Christine De Luca

Reviews of Wast wi da Valkyries

"Her poetry - forthright but subtle - is a pleasure to read. The latest book, beautifully printed with bright, full colour painting illustrations, is a fine bit of publishing, a credit to Shetland Libraries and its sparky leader."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', New Playwriting Scotland, Winter Issue, 97/98

"Whether in Shetlandic or English, Christine De Luca is equally impressive. There is not an unnecessary word: every page brings mind and ear to attention. She draws from her readers that instant response which is the mark of the true poet. MacCaig's is the only influence I can detect in an otherwise wholly original talent."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', The New Shetlander, No. 202 - Yule Issue 1997

"The second collection of this humanely forthright and life-loving poet, who celebrates Shetland landscape and memories as well as putting in a fag for MacCaig. The Shetland dialect is fascinating and the glossary easily helps you through."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', The Scotsman, November 1998

"These poems, set in the seas and skies of Shetland, with the weight of Norse mythology on the one hand and modern technology on the other, should, I suppose, remind me of the great northern isles poetry of George Mackay Brown. In fact they make me think Christine De Luca is becoming a substantial poet in her own right."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', Books in Scotland No. 66, 1998 (Read the full review)

"A fine little book, generous spirited..."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', The Shetland Times, 1998

"Wast wi da Valkyries attracts and compels from the first glance...Complementing the beauty of the written word is the construction of the book itself, in particular the art work of Alexa Rutherford...In a sense these are pagan poems in their understanding of the beautiful, ugly, painful, joyous, enlightenment of humanity...A perfect book."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', Chapman No. 91, 1998

"There is something both old and freshly invented about these Shetland strains - an intriguing blend (to my African ears) of Tolkien, Scots, Lewis Carroll and Chaucer. But De Luca weaves these together into a singular consistency, making poems of great truth and authenticity...this is language under a spell, delighting in the amazement of accuracy."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', Lines Review No. 144, 1998

"An embarrassment of poetical richness in its 90 pages...the dialect poems are hypnotic...Christine De Luca's eyes and ears are just as sure when she writes in English."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', Cencrastus No. 62, 1998

"The musical delivery of these fine poems sings off the page: from bairn rhymes to folk legend, from Walls to Manhattan, De Luca seems to swim through centuries and across cultures with consummate ease. And her commitment to the Shetland tongue is far from insular - it is the key to the world..."Review of 'Wast wi da Valkyries', Scotland on Sunday, December 1998