23. Alec Finlay: The Language of Place

Peter interviews the Scottish sculptor-poet Alec Finlay, whose work explores how language shapes and intensifies our experience of place. In addition to his creative practice, Finlay is the author of numerous books including Gathering: A Place Aware Guide to the Cairngorms (Hauser & Wirth, 2018) and Not Sealions but Lions by the Sea (Broken Sleep Books, 2025).

Beginning with Finlay’s upbringing in rural Scotland and the legacy of his father, the concrete poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, the conversation follows the early experiences and influences that shaped his distinctive approach to art and poetry. Throughout, Finlay considers how the naming, voicing and hearing of place can expand our understanding of landscape beyond what is immediately visible, drawing on Scottish poetic traditions and broader philosophical questions about the role of the poet. Reflecting on his path into artistic life, Finlay discusses the evolution of his poetry across sculpture and site-specific practice. He shares how living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (otherwise known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) has profoundly influenced both his creative process and his thinking around land access. From hutopianism and ecological thinking to questions of illness and care, this conversation reflects on poetry as a mode of dwelling and a way of restoring connection to self, to others and to place.