You may know me and wonder why I have listed ‘St Andrews’ as my ‘hometown’ when clearly I am American. Don’t worry, I have no displaced notions of being a ‘local’ nor am I one of the millions of US citizens claiming to be Scottish through nothing more than genetic lineage. The reason I have listed St Andrews as my hometown is because this is where I have lived for five years, and the small town feels far more like home than any place in the United States. I feel comfortable here and my writing has flourished in Scotland more than it has anywhere else. I have for the first time in my life written poetry, feel confident with my short stories, and I am completing my first novel. This is not to say that I don’t have a special attachment to other cities. Dundee is also close to my heart as it is where I am currently studying for a Research Degree on Eric Linklater, it is where I teach Creative and Professional Writing (at Dundee College), and the city of Dundee is home to the anthology I edit (New Writing Dundee). Dundee has become the birthplace of my Scottish writing career and St Andrews is my home and heart. But for those that must know, I was raise in Louisiana and remained there until early adulthood when I moved to Denver. My family are still all in the deep South, and my friends in the Rocky Mountains mean more to me than some of my own organs. However, after years of living a mile above sea level, I’ve come back down again. But this time I didn’t land on the Gulf of Mexico, I landed on the North Sea and I’m quite happy with that.
All Stories by Rachel Marsh
