The Carrying Stream

This episode's guest is Taylor Strickland: a talented poet from the US who has learned Scottish Gaelic and recently won several awards for his superb translations of the 18th-century Jacobite poet, Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair. In 2025, Taylor also published his debut poetry collection, Dwell Time with Tapsalteerie Press.

We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, from Taylor’s journey into Gaelic and his translation work, to his broader thinking about poetry — and his deep admiration for the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa.

03:40 – Taylor's (poetic) journey from America to Scotland

13:20 – Taylor's transient poems and his vision of poetry

23:25 – Translating Gaelic Poetry into English

28:50 – Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair

45:50 – Portugal and Pessoa

56:18 – Final thoughts on poetry, national identi(es) and Taylor's upcoming works.

In this introductory episode, Dr Paul Malgrati presents his vision for The Carrying Stream and explains why he is launching a podcast devoted to Scottish words and ideas.

Episode 0 sets out the ethos of the project and the kind of long-form conversations the podcast aims to make space for.