Writing out of older Scottish traditions that are ludic, intellectually deft and linguistically complex, Robert Crawford also stands with fellow poets, Liz Lochhead, Douglas Dunn and Simon Armitage as a contemporary master. Nimbly traversing the globe, ‘Old World’ is a generous, playful collection featuring the traditional forms of haiku and riddle, versions of Mexican, Chinese, Old English and Greek poems, a tincture of Scots work, and many pieces that present an ageing planet dealing with 21st-century issues from European war to climate change and AI. These poems speak both of the menaced plenitude of living beings, and of frailties associated with growing old.