We’re sad to announce that after 10 years the bronze busts that have been on display around the palace are returning to Edinburgh. They tell the story of 9 incredible Scottish poets who have shaped the poetry landscape.
Here’s a little information on each of the poets and where you can find them:
Poet: William Sydney Graham, 1918 - 1986. Poet
Artist: Anthony Morrow
About the Works: The neo-romantic poet (William) Sydney Graham was born in Greenock, the son of a marine engineer. He left school at fourteen and trained as an engineer before returning to education, studying literature and philosophy. His first collections of poetry were published in the 1940s. They are intimate works that often focus on the strangeness of language as a means of communication. In 1948 Graham moved to London where he adopted a Bohemian lifestyle. His friends included the playwright Harold Pinter and poets Dylan Thomas and T.S. Eliot. Although little known during most of his lifetime, interest in W.S. Graham’s poetry increased towards the end of his life. Several collections of his work were published after his death, including ‘New Collected Poems’ (2004).
Location: Next to the chapel.
Poet: Iain Crichton Smith, 1928 - 1998. Poet
Artist: Michael Snowden
About the works: Ian Crichton Smith was born in Glasgow and spent most of his life on the west coast of Scotland, where he worked as a teacher. He wrote poetry in both English and Gaelic, and his long poem ‘Am Faigh a Ghaidhlig Eas?’ (Shall Gaelic Die?) ponders the fate of that language and culture. Despite being much-loved as a person and poet, Crichton Smith was a troubled man who could be self-deprecating and was often preoccupied with the meaning of human existence. Yet, after watching home movies as an aid to creating the posthumous portrait, the sculptor of this bust wrote that Crichton Smith "always seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. I felt that if I could represent something of this quality then I might have managed to represent something of the man."
Location: Next to the staircase.
Poet: Norman MacCaig, 1910 - 1996. Poet
Artist: David Annand
About the Works: Norman MacCaig, who was a prolific writer of poetry, worked as a schoolteacher in Edinburgh for most of his life. He studied classics before training to be a teacher at Moray House in Edinburgh. After the Second World War, during which he adopted a pacifist stance, MacCaig continued to teach and in 1967 became the first Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. Both his home city of Edinburgh and his holiday home in Assynt, in the north-west of Scotland, provided inspiration for his poetry. His early works belong to the New Apocalypse Movement, a surrealist mode of writing which he later abandoned in favour of a wittier and more elegant style. His fame grew later in life; he was awarded an OBE in 1979 and in 1986 received the Queen’s Medal for Poetry.
Location: Next to the arch, in the old entrance.
Poet: Naomi (Lady) Mitchison, 1897 - 1999. Author
Artist: Archibald ('Archie') Forrest
About the Works: Edinburgh-born Naomi Mitchison was a poet and writer of plays, fiction and essays. A member of the aristocratic Haldane family, she married Labour politician G. Richard Mitchison, with whom she entertained a circle of intellectuals and literary friends at their home in Kintyre. Mitchison’s first novels, including ‘The Corn King and the Spring Queen’ (1931), show her interest in classical history and mythology. During the 1940s and 1950s, Scottish themes became more dominant in her writing. In later years, Mitchison travelled widely and was adopted as ‘mother’ of the Bakgatla people of Botswana. Mitchison died at Carradale aged 101. The sculptor of this posthumous bust, Archie Forrest, chose to represent Mitchison in old age and used photographs of her in her nineties to create this portrait.
Location: Next to the window, in the old entrance.
Poet: Tom Leonard, 1944 - 2018. Poet
Artist: Alex Main
About the works: Tom Leonard is best known for his poetry written in the urban speech of the Glasgow area, which was revolutionary when his first collection ‘Six Glasgow Poems’ was published in 1969. The shortest of these, ‘Cold isn’t it’, consists of only two lines: “wirraw init thigithir missyz / geezyir kross”. By writing poetry with a regional accent, Leonard proves that one does not have to be part of the literary elite or speak ‘Queen’s English’ to write or enjoy poetry. A born and bred Glaswegian, Leonard has been writer in residence at several universities and libraries, and was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. His work has been collected in two volumes, ‘Intimate Voices’ (1984) and ‘Reports from the Present’ (1995).
Location: At the old entrance.
Poet: Hugh MacDiarmid, 1892 - 1978. Poet
Artist: Anthony Morrow
About the Works: Hugh MacDiarmid was one of the most important literary figures of twentieth-century Scotland and is now recognised as the principal force of the Scottish Literary Renaissance. Born in Langholm as Christopher Murray Grieve, MacDiarmid worked as a journalist before adopting his literary name. He began to write poetry in the 1920s, publishing his first collection of poems ‘Sangshaw’ in 1925. His major work, ‘A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle’ appeared the following year. MacDiarmid’s vast output of poetry and prose was often controversial, and his strong political beliefs led him to co-found the National Party of Scotland, today’s SNP. Despite his reputation, MacDiarmid was never financially successful and his last twenty-seven years were spent in a modest cottage near Biggar.
Location: Between the stained glass window and mirror at the old entrance.
Poet: Hamish Henderson, 1919 - 2002. Poet
Artist: Anthony Morrow
About the Works: James (Hamish) Scott Henderson was a poet and linguist who became a driving force behind the Folksong Revival in Scotland. Born in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, he studied modern languages at Cambridge before serving as an intelligence officer in Europe during the Second World War. His experiences of war inspired his collection of poems ‘Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica’ (1948). A dedicated folklorist, Henderson lectured at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Scottish Studies. For many years he travelled around Scotland to collect traditional songs. One of his own, best-known songs, ‘The Freedom Come-All-Ye’, reflects his passion for both folksong and politics. Henderson held several honorary degrees and was made an honorary fellow of the School of Scottish Studies after his retirement.
Location: Next to the mirror at the old entrance.
Poet: Douglas Dunn, born 1942. Poet
Artist: Michael Snowden
About the Works: Poet and author Douglas Dunn was born in Renfrewshire. He trained as a librarian and worked in England and the US, but returned to Britain in 1966 during the Vietnam draft. In 1971 he became a freelance writer and has since written plays, short stories and poetry, for which he has won many awards. The early death of his wife in 1981 brought about his collection of poems, ‘Elegies’, which was Whitbread Book of the Year in 1985. In 1984 Dunn moved back to Scotland, where he held several writer-in-residence posts. In 1991 he was made professor of English and later Director of the Scottish Studies Institute at the University of St Andrews. He received an OBE in 2003. This bust was created from life as part of a series of twelve sculptures of poets for Edinburgh Park.
Location: At the old fireplace next to the mirror.
Poet: Sorley MacLean [Somhairle MacGill-Eian], 1911 - 1996. Poet
Artist: Bill Scott
About the Works: Sorley MacLean was arguably the most significant Scottish Gaelic poet of the twentieth century. Born in 1911 on the Isle of Raasay, MacLean grew up surrounded by Gaelic culture and song. After finishing his degree in English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, MacLean fought in North Africa during the Second World War. In 1943 he was discharged and returned to Scotland where he took up a career in teaching. That same year he published his groundbreaking collection of Gaelic poetry, ‘Dain do Eimhir’, which demonstrates the capacity of Gaelic to express themes ranging from love to political and intellectual issues. His work remained little-known outside the Gaelic-speaking world until the 1970s, when he came to the attention of a wider public by publishing in both Gaelic and English.
Location: At the old fireplace next to the mirror.
Come in and discover the story of the women and men that have played their part in shaping Scottish poetry before they move on to their new home.
They’ll be on display until FRI 8 NOV.
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