anglophone settlements in early America, communities of immigrant Scottish Highlanders, especially in the Cape Fear region of the Carolinas, made significant contributions to the musical, choreographic, and cultural life of the region.”

In the afternoon, he’ll be taking about the telling Gaelic folktales in translation.

That’s all pretty cool, but our BIG news today is about a now-somewhat-dated endorsement of Michael’s best-selling Naughty Little Book of Gaelic. In an interview published on an Outlander novel and TV series (Sony Pictures Television, Left Bank Pictures) fan page, author Diana Gabaldon sings the book’s praises as the go-to source for learning to curse. Apparently, she swears by it.

If you want to “learn how to curse like Jamie, Murtagh, and many other Scots in the Outlander novel and TV series … The book tells us absolutely everything you need to know to get the Outlander vocabulary down to a tee. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear that Gabaldon had used it herself for her novels since they are full of Gaelic. She didn’t always have someone on hand to help correct her Gaelic!”

Michael Newton is a leading authority on Scottish Gaelic heritage in North America. A PhD in Celtic Studies from the University of Edinburgh, Michael was an Assistant Professor in the Celtic Studies department of St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. He has written several highly acclaimed books and numerous articles about Gaelic culture and history in Scotland and North America. In 2014 he was given the inaugural Saltire Award by the St. Andrews University Scottish Heritage Center (of Laurinburg, North Carolina) for his “outstanding contributions to the preservation and interpretation of Scottish history and culture.” He has performed widely in Scotland, France, Canada and the US.

CBU Press published three of Michael Newton’s books: Celts in the Americas (2013); The above mentioned Naughty Little Book of Gaelic: All the Scottish Gaelic you need to Curse, Swear, Smoke, Drink and Fool Around (2014); and Seanchaidh ns Coille / Memory Keeper of the Forest: Anthology of Scottish-Gaelic Literature in Canada (2015).

Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig is a biennial academic conference series established in 2000 to promote research on any and all topics related to Gaelic as well as to promote research through the medium of Gaelic.

The forthcoming performance (July 11, Colaisde na Gàidhlig) of excerpts from Michael Newton’s Seanchaidh na Coille provides the opportunity to highlight a couple of dated reviews of which we were only recently alerted.

Reviewer Jamie Heap, who formerly wrote book reviews for the Amherst Daily News recently reprised his review of Celts in the Americas, edited by Michael Newton. Jamie writes: “Celts in the Americas is a thoroughly researched book that provides new insight into a once neglected part of our heritage.”

Jerry White, writing in the Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society (2013, 16: 213-15), said “the publication of the anthology… is a cause for rejoicing.”

“[T]his is very much a new-world discussion, a direct engagement with the way that Celtic peoples have experienced mobility and integration into new nations and new states, and thus experienced modernity.”

And in uncanny foresight to a frequent point of discussion of late, Mr. White says: The “return to language as the thing that balances cultural diversity and cultural rootedness provides a way forward for small cultures everywhere. Celts in the Americas is a real contribution to that kind of progress.”

In addition to Celts in the Americas (2013) and Seanchaidh na Coille / Memory-Keeper of the Forest: Anthology of Scottish-Gaelic Literature in Canada, CBU Press also published Michael Newton’s immensely popular The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic: All the Scottish-Gaelic You Need to Curse, Swear, Drink, Smoke and Fool Around, now going into its fourth printing.