Scott Hastie

Photo of the Author and Poet Scott Hastie taken at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire

Life and Work

Born in Edinburgh, Scott Hastie was brought up and educated in Berkhamsted, prior to college studies in Brighton.

Several small press editions of Scott Hastie’s poetry first appeared in the early 1970s, at a time when he was also editor of the college magazine for Sussex University and Brighton Polytechnic (1974–75) These early anthologies prefaced the first substantial hardback collection of his work Selected Poetry (1991) which soon found a core audience with its broadly romantic themes, celebrating love and the beauty of the natural world. “To write and sell poetry at a profit these days is a minor victory and a major achievement. Scott’s words gently unlock and force you to face and look at the world with a little more optimism. There are moments of deep joy and others, which take your breath away with simple incredible honesty”[1]

An increasingly spiritual emphasis was apparent in his next collection New Poetry, which followed in 1995. “Scott Hastie’s verse is sympathetic, humanistic and positively affirmative. Accessibility is the touchstone of all Hastie’s output… The spiritual element in his writing is clear.”[2]

Scott Hastie has also written and been published quite extensively in the field of local history. His detailed studies of life in one historically significant part of South West Hertfordshire have provided a detailed panorama of English life through the ages. “Scott Hastie’s passion for local history has to date spawned no fewer than five carefully researched and lavishly illustrated hardback volumes. A Hertfordshire Valley, first published in 1996, continues to be a best selling seminal work today”[3]

Scott’s first novel, Reunion, was published in 2003 and his most recent collection of poems: Meditations was published in 2013. Scott Hastie’s poetry is now regularly featured and showcased in online blogs and web journals around the world, especially in the US and Asia. “The over-arching theme of my work is a personal investigation into the positive potential of the human spirit.” [4] “Scott Hastie writes meditative, reflective poetry that is steeped in the traditions of English verse. Concise and richly evocative, he should be widely read.” [5]

Given the growing cross-cultural interest in his work, a new more substantial and comprehensive hardback edition of his work: Angel Voices was brought forward for publication in 2014. "Angel Voices is Scott Hastie's fourth and most significant collection of poetry to date, providing definitive evidence of his evolved voice and enlightened philosophy."[6]

More recently, his poetic output has been re-edited and consolidated into the spiritually themed landmark collection threads, already widely translated and released to international acclaim in 2016. “Via an invisible gilded chain of perception, Scott Hastie generously leads us through an enthusiastic re-invention of the possibilities of new experience. His inspired words bestride the world with such ease, touching the deepest sensibilities of human beings everywhere.” [7]

Books

References

  1. ↑ White, Grelle. Article: "Peoples poet" Limited Edition Magazine p.15–16 December 1996.
  2. ↑ Jones, Graeme. Interview: "Scott Hastie Pt 2." Herts Countryside p.14–15 April 2004.
  3. ↑ Jones, Graeme. Interview: "Scott Hastie Pt 1." Herts Countryside p.31–35 March 2004.
  4. ↑ Banks, Georgia Ann. Editor Interview: Scott Hastie – Feature Poet. New Mirage Journal, Spring Issue 2013. http://newmiragejournal.wordpress.com/author/newmiragejournal/
  5. ↑ Godwin, Richard. Author October 2012
  6. ↑ Niveditha, Yohana, Research Scholar, University of Mysore February 2014.
  7. ↑ Sahar Tavakoli, Editor in Charge, Dastan Publishing House, Tehran April 2016.

External links

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