The Longships in Harbour was first published in 1970. It is a collection of poetry by William McIlvanney

William McIlvanney

William McIlvanney is a writer of crime stories, novels, and poetry. McIlvanney is a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch, and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s.- Life and career :McIlvanney was born in the...

, a Scottish writer better known for his novels, and particularly crime fiction.

The poems in this collection deal largely with the poet's experiences of growing up in a working class area of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

; particularly his family life. The most famous, and striking, poem in the collection is "Initiation", a raw, intense poem in memory of his father.

Other themes dealt with throughout are poverty, famine, war, youth and innocence and the passage of time.