Catrìona Lexy Chaimbeul (born 1982), also known as Catriona Lexy Campbell, is a Scottish poet, novelist, dramatist, and actor, working mainly in

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, alongs ...

Life

Chaimbeul was born into a well-known literary family in

Ness, Lewis Ness () is the northernmost part of the Isle of Lewis, a community consisting of about 16 villages, including Lionel, Habost, Swainbost, Cross, North and South Dell, Cross Skigersta, Skigersta, Eorodale, Adabroc, Port of Ness, Knockaird, F ...

. Her father, Tormod Caimbeul (also known as Tormod a' Bhocsair and Norman Campbell), and her uncle Alasdair Caimbeul are both published writers in Gaelic, as was her grandfather Aonghas Caimbeul (Am Bocsair) and her great-uncle,

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

and award-winning

memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) ...

Aonghas Caimbeul Aonghas Caimbeul (9 October 1903 – 28 January 1982), alias Am Puilean, was a Scottish Gaelic Bard, war poet, and memoirist. Early life Caimbeul was born on 9 October 1903 at Swainbost, Ness, Lewis, Ness, Isle of Lewis, where his family had liv ...

(Am Puilean). Her mother,

Mary Jane Campbell Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, is a Gaelic

Traditional singer A traditional singer, also known as a source singer, is someone who has learned folk songs in the oral tradition, usually from older people within their community. From around the beginning of the twentieth century, song collectors such as Cecil ...

. Chaimbeul attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

(

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Mental Philosophy). She worked as an actor and tutor in Gaelic drama, including two years with

Eden Court Theatre Eden Court Theatre (Scottish Gaelic: Cùirt an Easbaig, "Bishop's Court") is a large theatre, cinema and arts venue situated in Inverness, Scotland close to the banks of the River Ness. The theatre has recently undergone a complete refurbishme ...

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

as the Gaelic Drama Artist for

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

and

Lochalsh Lochalsh is a district of mainland Scotland that is currently part of the Highland (council area), Highland council area. The Lochalsh district covers all of the mainland either side of Loch Alsh - and of Loch Duich - between Loch Carron and Lo ...

,Scottish Book Trust profile: Catrìona Lexy Chaimbeul
/ref> and in 2011-12 was the Gaelic Associate Artist at the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

. The family's connection with

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (; ) is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay. Sabhal Mòr is an independent Academic Part ...

, the National Centre for the Gaelic Language and Culture, now part of the

University of the Highlands and Islands The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) () is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 10 colleges and research institutions spread around Inverness, the Highlands and Isl ...

, has included periods as

writer-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

for both Tormod and Alasdair Caimbeul, and Mary Jane is a lecturer at the centre. In January 2013 Catrìona was appointed for a one-year term as writer-in-residence at Sabhal Mòr.Sabhal Mòr Ostaig press release
January 2013

Prizes and awards

*2006

Wigtown Book Festival The Wigtown Book Festival is a ten-day literary festival held each autumn in Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The festival was first held in 1999 and has grown to be the second biggest book festival in Scotland. 2024 Festival ...

Gaelic poetry prize

Bibliography

Chaimbeul has described the major themes of her work as being "inter-personal relationships, secrets and lies, and the supernatural". Novels: * (as Catriona Lexy Campbell) * * * Children's books: * * * * Stage plays: * * Educational publications: * In December 2012 BBC Scotland broadcast a play based on her novel ''Samhraidhean Dìomhair''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaimbeul, Catriona 1983 births Living people Scottish Gaelic women poets Scottish Gaelic poets 21st-century Scottish Gaelic poets Scottish Gaelic dramatists and playwrights Scottish women dramatists and playwrights Scottish Gaelic novelists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Sabhal Mòr Ostaig People from the Isle of Lewis 21st-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Scottish writers 21st-century Scottish women writers Scottish Gaelic women writers Scottish Gaelic writers 21st-century Scottish actresses