Norman MacCaig
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Norman Alexander MacCaig (14 November 1910 – 23 January 1996) was a Scottish poet and teacher. His poetry, in
modern English Modern English, sometimes called New English (NE) or present-day English (PDE) as opposed to Middle and Old English, is the form of the English language that has been spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England England is a Count ...
, is known for its humour, simplicity of language and great popularity.


Life

Norman Alexander MacCaig was born at 15 East London Street,
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 ...
, to Robert McCaig (1880–1950?), a chemist from
Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...
, and Joan née MacLeod (1879–1959), from Scalpay in the
Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...
. He was their fourth child and only son. He attended the Royal High School and in 1928 went to 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 ...
, graduating in 1932 with a degree in classics. He divided his time, for the rest of his life, between his native city and Assynt in the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...
. During the
Second World War 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 ...
MacCaig registered as a conscientious objector, a move that many at the time criticised. Douglas Dunn has suggested that MacCaig's career later suffered as a result of his outspoken pacifism, although this is disputed. For the early part of his working life, he was employed as a school teacher in primary schools. In 1967, he was appointed Fellow in Creative Writing at Edinburgh. He became a reader in poetry in 1970 at the University of Stirling. He spent his summer holidays in Achmelvich, and Inverkirkaig, near Lochinver. His first collection, ''Far Cry'', was published in 1943. He continued to publish throughout his lifetime and was prolific in the amount that he produced. After his death a still larger collection of unpublished poems was found. MacCaig often gave public readings of his work in Edinburgh and elsewhere; these were extremely popular and for many people were the first introduction to the poet. His life is also noteworthy for the friendships he had with a number of other Scottish poets, such as Hugh MacDiarmid and Douglas Dunn. He described his own religious beliefs as "
Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
", a comment typical of his half-humorous, half-serious approach to life.


Work


Early

MacCaig's first two books were deeply influenced by the New Apocalypse movement of the thirties and forties, one of a number of literary movements that were constantly coalescing, evolving and dissolving at that time. Later he was to all but disown these works, dismissing them as obscure and meaningless. His poetic rebirth took place with the publication of ''Riding Lights'' in 1955. It was a complete contrast to his earlier works, being strictly formal, metrical, rhyming and utterly lucid. The timing of the publication was such that he could have been associated with The Movement, a poetic grouping of poets at just that time. Indeed many of the forms and themes of his work fitted with the ideas of The Movement but he remained separate from that group, perhaps on account of his Scottishness—all of the Movement poets were English. One label that has been attached to MacCaig and one that he seemed to enjoy (as an admirer of John Donne) is
Metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...
.


Later

In his later years he relaxed some of the formality of his work, losing the rhymes and strict metricality but always strove to maintain the lucidity. He became a free verse poet with the publication of ''Surroundings'' in 1966. Seamus Heaney described his work as "an ongoing education in the marvellous possibilities of lyric poetry". Ted Hughes wrote, "whenever I meet his poems, I'm always struck by their undated freshness, everything about them is alive, as new and essential, as ever". Another poet, beside Donne, whom MacCaig claimed was a great influence on his work was Louis MacNeice. Although he never lost his sense of humour, much of his very late work, following the death of his wife in 1990, is more sombre in tone. The poems appear to be full of heartbreak but they never become pessimistic. An example of this is his poem "Praise of a Man" which was quoted by Gordon Brown in the eulogy he gave at the funeral of Robin Cook in 2005:
The beneficent lights dim but don't vanish. The razory edges dull, but still cut. He's gone: but you can see his tracks still, in the snow of the world.


In schools

MacCaig's poems are studied in schools in Scotland at National 5 and Higher levels, the poems which are currently studied are: * Assisi * Visiting Hour * Basking Shark * Brooklyn Cop * Hotel Room, 12th Floor * Aunt Julia


Awards

* 1985 Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry * 1979
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
* 1975 Cholmondeley Award


Bibliography


Poetry

* Far Cry. London: Routledge, 1943. * The Inward Eye. London: Routledge, 1946. * Riding Lights. London: Hogarth Press, 1955. * The Sinai Sort. London: Hogarth Press, 1957. * A Common Grace. London: Chatto & Windus, 1960. * A Round of Applause. London: Chatto & Windus, 1962. * Contemporary Scottish Verse, 1959–1969 (Edinburgh: Calder & Boyards, 1970). * Measures. London: Chatto & Windus, 1965. * Surroundings. London: Chatto & Windus, 1967. * Rings on a Tree. Chatto & Windus, 1968. * Visiting Hour. London: 1968. * A Man in My Position. London: Chatto & Windus, 1969. * Selected Poems (1979). * The White Bird. London: Chatto & Windus, 1973. * The World's Room. London: Chatto & Windus, 1974. * Tree of Strings. London: Chatto & Windus, 1977. * Old Maps and New. London: Chatto & Windus, 1978. * The Equal Skies. London: Chatto & Windus: Hogarth Press, 1980. * A World of Difference. London: Chatto & Windus, 1983. * Voice Over. London: Chatto & Windus, 1989. * Collected Poems (revised and expanded edn, 1993). * Assisi. Italy * An Ordinary Day * Brooklyn Cop * Aunt Julia *


Anthologies

* * * * * *


References


Further reading

* Smith, Iain Crichton (1959), ''The Poetry of Norman MacCaig'', in Reid, Alexander (ed.), ''Saltire Review'', Volume 6, No. 19, Autumn 1959, The Saltire Society, Edinburgh, pp. 20 - 23 * Fulton, Robin (1963), ''Selves, Myths and Landscapes: The Poetry of Norman MacCaig'', in Magnusson, Magnus (ed.). ''New Saltire'' No. 10: December 1963, New Saltire Ltd., Edinburgh, pp. 20 - 23 * Ross, Raymond J. (1982), ''Interview with Norman MacCaig'', in Murray, Glen (ed.), '' Cencrastus'' No. 8, Spring 1982, pp. 15 & 16,


External links


The Write Stuff
at National Library of Scotland *Film intervie
Norman MacCaig: a man in my positionMacCaig on BBC.co.uk

Interview with Jennie RentonObituary
*
Portrait of Norman MacCaig by Alex Main, Scottish National Portrait GalleryNorman MacCaig Collection at the University of Stirling Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacCaig, Norman 1910 births 1996 deaths People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Officers of the Order of the British Empire Scottish conscientious objectors Scottish Renaissance Academics from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish schoolteachers Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Stirling 20th-century Scottish poets Scottish male poets 20th-century Scottish male writers Writers from Edinburgh