Edwin Morgan (poet)
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Edwin George Morgan (27 April 1920 – 19 August 2010)
, ''
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was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
poet and translator associated with the Scottish Renaissance. He is widely recognised as one of the foremost Scottish poets of the 20th century. In 1999, Morgan was made the first Glasgow Poet Laureate. In 2004, he was named as the first
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 cen ...
or National Poet for Scotland.


Life and career

Morgan was born in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and grew up in
Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...
. His parents were
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
. He convinced his parents to finance his membership of several book clubs in Glasgow. The ''Faber Book of Modern Verse'' (1936) was a "revelation" to him, he later said. Morgan entered the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
in 1937. He studied French and Russian, while self-educating in "a good bit of Italian and German" as well. After interrupting his studies to serve in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as a
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conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
with the
Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...
, Morgan graduated in 1947 and became a lecturer at the university. He worked there until his retirement as a full professor in 1980. Morgan described 'CHANGE RULES!' as 'the supreme graffito', whose liberating double-take suggests both a lifelong commitment to formal experimentation and his radically democratic left-wing political perspectives. From traditional sonnet to blank verse, from epic seriousness to camp and ludic nonsense; and whether engaged in time-travelling space fantasies or exploring contemporary developments in physics and technology, the range of Morgan's voices is a defining attribute. Morgan first expressed his identity as a gay man in ''Nothing Not Giving Messages: Reflections on his Work and Life'' (1990). He had written many famous love poems, among them "Strawberries" and "The Unspoken", in which the love object was not gendered; this was partly because of legal problems at the time but also out of a desire to universalise them, as he made clear in an interview with Marshall Walker. At the opening of the Glasgow LGBT Centre in 1995, he read a poem he had written for the occasion, and presented it to the centre as a gift. In 2002, he became the patron of Our Story Scotland. At the opening of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
building in
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 ...
on 9 October 2004,
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. ...
read a poem written for the occasion by Morgan, titled "Poem for the Opening of the Scottish Parliament". She was announced as Morgan's successor as Scots Makar in January 2011. Near the end of his life, Morgan reached a new audience after collaborating with the Scottish band Idlewild on their album '' The Remote Part''. In the closing moments of the album's final track "In Remote Part/ Scottish Fiction", he recites a poem, "Scottish Fiction", written specifically for the song. In 2007, Morgan contributed two poems to the compilation '' Ballads of the Book'', for which a range of Scottish writers created poems to be made into songs by Scottish musicians. Morgan's songs "The Good Years" and "The Weight of Years" were performed by Karine Polwart and Idlewild respectively.
Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...
Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...
"
aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Th ...
formal homage" during a 2005 visit. In later life Morgan was cared for at a residential home as his health worsened. He published a collection in April 2010, months before his death, titled ''Dreams and Other Nightmares'' to mark his 90th birthday. Up until his death, he was the last survivor of the canonical 'Big Seven' (the others being Hugh MacDiarmid, Robert Garioch,
Norman MacCaig Norman Alexander MacCaig (14 November 1910 – 23 January 1996) was a Scottish poet and teacher. His poetry, in modern English, is known for its humour, simplicity of language and great popularity. Life Norman Alexander MacCaig was born at 15 E ...
,
Iain Crichton Smith Iain Crichton Smith, (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn''; 1 January 1928 – 15 October 1998) was a Scottish people, Scottish poet and novelist, who wrote in both English and Gaelic. He was born in Glasgow, but moved to the Isl ...
,
George Mackay Brown George Mackay Brown (17 October 1921 – 13 April 1996) was a Scottish poet, author and dramatist with a distinctly Orkney, Orcadian character. He is widely regarded as one of the great Scottish poets of the 20th century. Biography Early life a ...
, and Sorley MacLean). On 19 August 2010, Edwin Morgan died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
in Glasgow at the age of 90.Scotland's national poet Edwin Morgan dies aged 90
, STV.
The Scottish Poetry Library made the announcement in the morning. Tributes came from, among others, politicians
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 Sc ...
and
Iain Gray Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having p ...
, as well as
Carol Ann Duffy Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, and her term expired in 2019. She wa ...
, the UK Poet Laureate. In his will he left almost £1 million to the Scottish National Party. Morgan also left £45,000 to a number of friends, former colleagues and charity organisations and set aside another £1 million for the creation of th
Edwin Morgan Poetry Award
an annual award scheme for young poets in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. In 2012, The Edwin Morgan Trust was established to administer the Award which the poet wished to create from the earnings of his writing career. In April 2020 The Edwin Morgan Trust celebrated his life and work with a year long centenary programme.


Poetry

Morgan worked in a wide range of forms and styles, from the
sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...
to
concrete poetry Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...
. His ''Collected Poems'' appeared in 1990. He has also translated from a wide range of languages, including Russian, Hungarian, French, Italian,
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, Spanish, Portuguese, German and
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
(''Beowulf''). Many of these are collected in ''Rites of Passage. Selected Translations'' (1976). His 1952 translation of ''Beowulf'' has become a standard translation in America. Morgan was also influenced by the American beat poets, with their simple, accessible ideas and language being prominent features in his work. His poetry may be studied as a Scottish Text for National 5 English. Currently, if Edwin Morgan is studied at National 5, pupils study: "Winter" – a depressed narrator describing Bingham's pond during winter; "In the Snackbar"; "Glasgow 5 March 1971"; "Good Friday" – a poem about a bus journey on the Christian holiday; "Trio" – a tale about the power of friendship; "Glasgow Sonnet (I)" – a
petrarchan sonnet The Petrarchan sonnet, also known as the Italian sonnet, is a sonnet named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, although it was not developed by Petrarch himself, but rather by a string of Renaissance poets.Spiller, Michael R. G. The Devel ...
about poverty. In 1968 Morgan wrote "Starlings in George Square". This poem could be read as a comment on society's reluctance to accept the integration of different races. Other people have also considered it to be about the Russian Revolution in which "Starling" could be a reference to "Stalin". Other notable poems include: * "The Death of Marilyn Monroe" (1962) – an outpouring of emotion and a social criticism after the death of prominent actress,
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
* "King Billy" (1968) – flashback of the gang warfare in Glasgow led by Billy Fullerton in the 1930s. * "Glasgow 5 March 1971" – robbery by two youths by pushing an unsuspecting couple through a shop window on
Sauchiehall Street Sauchiehall Street () is one of the main shopping streets in the Glasgow city centre, city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, Glasgow, Argyle Street. Although commonly associated with the city centre, Sau ...
* "In the Snackbar" – concise description of an encounter with a disabled pensioner in a Glasgow café. * "A Good Year for Death" (26 September 1977) – a description of five famous people from the world of popular culture who died in 1977 * "Poem for the Opening of the Scottish Parliament" – which was read by
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. ...
at the opening ceremony because he was too ill to read it in person. (9 October 2004)


Published work


Books

* ''Dies Irae'', 1952 – first published in ''Poems of Thirty Years'', Carcanet New Press, 1982 * ''Beowulf: A Verse Translation into Modern English'', Hand and Flower Press, 1952 * ''The Vision of Cathkin Braes and Other Poems'', William MacLellan, 1952 * ''The Cape of Good Hope'' (limited edition), Pound Press, 1955 * ''Poems from Eugenio Montale'' (translator), School of Art, University of Reading, 1959 * Sovpoems: Brecht, Neruda, Pasternak, Tsvetayeva, Mayakovsky, Martynov, Yevtushenko (translator), Migrant Press, 1961 * Collins Albatross Book of Longer Poems (editor), Collins, 1963 * Starryveldt, Eugen Gomringer Press, 1965 * Emergent Poems, Hansjörg Mayer, 1967 * Gnomes, Akros publications, 1968 * The Second Life, Edinburgh University Press, 1968 * Selected Poems of Sándor Weöres and Selected Poems of Ferenc Juhász (translator and introduction for Sándor Weöres), Penguin, 1970 * The Horseman's Word: Concrete Poems, Akros, 1970 * Twelve Songs, Castlelaw Press, 1970 * Glasgow Sonnets, Castlelaw Press, 1972 * Instamatic Poems, Ian McKelvie, 1972 * Wi the haill voice: 25 poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky (translator and glossary), Carcanet, 1972 * From Glasgow to Saturn, Carcanet, 1973 * Nuspeak8: Being a Visual Poem by Edwin Morgan, Scottish Arts Council, 1973 * The Whittrick: a Poem in Eight Dialogues, Akros, 1973 * Essays, Carcanet, 1974 * Fifty Renascence Love-Poems (translator), Whiteknights Press, 1975 * Rites of Passage (translator), 1976 * Edwin Morgan: an interview by Marshall Walker, Akros, 1977 * The New Divan, 1977 * Selected poems by August Graf von Platen-Hallermünde (translator), Castlelaw Press, 1978 * Star Gate: Science Fiction Poems, Third Eye Centre, 1979 * Scottish Satirical Verse (compiler), Carcanet, 1980 * Grendel, Mariscat, 1982 * Poems of Thirty Years, Carcanet New Press, 1982 * The Apple-Tree (modern version of a medieval Dutch play), Third Eye Centre, 1982 * Takes/Grafts, Mariscat, 1983 * Sonnets from Scotland, Mariscat, 1984 * Selected Poems, 1985 * From the Video Box, Mariscat, 1986 * Newspoems, Wacy, 1987 * Tales from Limerick Zoo (illustrated by David Neilson), Mariscat, 1988 * Themes on a Variation, 1988 * Collected Poems (republished 1996 with index), 1990 * Crossing the Border: Essays on Scottish Literature, 1990 * Nothing Not Giving Messages: Reflections on his Work and Life (edited by Hamish Whyte), Polygon, 1990 * Hold Hands Among the Atoms: 70 Poems, Mariscat, 1991 * Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac: A New Verse Translation (translator), 1992 * Fragments by József Attila (translator), Morning Star Publications, 1992 * MacCaig, Morgan, Lochhead: Three Scottish Poets (edited and introduced by Roderick Watson), Canongate, 1992 *
Cecilia Vicuña Cecilia Vicuña (born 1948) is a Chilean poet and artist based in New York and Santiago, Chile. Her work is noted for themes of language, memory, dissolution, extinction and exile. Critics also note the relevance of her work to the politics of e ...
:PALABRARmas/WURDWAPPINschaw, Morning Star Publications, 1994 * Sweeping Out the Dark, 1994 * Long Poems – But How Long? (W. D. Thomas Memorial Lecture), University of Wales, Swansea, 1995 * Collected Translations, 1996 * St. Columba: The Maker on High (translator), Mariscat, 1997 * Virtual and Other Realities, 1997 * Christopher Marlowe's Dr Faustus (a new version), Canongate, 1999 * Demon, Mariscat, 1999 * A.D.: A Trilogy of Plays on the Life of Jesus, Carcanet, 2000 * Jean Racine: Phaedra (translation of
Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere With ...
), 2000 ( Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize) * New Selected Poems, 2000 * Attila József: Sixty Poems (translator), Mariscat, 2001 * Cathures, 2002 * Love and a Life: 50 Poems by Edwin Morgan, Mariscat, 2003 * The Battle of Bannockburn (translator), SPL in association with Akros and Mariscat, 2004 * Tales from Baron Munchausen, Mariscat, 2005 * The Play of Gilgamesh, 2005 * Thirteen Ways of Looking at Rillie, Enitharmon, 2006 * A Book of Lives, 2007


Articles

* ''The Politics of Poetry'', review of ''Yeats, Eliot, Pound and the Politics of Poetry'' by
Cairns Craig Robert Cairns Craig (born 16 February 1949) is a Scottish literary scholar, specialising in Scottish and modernist literature. He has been Glucksman Professor of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen since 2005. Before that, ...
, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), '' Cencrastus'' No. 12, Spring 1983, p. 44, * ''
Novy Mir ''Novy Mir'' (, ) is a Russian-language monthly literary magazine. History ''Novy Mir'' has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine ''Mir Bozhy'' ("God's World"), w ...
and the
Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...
Whirlwind'', a review of ''Within the Whirlwind'' by Eugenia Ginsburg and ''"
Novy Mir ''Novy Mir'' (, ) is a Russian-language monthly literary magazine. History ''Novy Mir'' has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine ''Mir Bozhy'' ("God's World"), w ...
": A Case Study in the Politics of Literature 1952 - 1958'' by Edith Rogovin Frankel (ed.), in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), '' Cencrastus'' No. 14, Autumn 1983, p. 54,


Reviews

* Hearn, Sheila G. (1980), review of Edwin Morgan (ed.), ''Scottish Satirical Verse'', in '' Cencrastus'' No. 4, Winter 1980–81, p. 49,


Awards and honours

* 1972 PEN Memorial Medal (Hungary) * 1982 OBE * 1983 Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award for ''Poems of Thirty Years'' * 1985 Soros Translation Award (New York) * 1998 Stakis Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year for ''Virtual and Other Realities'' * 2000 Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry * 2001 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize for ''Jean Racine: Phaedra'' * 2002 The
Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland, founded in 1936. The society organises lectures and publishes pamphlets, and presents a series of awards in the fiel ...
's
Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1655 – September 1716) was a Scottish writer and politician, remembered as an advocate for the non-incorporation of Scotland, and an opponent of the 1707 Acts of Union 1707, Act of Union between Scotland and Engla ...
award for notable service to Scotland * 2003 Jackie Forster Memorial Award for Culture * 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature, from the Saltire Society and the
Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council (), was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the Scottish Government as well as National Lottery funds ...
* 2007 Shortlisted for T. S. Eliot Prize for ''A Book of Lives''. * 2008 Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award


Further reading

* Hubbard, Tom, "Doing Something Uncustomary: Edwin Morgan and Attila Józef", in Hubbard, Tom (2022), ''Invitation to the Voyage: Scotland, Europe and Literature'', Rymour, pp. 115 - 124, * Osmond-Williams, Philippa. ''Changing Scotland: A social history of love in the life and work of Edwin Morgan.'' PhD diss., University of Glasgow, 2019.


References


Further reading

* Scott, Alexander (1982), ''Edwin Morgan: Experimenter Extraordinary'', in Lindsay, Maurice (ed), ''The Scottish Review: Arts and Environment'' 28, pp. 22–26, * White, Kenneth (1983), ''Morgan's Range'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (1983), '' Cencrastus'' No. 12, Spring 1983, pp. 32–35, * Wącior, Sławomir (2013), ''From Slate to Jupiter - Poetic Patterns of Edwin Morgan's "Sonnets from Scotland"'' in ''Scottish Studies Review'', 1, 47–57,


External links


Edwin Morgan Trust official site – home of the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award and 2020 Edwin Morgan Centenary

The Edwin Morgan Archive at the Scottish Poetry Library

Enitharmon Press
website
BBC Scotland biography and bibliography
website
"Strawberries"
via ''The Guardian'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Edwin 1920 births 2010 deaths Academics of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Officers of the Order of the British Empire Scottish conscientious objectors People educated at the High School of Glasgow British Poetry Revival Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature British gay writers Scottish LGBTQ poets Writers from Glasgow People from Rutherglen People educated at Rutherglen Academy Scots Makars Scottish Renaissance Scottish scholars and academics Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Deaths from pneumonia in Scotland Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Hungarian–English translators 21st-century Scottish writers 20th-century Scottish poets 21st-century Scottish poets 21st-century British male writers Scottish male poets Scottish science fiction writers 20th-century Scottish translators 21st-century British translators 20th-century Scottish male writers Claddagh Records artists Scottish republicans Visual poets