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Makar (National Poet For Scotland)
The Makar is the national poet of Scotland which was established in February 2004 by the Scottish Executive and supported by Creative Scotland. The incumbent Makar serves a maximum term of three years which is non–renewable, and has overall responsibility for the promotion of literacy, poetry and writing across the country, as well as producing annual reports for both the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament. The current Makar is Pàdraig MacAoidh, who was appointed in December 2024 by First Minister of Scotland, first minister John Swinney. Holders of the post are appointed by the Scottish Government and supported by the Scottish Poetry Library, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024. History The position of Makar, also known in English as "National Poet for Scotland", was created in February 2004 by the Scottish Government under then first minister Jack McConnell. The government was supported by Creative Scotland in the establishment of the position. Speaking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pàdraig MacAoidh
Pàdraig MacAoidh (English: ''Peter Mackay'') (born 1979) is a Scottish academic, writer, poet and broadcaster, currently serving as the Makar (National Poet for Scotland), Makar since 2 December 2024. Appointed by First Minister of Scotland, first minister John Swinney, he succeeded Kathleen Jamie in the role, and is the first Makar to write primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Early life and education MacAoidh was born in 1979 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. He previously attended Trinity College, Dublin, as well as obtaining a Master of Arts from the University of Glasgow. Career Broadcasting His work in broadcasting is inspired and influenced by the diverse linguistic heritage of the Isle of Lewis where he was born and raised as a child. He has appeared on BBC Alba as a broadcaster. Academic MacAoidh is a Senior Lecturer in Literature at the University of St Andrews. Academically, MacAoidh is considered an expert in both Scottish and Irish literature, pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liz Lochhead
Liz Lochhead Hon FRSE (born 26 December 1947) is a Scottish poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster. Between 2011 and 2016 she was the Makar, or National Poet of Scotland, and served as Poet Laureate for Glasgow between 2005 and 2011. Early life Elizabeth Anne Lochhead was born in Craigneuk, a "little ex-mining village just outside Motherwell", Lanarkshire. Her mother and father had both served in the army during the Second World War, and later, her father was a local government clerk. In 1952, the family moved into a new council house in the mining village of Newarthill, where her sister was born in 1957. Though she was encouraged by her teachers to study English, Lochhead was determined to go to Glasgow School of Art where she studied between 1965 and 1970. After graduation Lochhead taught art at high schools in Glasgow and Bristol, a career at which she says she was "terrible" Career Having written poetry as a child and whilst studying at Art School, Lochhead won ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Poet
A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished from successive holders of a bureaucratically-appointed poet-laureate office. The idea and honoring of national poets emerged primarily during Romanticism, as a figure that helped consolidation of the nation states, as it provided validation of their ethno-linguistic groups. Most national poets are historic figures, though a few contemporary writers working in relatively new or revived national literatures are also considered "national poets". Though not formally elected, national poets play a role in shaping a country's understanding of itself. Some nations may have more than one national poet; the idea of a single one is always a simplification. It has been argued that a national poet "must write poetry that closely identifies with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makar
A makar () is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as a royal court poet. Since the 19th century, the term ''The Makars'' has been specifically used to refer to a number of poets of fifteenth and sixteenth century Scotland, in particular Robert Henryson, William Dunbar and Gavin Douglas, who wrote a diverse genre of works in Middle Scots in the period of the Northern Renaissance. The Makars have often been referred to by literary critics as ''Scots Chaucerians''. In modern usage, poets of the Scots revival in the 18th century, such as Allan Ramsay and Robert Fergusson are also makars. Since 2002, the term "makar" has been revived as the name for a publicly funded poet, first in Edinburgh, followed by the cities of Glasgow, Stirling and Dundee. In 2004 the position of Makar, was authorized by the Scottish Parliament. Etymology Middle Scots (plural ) is the equivalent of Middle English '' maker''. The word functions as a calque (literal t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of in , making it the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, second-most populous city in Scotland and the List of cities in the United Kingdom, seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The Functional urban area, wider metropolitan area had a population of 912,490 in the same year. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament, the Courts of Scotland, highest courts in Scotland, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in Scotland. It is also the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The city has long been a cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Parliament Building
The Scottish Parliament Building (; ) is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood, within the World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the new building on 7 September 2004. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on 9 October 2004. Enric Miralles, the Spanish architect who designed the building, died before its completion. From 1999 until the opening of the new building in 2004, committee rooms and the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament were housed in the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland, General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland located on The Mound in Edinburgh. Office and administrative accommodation in support of the Parliament were provided in buildings leased from the City of Edinburgh Council. The new Scottish Parliament Building brought together t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongside both Irish language, Irish and Manx language, Manx, developed out of Old Irish. It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a Classical Gaelic, common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into the 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names. In the 2011 United Kingdom census#2011 Census for Scotland, 2011 census of Scotland, 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population, three years and older) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides. Nevertheless, there is a language ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathleen Jamie
Kathleen Jamie FRSL (born 13 May 1962) is a Scottish poet and essayist. In 2021 she became Scotland's fourth Makar. Life and work Kathleen Jamie is a poet and essayist. Raised in Currie, near Edinburgh, she studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, publishing her first poems as an undergraduate. Her writing is rooted in Scottish landscape and culture, and ranges through travel, women's issues, archaeology and visual art. She writes in English and occasionally in Scots. left, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Jamie in 2021 Jamie's collections include ''The Queen of Sheba'' (1995). Her 2004 collection ''The Tree House'' revealed an increasing interest in the natural world. This book won the Forward Poetry Prize and the Scottish Book of the Year Award. ''The Overhaul'' was published in September 2012. It won the 2012 Costa poetry award. For the last decade Jamie has also written non-fiction. Her collections of essays ''Findings'' and ''Sightlines'' are considered in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region, and as the member for Glasgow Southside (formerly Glasgow Govan) from 2007. Born in Ayrshire, Sturgeon is a law graduate of the University of Glasgow. She worked as a solicitor in Glasgow before her election to the Scottish Parliament in 1999. She served successively as the SNP's shadow minister for education, health, and justice. Sturgeon entered the leadership of the SNP but later withdrew from the contest in favour of Alex Salmond, standing instead as depute leader on a joint ticket with Salmond. Both were subsequently elected; as Salmond was still an MP, Sturgeon led the SNP in the Scottish Parliament as Leader of the Opposition from 2004 to 2007. The SNP e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Kay
Jacqueline Margaret Kay (born 9 November 1961) is a Scottish poet, playwright, and novelist, known for her works ''Other Lovers'' (1993), ''Trumpet'' (1998) and ''Red Dust Road'' (2011). Kay has won many awards, including the Somerset Maugham Award in 1994, the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1998 and the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book of the Year Award in 2011. From 2016 to 2021, Jackie Kay was the Makar (National Poet for Scotland), Makar, the poet laureate of Scotland. She was Chancellor (education), Chancellor of the University of Salford between 2015 and 2022. Early life and education Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1961, to a Scottish mother and a Nigerians, Nigerian father. She was adoption, adopted as a baby by a white Scottish couple, Helen and John Kay, and grew up in Bishopbriggs, a suburb of Glasgow. They adopted Jackie in 1961, having already adopted her brother, Maxwell, about two years earlier. Jac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Scottish National Party (Scottish National Party, SNP) on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He then served as leader of the Alba Party from 2021 until his death in 2024. A graduate of the University of St Andrews, he worked as an economist in the Scottish Office, and later, the Royal Bank of Scotland. He was elected to the British House of Commons in 1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987, serving as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Banff and Buchan (UK Parliament constituency), Banff and Buchan from 1987 to 2010. In 1990, he successfully defeated Margaret Ewing in the 1990 Scottish National Party leadership election, SNP leadership contest. Salmond led the party through the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack McConnell
Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister for Finance from 1999 to 2000 and Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs from 2000 to 2001. He has been a Labour life peer in the House of Lords since 2010 and previously served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011. McConnell held the Presidency of the Conference of European Regions with Legislative Power (REGLEG) during November 2003 to November 2004. Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, McConnell studied at the University of Stirling and worked as a mathematics teacher at Lornshill Academy. His political career began when he was elected to Stirling District Council, while he was still teaching. He served as a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention, having campaigned i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
