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Literary Works Catalogue

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Here are the books by Neil Stewart McLeod Click the link below each image to see more:                 Lala Salama                      Chirstmas Poems               Frances Songs+Poems             Names of the Days                     Editors Corner                       Why Dentistry              The practice Book                            Dental Ditties             The Altandhu Collection           Letters From A Chief             Thistle and Silver Fern         The Clan Remembers                                Out On A Limb                       The Legend of Ngong                The 7th Slam                My Wife's Dog                 Upon Reflection                            Bringing the Clan Back                        A Shell In My Pocket          Another Cuppa                               LA Blue                       The Thorn With Me               The Persimon Tree                One for the Pot                 When The Spirit Moves                    A Ship in

An Editor's Corner: Reflections on how dentistry is changing

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  In his fortieth year in practice Dr. McLeod accepted the invitation to be Editor of the “Explorer” Magazine, a publication of the Los Angeles Dental Society. In eleven short articles he discusses some significant changes that are affecting dentists and the practice of dentistry. Available on Amazon

The Altandhu Collection: Bibliography of a MacLeod Library - A Catalogue

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  A catalogue of Clan MacLeod related books and documents - a research library. What started as a few books and Clan Magazines, has become a library of over three hundred books, a growing collection of Clan Magazines, and should ultimately contain, MP3 audio and MP4 Video records of music and talks relating to the Clan MacLeod.  The name Altanduh, (Blackwater) relates to the name of the hamlet where the earliest known progenitor of my family line lived, a small collections of croft cottages on the coast line of Coigeach.  Coigeach is one of the four original MacLeod mainland territories, and sits opposite the Summer Isles, looking out over the Minch to the Long Island. Available on Amazon

Songs and Poems of Frances McLeod

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  Frances McLeod wrote touching tunes. Here are East African family poems and songs from the British colonial era, a time now vanished. They are comforting melodies with a lullaby feeling, capturing the leisurely pace of a lifestyle that has all but disappeared. Available on Amazon Sad Little Ship When my sad little ship slips its moorings And sets sail all alone On the wide unknown sea, It will soon reach the great shores eternal, And I'll see someone there, standing waiting for me. I'm going to my loved one who's waiting for me; Joy is to be in my destiny; Gone are the memories of tears shed apart, Nothing can break my heart. Fear not the tempest, fear not the gales, Faith has now filled my sails, I need no moonlight, I need no star, Your love will guide me from afar, My heart will tell me where you are.

L.A. Blue: Los Angeles Poetry

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  New Poetry about your favorite city, Los Angeles. Filled with descriptive images of iconic features of life in LA , the stanzas reveal tid bits of local lore that will make you feel better informed. Available on Amazon Hot Air The name of that wind is Satana It’s hot and it’s dusty and dry, Don’t call the wind Santa Ana In error, for that is a lie. Saint Ann the mother of Mary Is remembered in so many ways But not for a wind that blows from the desert And makes your skin and eyes craze. In Nineteen O’ One a reporter In error rushed his dispatch in He wrote Santa Ana the rotter, It is he that committed the sin. The name is Vientos de Sataná The wind of the devil that’s hot, A weather man called it Santana But that is a name it is not. So we are left here in confusion, Raymond Chandler back in ’thirty eight In “Red Wind” to Santa Anas made allusion As conditions the local folk hate. The wind blowing in from the passes, Curls your hair, makes nerves up tight, Drying the air and scorchin

The Thorn With Me (Poems by Neil Stewart McLeod Book 9)

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  Here are the earliest poems ever written by this author. Reservations about their suitability and immaturity impaired a willingness to share them. However, at the end of producing a series of volumes of poetry, “Dawning Oxford” and “Timeless Oxford” needed somewhere to go. They are from those student days when we spend time sorting out our priorities, working late, and reflecting on what lies ahead. In “The Going” consideration of leaving cheap digs in London provided the canvas for melancholy reminiscence. Then there are the fanciful love poems like so many poured forth on poetry.com everyday. Finally, “The View” and “The Open Fire” are the most recent and give some dimension to the collection.The title, “The Thorn With Me” obviously comes from Burns “Ye Banks and Braes” or more correctly “The Banks of Doon”. These reflections all have a lingering sting. They can not be remembered without sensing again the twinge of emotion and even embarrassment. Yet here they are heart aches and a

Dental Ditties

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  A collection of dentally related poems from the pen of an established poet who has practiced dentistry for 40 years. With a foreword by Professor Howard Landesman this is a humorous and informative collection, and interspersed with cartoons by Colin Bailey. Available on Amazon How to Squeeze When you squeeze the toothpaste tube Please squeeze it from the bottom, If you use another way You're doing something rotten. 

The Persimmon Tree (Poems by Neil Stewart McLeod Book 4)

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Touching poems about life in a trans-millennial family growing up in Los Angeles in the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st. Here are captured events in what is becoming a rare commodity, the traditional nuclear family. There is a range of events and experiences which are common to nearly all families. Couples meet, they decide to get married, babies are born and grow up so fast, and are off to college in the blink of an eye. In addition parents may pass away too soon. Through all of it we share emotions and memories which if captured in verse may ring just as true for the reader as they were for the author. We try to be good lovers and express our love in novel ways. We are amazed when we see a new born’s tiny hands, and ponder how our children will grow up. We have pets, and we may even build a tree house. Available on Amazon and on Apple Music Three Bands of Gold My wife and I wear rings of woven bands of gold. I never take mine off. I gave my love three

Upon Reflection: Selected Poems of Neil Stewart McLeod

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This anthology of the best poems by Neil Stewart McLeod holds the selections of a panel of twenty readers. From eleven books of poems written over the last of the last fifty years, they have chosen their favorites so that you can taste the whimsy that makes them so appealing. With an introduction by Professor Dutton Kearney of Hillsdale College, this is a must read! Available on Amazon

Bringing The Clan Back To Dunvegan: A Hebridean Legend

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  With a foreword written by Chief Hugh MacLeod of MacLeod this accumulation poem is the Clan MacLeod equivalent of “The House That Jack Built” and is filled with references to the principle iconic features of clan tradition that children should know and love. It features the Castle of Dunvegan and the drinking horn, the Fairy Flag, and the great Chief, Dame Flora MacLeod of MacLeod. Available on Amazon and Apple Music

The Clan Remembers- Scottish poems by Neil Stewart McLeod

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  The Clan Remembers is the fifth in a series of ten collections of poetry by Neil Stewart McLeod. Directly influenced by Dame Flora MacLeod of MacLeod, the author grew up surounded by Scottish clan heritage. Here are fourteen poems that directly relate to the Hebridean Clan MacLeod, including “The Song Of The Caurie Shells”, “A Lament for the Games At Coombs Ranch,” “It Takes Your Breath Away,” and the title poem which is an accumulation poem, a MacLeod version of the “The House That Jack Built”. Available on Amazon and on Apple Music The Song of the Cowrie Shells There is a legend that if you should gather twelve caurie shells on the coral beach, the fairy folk will weave a spell that will bring you back to Skye. There's an island I know made of heather and peat Where the mountains rise sheer from the sands, And out in the loch there are seals at play While the mist hides the craggy headlands. My love for the island is calling me back To the land of my tartan, my home, To the W

Christmas Poems by Neil McLeod

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  Here are Christmas stories with a twist, written in verse by a poet whose broad experience spans five decades and four continents. Here are fresh tales and reflections to focus your view of the holiday.  From Koru on the west facing slope of the Rift Valley in Kenya, to Oxford with its colleges in the center of England, to the United States with its cold northern lake side cities and on to California with its endless summer, and far off in Australia where the seasons are reversed, Christmas is kept and stories are told. From all of them inspiration has been gathered to fill out these pages and help us to see the reason for the poems. Available on Amazon and on Apple Music

A Shell In My Pocket - poetry

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  Twenty first century poems from the pen of and established poet covering the whole gambit of human emotions, weddings, birthdays, funerals, ancient history, student life and holidays.  People tell me stories, I like that!  Every now and then I am so struck by the tale that I have to write it down and take, you might even say steal, the idea and after juggling with the notions a poem appears. “The Licorice Store”, “Maddie’s Ring” and “The Stamp On The Cow” are good examples.  None of us write in isolation, we are dependent upon others, so many others. This anthology of new poems is dedicated to all those people whose stories are captured on these pages. Available on Amazon and on Apple Music Nelson’s Floss Admiral Lord Nelson Before he sailed to war  Got a letter delivered From his paramour. From London it arrived at Lady Hamilton’s behest, That letter came by carriage With the Admiral’s chest. Nelson read his letter He held it with the left, The right arm it was missing  At Tenerife

Another Cuppa: Poems by Neil Stewart McLeod

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  Fresh new poems about a broad range of topics, descriptive narratives and whimsical reflections from a seasoned author. What makes the poems of Neil McLeod so refreshing ....not just words but thoughtful, carefully crafted words that through the means of poetry carry rhyme, rhythm and a subtle song. ..Poetry is designed with a richness and range of language, along with a richness and range of thought—bringing the two together with a special kind of beauty .. It is music without notes John MacArthur Available on Amazon and Apple Music Happy In America I grew up in Africa,     I’ve been to Zanzibar I’ve seen the great Rift Valley,     and it’s western rim so far, I’ve stood on Table Mountain     with Cape Town down below A sight I’ll long remember      and think about ..although... I’m happy in America,     America for me, The land that flies the Stars and Stripes,      home of the brave and free And should my memory wander      and hanker for old haunts It’s the notion of how much

One For The Pot: Poems by Neil Stewart McLeod

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  Being raised in Kenya in the 1950's, when it was still a British colony allows for an unusual and interesting upbringing. The author’s family lived up country in places where there was no electricity or refrigeration. In the early days his father used to go out to the plains to shoot a buck for the pot. There in lies the source for the name of this collection of highly original poems. The era saw the decline of colonial control at the zenith of its influence and the poems give a unique perspective on life in the country at that time. Once you spread your wings in Africa there was no going back to the soft life. Dr. Neil McLeod, has deftly captured this unique, lost civilization, by sharing his unbounded childhood curiosity and joy, as only an accomplished bard might. The universal emotions he captures in his poetry, course, like swift clear trout streams off Mount Kenya’s flanks. Available on Amazon Available on Apple Music One For The Pot You may never have stood and looked down

When the Spirit Moves (Poems by Neil Stewart McLeod Book 7)

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  Here are twenty poignant reminders of occasions when the human spirit has been moved. Containing "House of Sighs", "The Folded Palm" and "Mother's Hands" and with an introduction by John MacArthur, this is an uplifting collection of new poetry. This is the real thing;  poetry that warms the heart,  stirs the memory,  enriches the vocabulary,  and brings a smile. The settings are inimitably Scottish  and, for those who’ve been to that fair land,  they provide a brief visit.  I find poetry to be musical  if it’s well done.  And these rhymes sing. John MacArthur Available on Amazon On Apple Music

A Ship In A Bottle (Poems by Neil Stewart McLeod Book 1)

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  The call of the sea and the mystery of foreign lands has drawn sailors and travelers to risk all and venture forth. The inspiration from the experience drove many to make all kinds of models to record and preserve the details of the vessels and among the array you will find the ship in a bottle. Neil McLeod traveled by sea to and from Africa, and his grand parents went on sailing ships to New Zealand. The poems in this anthology capture the essence of ships and the sea and the ports of call. Available on Amazon Of Ships and the Sea  I have long loved sailing ships, and stories and movies about them. I have even spent a few months designing and making a couple of models to erect inside bottles. Fascinated with the subject, I empathize with the men who built them and the men who sailed in them. It was a tough life on the sea, but with great craft and skill ships that could ply the waves were built and our world discovered as a result. Sing me a song of fine old ships, Of fine old ships

Pure Whimsy (Poems by Neil Stewart McLeod Book 6)

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  Poems by Neil Stewart McLeod Vol. 6. Here with an introduction by Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, is a collection of surprising perspectives crisply encased in verse. Included are  “Getting Back On Track”, “Grand Ma’s Smile”, “Vanishing Wisdom” and “Romance of Writing” with over thirty other poems. Time and experience are captured through the author’s lens.  “The poet,” wrote Aristotle, “like a painter or any other artist, must of necessity imitate one of three objects—things as they were or are, things as they are said or thought to be, or things as they ought to be.”  He believed that all operations of human reason seek truth, and he saw poetry as a powerful kind of truth seeking.  A verse can show us the world.  It can, like the poems of Neil McLeod, lead us to laugh and to muse. Available on Amazon Getting Back On Track You can’t be tying a string around your finger Every time you have to remember Why it is you went into the kitchen, Or what it was you came into the