Episode Synopsis "5. Archaic Argyll, Neolithic Achnabreck"

The Road North (2010-11) is a word-map of Scotland, composed by Alec Finlay & Ken Cockburn as they traveled through their homeland, guided by the Japanese poet Basho, whose Oku-no-Hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Deep North) is one of the masterpieces of travel literature. Ken and Alec departed Edinburgh on May 16, 2010 – the very same date that Basho and his companion Sora departed Edo in 1689. The result of their journey is a collaborative audio & visual wordmap realised as a blog, book, and audio recording, describing the landscapes they have seen and people they met. This audio accompanies a book-length poem published by Shearsman in October 2014. It is an abridged version of the poem, performed by Alec Finlay, Ken Cockburn, and Lila Matsumoto, with sound-design by Geoff Sample.

Listen "5. Archaic Argyll, Neolithic Achnabreck"

More episodes of the podcast The Road North (Alec Finlay & Ken Cockburn)

• 1. Setting Out
• 2. First Views of the Foothills
• 3. Our Shirakawa
• 4. Beyond the Border-line
• 5. Archaic Argyll, Neolithic Achnabreck
• 6. Rocks & Peaks
• 7. Woods & Glens
• 8. Westerly Shores
• 9. The Outer Isles
• 10. Crossing into Autumn
• 11. Winter Interned
• 12. Weak March Sun
• 13. Spring: Paths of Faith & Doubt
• 14. Summer Opening
• 15. The Epilogues