Lallans, no.78 (Summer 2011), pp,134-35. Borne On The Carrying Stream: The Legacy of Hamish Henderson, ed. Eberhard Bort, Grace Note Publications, Ochtertyre, 2010, 319pp., £12.99. Hamish Henderson: whit daes Scotland and the warld awe tae sic a Titan? Mair nor we'll e'er can tell, nae dout; but whit needs nane tae be argied is at we awe it til him, no anerlie tae haud his name an his wark in our mynin, but tae lat it inspire us as we gang furrit wi the upbiggin o Scotland's leid an leir at wes the darg o his life. Deed, whit a traitorie it wad be, gin he e'er war latten tae be jist a feigur o hi storie wi nae mair life nor a braw an bonnie meith! But whit kythes frae the first page in this gleg-airtit buik is at the legacy o Hamish Henderson is steirin an furthie, braddin fowk on tae stap furrit singin, the pall ion o Scotland waf fin abune, like tae the man whan leivin. The eichteen chapters shaws the mony sides o Hamish's dargs setten furth on the back batter: 'poet, soldier, scholar, folklorist, song-maker and political activist'. Some o the screivars wes feires an colleagues o Hamish; ithers hes come efterhins an is biggin on the founs he laid; but aa an some beirs witness tae the e'endoun scowth o his speedin. No anerlie did he gether siccan a fouth o the sangs an ballants bidin in the memore (an no jist in the memore, but in the vyces forbye) o Scotland's fermers, crafters, fishers, tinkers an gangrels, at no e' en or nou is the muckle hatter sortit aa an haill: he shawed hou the treisur-huird o sang hainit by the fowk o this kingrik is pairt o a leivin cultuir raxin throu Scotland, Europe an the warld. George Gunn shaws in a pensefu screid hou the Gaelic an the Norse dails o his cauf-grunn, Caithness, kythes thegither in his bardries; Tom Hubbard likens his wey o daein tae Bartok's in Hungary; frae Margaret Bennet we hear o the cleeks atweesh Scottish fowk-sang an American, an the scolars frae the States at wes airtit tae vizzie thaem thrau Hamish's finnins. His ain bardrie wes as international as it wes Scottish: mony o the speils maks mention o hou he lernit frae Gaelic, German, Italian, Greek an ither makars, whase inpittins kythes in his sangs. Scottish an fremmit makars hes been spreitit by him in thair tum: Pino Mereu sets out muckle, tae ugg ye an tae upheise ye, anent Italy in the days o weir for backgrunn tae his memores o Hamish, an tells forbye hou Hamish's vyce dirls furth in his ain screivins. An aa throu the buik we are mynit at this skyrie sangster awnit nae merch atweesh fowk-sang an the darg o learit makars: Hugh MacDiarmid didna gree wi him thare, as we can read in a curnie o the speils; but Rabbie Bums wad hae gree'd fine an siccarlie. Hamish Henderson wes an ensample, ane o the maist splendant amang mony in Scotland's historie, o a man wha coud see richt tae the hert o things, coud mak himself a pairt o the farrachs bylin an walterin thare, an coud airt thaim tae the betterment o his kintra an the warld. This buik is a wordie moniment tae him, no jist for the inpittins o aa the scolars, makars an sangsters intil't, pang-fou o wycins tho thay be; but for it gars ye ettle yoursel tae cast a chuckie or twa o your ain on the cairn he biggit.
