Don Paterson covers a broad spectrum of themes and issues in his work. His talent as a musician is reflected in the rhythms of in his poetry which challenge the reader to ask questions about life.
Paterson lives in Scotland and teaches at the University of St. Andrews. He often incorporates ‘Scottish themes’ into his work, for instance the context of 11:00:Baldovan with its reference to Hilltown and use of words like kelly for sherbet. Throughout his collections there are also poems written in Scots.
Paterson considers himself to be an English-language poet writing for a larger audience than the local one. He is more concerned with doing interesting things with language than he is about establishing a ‘Scottish’ agenda in his work.
