“The loneliness, the independence, of stones”

This chapter examines Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid’s meditative long poem “On a Raised Beach” from Stony Limits. This chapter argues this poem offers a particularly clear view of the influence of vibrant matter on our lives—here represented by the stones that make up a pebbled beach on a small island in the Shetlands. This recognition challenges MacDiarmid’s thinker to reconsider his place in the world, and indeed humanity’s overall. A number of related topics are considered as a result, including the nature of mortality, as well as fundamental ontological concepts. Among these is MacDiarmid’s evocation of Duns Scotus’ notion of haecceity, translated as “thisness.” This concept is then examined through the lens of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guatarri’s later work on materialism.