Olive Fraser (20 January 19099 December 1977) was a Scottish poet born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Both her parents emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

within a year of her birth, leaving Olive behind with her great-aunt in

Nairn Nairn (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland Council council areas of Scotland, area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nair ...

. She won the Calder Prize for English verse while studying English at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, and the Chancellor's Medal for English Verse at

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1935, but did not complete her studies at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

for health reasons. Most of her works were published posthumously.

Education

* Millbank School, Nairn * Rose's Academical Institution, Nairn *

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

(graduated 1930) *

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

(did not graduate due to ill health)

Poetry

The

Scottish Poetry Library The Scottish Poetry Library is a public library with charitable status specialising in contemporary Scottish writing in English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. The library, which is free to join for UK residents, celebrated its 40th anniversary in ...

describes Fraser's style as follows:

"... there was a never-extinguished sadness in Fraser’s life: the knowledge that she was an unwanted child. Her mother was cold to her, and her father and his family never recognised her (both parents returned from Australia, but lived apart). All this was reflected in her writing throughout her life, in poems of heartbreaking poignancy ..."

Towards the end of her life, Fraser's health improved significantly following successful treatment for

hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disease in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as cold intolerance, poor ability to tolerate cold, fatigue, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, co ...

, apparently a significant factor in her earlier depression; in this period which she referred to as 'wonderful years' she "regained energy, and was able to write again ..she visited friends, went on holidays and continued to produce striking poetry until her death in 1977".

Notable works

* ''Benighted in the Foothills of the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...

: January'' * ''The Adder of Quinag'' * ''The Solitaires'' * ''The Wrong Music (collection of Fraser's works, published posthumously, edited by Helena Mennie Shire)'' * ''The Pure Account: the poems of Olive Fraser'
''

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Olive Scottish women poets 1909 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Scottish poets 20th-century Scottish women writers Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Writers from Aberdeen 20th-century Scottish women Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge