Black Ballads

Ballads are the original short stories - concentrated doses of narrative, pared down to their essentials. And Scotland has one of the world's richest - and darkest - traditions of myths, legends, weird and fantastic beings, and folk horror. Yet few of these have made their way into modern literature, in any form. These ballads revisit that great tradition with recastings of ancient folk tales and bizarre lore, to tease, delight and even terrify. Paul StJohn Mackintosh is a Scottish poet, writer of imaginative fiction, and journalist, currently resident in France. He is online at www.paulstjohnmackintosh.com. Comments on Paul StJohn Mackintosh's poetry "I love the moments of serenity, the unfailing gravity, with sometimes a little gentle irony, showing an oeuvre of great power" - YVES BONNEFOY "Paul StJohn Mackintosh is writing singularly skilful and attractive poems. At the heart of his work is a love of his medium. He delights in word-wit. His use of rhyme is uninhibited, joyous. He is utterly alive to rhythm and sound, form and tone. One can imagine Auden, aux anges, giving his craftsmanship an approving grunt."
- KEVIN CROSSLEY-HOLLAND