A Song of Glasgow Town

Although her reputation now rests on her poems on women's rights, the Glasgow poet Marion Bernstein (1846 - 1906) recognised little distinction between gender equality and social equality. She had no patience for those who claimed privilege over others. She valued her fellow poets, many of whom were from the working classes, and she populated her poems with an array of ordinary citizens: postmen, riveters, fishermen, street musicians, even a victim of intemperance. In her enlightened poem 'Human Rights' she advocated universal equality and gave her vision of a world run by women: 'We'd give fair play, let come what might, / To he or she folk, black or white, / And haste the reign of Human Right.' A Song of Glasgow Town contains all of Bernstein's 198 published poems, along with a detailed introduction to her life and work, and extensive notes explaining the background to each poem. These verses provide a fascinating insight into Glasgow in the late Victorian age, at a time of unprecedented social and economic change.