This is the first in a series of volumes which feature in-depth interviews with Scottish writers. Isobel Murray and Bob Tait undertook the interviews primarily to extend the record and preserve the voices and opinions of Scottish writers in a sound archive, but a major aim was always to edit selected interviews for publication in a way that would interest readers of Scottish writing, help or provoke students of that writing, and highlight the importance and achievements of post-war Scottish literature. The writers selected for this volume include those two who have always been chary of talking about themselves and their work in interviews: George Mackay Brown and the late Norman MacCaig. Fairly lengthy selections from these occasions are therefore included. The geographical spread of the volume is fairly wide: Toulmin hails from the North East, as did Jessie Kesson; Mackay Brown is internationally associated with Orkney; McIlvanney comes from Ayrshire, and bases his work there and in Glasgow; while MacCaig, who was born and lived in Edinburgh, had a deep attachment to the wilds of North-West Sutherland.