Archipelago: A Reader

Archipelago is one of the most important and influential literary magazines of the last

twenty years. Running to twelve editions, it was edited by Andrew McNeillie, with the

assistance later of James McDonald Lockhart, and began as an attempt to reimagine the

relationships between the islands of Ireland and Britain. Archipelago has brought together

established and emerging artists in creative conversations that have transformed the study

of islands, coasts and waterways. It journeys from the Shetlands to Cornwall, from the

Aran Islands to the coast of Yorkshire, tracing the cultures of diverse zones through some

of the best in contemporary writing about place and people.

This collection gathers poetry, prose and visual art in clusters grouped around the Irish

and British archipelago, with contributions from an array of significant artists. It includes

newly commissioned work as well as an interview between Andrew McNeillie and

Robert Macfarlane on the development of Archipelago across the years.