James Fenton, born in 1931, grew up in north Antrim, in the adjoining townlands of Drumadarragh and Ballinaloob. Educated at Stranmillis College and Queen's University, Belfast, he spent his working life as a teacher and principal in Belfast, and now lives in Glengormley. He is the author of The Hamely Tongue: A personal record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim (1995; new editions, 2000, 2007, 2014).

The Hamely Tongue gave us a comprehensive record of contemporary Ulster-Scots; now, in the poems and prose of On Slaimish, the writer's native language comes vividly...