Author of a fascinating memoir, A Scotsman Abroad, Mackay tells Word on the Hills how he came to focus, in his memoir, on the period of his life when he taught linguistics at Bucharest University, Romania.
Part 1
Part 2
Author of a fascinating memoir, A Scotsman Abroad, Mackay tells Word on the Hills how he came to focus, in his memoir, on the period of his life when he taught linguistics at Bucharest University, Romania.
Part 1
Part 2
Word on the Hills Radio Program 
Good interview – and great part of the book to read for the audience
Thanks Christine,
I know you enjoyed most of the stories in the book and I appreciated having your feedback.
In a short interview like this one, it’s quite a challenge to choose one or two short readings from all the options.
The interviewers, Felicity and Gwynn were a great help in that they asked insightful questions and so encouraged thoughtful answers.
Ron
The book is intense, interesting and so human that the reader will be marked positively for always after facing its content. I started reading it and I could not stop until the last page, and I wanted more. It’s amazing indeed. The chapter to which the writer referred to is one of the most touching ones. Good selection. Congratulations, Ronald Mackay. Great interview indeed! Nila Mendoza from Venezuela.
Thank you, Nila, for being such a dedicated reader! More will come!
Happy to know that you thought the selection of the readings was appropriate.
It’s good to have a reader as far away as Maracaibo!
Abrazos,
Mackay
Thoroughly enjoyed this interview. I am hooked and will be downloading the book!
Please do, Roddi – and keep in mind that the Ronald Mackay of that time was the product of Scotland in the 40s and 50s… The world has changed a great deal since then.
Ron
Excellent interview and two superb choices of extracts. I first met Ron in 1975, and worked alongside and under him until 2001, at Concordia University in Montreal. I learned more about him through reading “A Scotsman Abroad” than ever I did as a colleague. The work is a tour de force by the most gifted writer that I have ever known, personally. I hope that he is motivated to select other periods of his multifaceted life, such as growing up in Scotland, or his Mexican sojourn, and write about him.
That’s praise indeed, Palmer! Thanks! The next book is likely to be about the year I spent working in the Canary Islands in 1960. That was another unique experience and the occasion of my learning to function comfortably in Spanish.
We’re both “Con-U survivors”! Perhaps those years at Con-U deserve a memoir of their own!
Cheers!
Ron
Ronald Mackay’s book, “A Scotsman Abroad, is intense, interesting and so human that the reader will be marked positively for always after facing its content. I started reading it and I could not stop until the last page, and I wanted more. It’s amazing indeed. The chapter to which the writer referred to is one of the most touching ones. Good selection. Congratulations, Ronald Mackay. Great interview indeed! Nila Mendoza from Venezuela.
I’m delighted that you enjoyed both the book and the interview, Nila. Thank you!
Mackay
Loved the interview, Ronald (and the brogue as well!) Well done. I wonder if we’re cousins. My Dad was from Perth and a lot of my ancestors were from the Perth, Tayport area in Scotland. Keep up the good work. 🙂
Thank Felicity and Gwynn, Margaret – they know how to get the best out of people!
Perhaps we are cousins – we have/ had relatives on both the north and the south banks of the Tay.
Best wishes,
Ron
Ron, what a treat to hear this interview! It certainly makes you want to download A Scotsman Abroad to continue reading about your incredible experiences in Romania!
You must keep writing about other countries you’ve been in, as you sure have a clear and inviting way of writing! So friendly!
Congratulations!
A big hug,
Frankie
Hi Frankie, What a pleasure to know that you listened to it all they down there in Patagonia!
And what’s more – you enjoyed it!
If you want to read the entire book, you can download it free at
http://editura.mttlc.ro/ronald-mackay-scotsman-abroad.html
The alternative is that when Viviana and I return to Argentina, I read it aloud to you!
Best wishes,
Ron
Loved the interview Ron. Pat and I are now looking forward more than ever to reading the book in full and learning more about your adventures! More of the same to come in the future we hope?
All the best to you both.
Jim
Thanks, Jim and Pat. It’s amazing how a good interviewer can make me sound interesting! You can access the book (free) at http://editura.mttlc.ro/ronald-mackay-scotsman-abroad.html OR you can borrow a printed version (paper copy from the pdf file) from John and Vivian! Best to both!