The Maggie Law Maritime Museum
Poetry Anthology
A book of poetry from the village of Gourdon was published at the end of January 2014.
The book is the result of two years of work by Celia Craig, retired Principal Teacher of English, a native of Gourdon, now resident in Stonehaven, and was produced to celebrate the life of the fishing community of Gourdon. It also reveals the part which poetry has played in all aspects of village life in this fishing community, and to was sold to raise funds for Maggie Law Maritime Museum. The poems, which range over a150-year period, reveal significant aspects of Gourdon as a community and afford a unique insight into the thoughts and feelings of the people as they faced disaster, death and adversity as well as their joys, happy times and social interaction.
Extract from the foreword:
"Nearly all the poems in this Anthology were written by residents and former residents of Gourdon, past and present, poems dating from the last decades of the 19th century to 2013... All the poems relate to Gourdon, the daily lives and work of the people of Gourdon, to themes and issues relevant to Gourdon, including the Maggie Law surf boat. The poems offer significant insight into fishing, fishermen and their families, their thoughts and feelings as they faced disaster, death and adversity as well as recording their joys, happy times and social interaction, expressing the rich heritage and traditions of the village at different periods of its history."