The Poetry Association of Scotland (or PAS), formerly known as the Scottish Association for the Speaking of Verse, is a public, membership-based literary society founded in 1924 principally by

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967, during which time he lived at Burcot, Oxfordshire, near Abingdon ...

, along with other figures such as

Marion Angus Marion Emily Angus (1865–1946) was a Scottish poet who wrote in the Scots vernacular or Braid Scots, defined by some as a dialect of English and others as a closely related language. Her prose writings are mainly in standard English. She is s ...

and

Hugh MacDiarmid Christopher Murray Grieve (11 August 1892 – 9 September 1978), best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid ( , ), was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish ...

. Masefield was the first president of the association;Hoyt H. Hudson (1926). With the Living Voice: An Address. ''Quarterly Journal of Speech Education'' 12 (2): 208–10 he gave an address entitled "With the living voice" to the inaugural general meeting in Edinburgh on 24 October 1924, and characterised poetry read aloud as "irresistible". Masefield's address was published in book form in 1925. One of the society's primary initial aims, according to Masefield, was improving the teaching of poetry in schools. In addition to the Edinburgh branch, a Glasgow branch was inaugurated in 1924; the Glasgow Musical Festival's elocution competitions are cited in one newspaper report as the main reason for the interest in poetry reading across Scotland. By 1926 branches had also been formed 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 ...

and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

; the association was then "recommended by a formidable array of distinguished names", with every professor of English across Scotland said to number among its vice-presidents. In the mid-1920s and 1930 the association gave radio broadcasts. A leading member in the early years was Eric Lyall. A recital by

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

in the 1970s in Edinburgh was recalled as an inspiration by

Alexander McCall Smith Sir Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith (born 24 August 1948) is a Scottish legal scholar and author of fiction. He was raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and was formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an ...

. In its present form, the Association, which is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

, runs an annual series of monthly

poetry reading A poetry reading is a public oral recitation or performance of poetry. Reading poetry aloud allows the reader to express their own experience through poetry, changing the poem according to their sensibilities. The reader uses pitch and stress, a ...

s featuring invited poets from both Scottish and international circuits, as well as regular talks on poetry-related topics by distinguished speakers, including its biennial Hugh MacDiarmid Lecture. The Association's events in recent years have generally, though not exclusively, been held in 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 ...

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 ...

. Although a single-tier organisation today, in past decades the Association had multiple area branches throughout Scotland.

Post holders

The following comprises only a partial and non-consecutive list of most recent names: ;Honorary presidents *

Douglas Dunn Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE (born 23 October 1942) is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He is Professor of English and Director of St Andrew's Scottish Studies Institute at St Andrew's University. Background Dunn was born in Inchinnan, ...

* Edwin Morgan *

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 ...

;Chair *Joyce Caplan * Norman Kreitman *

Peter France Peter France, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (born 19 October 1935 at Derry), is a British academic and scholar of French literature, who served as Professor of French at the University of Edinb ...

Professor Peter France FBA

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

(accessed 25 November 2024) ;Secretaries *Mario Relich *Robin Bell * Deric Bolton

References

External links

Poetry Association of Scotland
website Poetry organizations Charities based in Scotland Scottish poetry British writers' organisations 1924 establishments in Scotland {{Poetry-stub