Sydney Goodsir Smith (26 October 1915 – 15 January 1975) was a New Zealand-born Scottish poet, artist, dramatist and novelist. He wrote poetry in literary

Scots Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...

often referred to as

Lallans Lallans (; a variant of the Modern Scots word ''lawlands'' meaning the lowlands of Scotland), is a term that was traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole. However, more recent interpretations assume it refers to the dialects o ...

(Lowlands dialect), and was a major figure of the

Scottish Renaissance The Scottish Renaissance ( gd, Ath-bheòthachadh na h-Alba; sco, Scots Renaissance) was a mainly literary movement of the early to mid-20th century that can be seen as the Scottish version of modernism. It is sometimes referred to as the Scotti ...

Life

He was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

, New Zealand, the son of Catherine Goodsir Gelenick and

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Early life and education Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801 ...

, a pioneer in forensic science who later became a Regius Professor in forensic medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He moved to Edinburgh with his family in 1928. He was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is an independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school in the British sense of the term and is a member of the Rugby Group and of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

. He went to the

to study medicine, but abandoned that, and started to study history at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

; whence he was expelled, but managed to complete a degree. He also claimed to have studied art in Italy, wine in France and mountains in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. In the late 1930s, Smith was introduced to the works of

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 Ren ...

by Hector MacIver, a literary critic who taught English at Edinburgh's Royal High School. In a letter dated 1 November 1941 he informed MacDiarmid that he 'gave up writing English for Scots' after reading '' A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle'' (1926). His first poetry collection, ''Skail Wind'', was published in 1941. ''Carotid Cornucopius'' (1947) was a comic novel about Edinburgh. ''Under the Eildon Tree'' (1948), a long poem in 24 parts, is considered by many his finest work; ''The Grace of God and the Meth-Drinker'' is a much-anthologised poem. His ''A Short Introduction to Scottish Literature'', based on four broadcast talks, was published in 1951. His play ''The Wallace'' formed part of the 1960

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

. ''Kynd Kittock's Land'' (1964) was a poem commissioned by the BBC for television broadcast. Other works broadcast by the BBC as dramas or poetic dialogues include ''The Death of Tristram and Iseult'' (1947), ''The Vision of the Prodigal Son'' (1959), ''The Stick Up'' or ''Full Circle'' (1961), ''The Twa Brigs'' (1964), ''A Night at Ambrose's'' (1972), ''Macallister'' (1973), and ''Gowdspink in Reekie'' (1976). Unpublished works include ''Bottled Peaches'', a novel which draws on his life as a student in Oxford, and ''The Merrie Life and Dowie Death of Colickie Meg'', a dramatic adaptation and continuation of ''Carotid Cornucopius''. As a young man, Smith's ambition was to be an artist. While travelling in Europe in 1936–37, he made drawings in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France. In post-war Scotland he made sketches of contemporary subjects and drawings to illustrate his poems. He also sketched and painted watercolours on trips to the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia * So ...

with

Denis Peploe Denis Frederic Neal Peploe (25 March 1914 – 22 May 1993) was a Scottish artist and sculptor known for his landscapes. Biography Peploe was born in Edinburgh as the younger son of Margaret and Samuel John Peploe. His father was an artist and D ...

and Sorley MacLean. Drawings collected by the architect Ian Begg were published in a book edited by Joy Hendry in 1998. Smith was art critic of ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pa ...

'' from 1960 to 1967. Smith was a member of the Scottish Arts Club and was associated with the editorial board for the '' Lines Review'' magazine. He died in the

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

after a heart attack outside a newsagents on Dundas Street in Edinburgh, and was buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

in the northern 20th century section, towards the north-west. His second wife, Hazel Williamson, lies with him.

Memorials

He is commemorated by a "pavement poem" in the "

Makars' Court Makars' Court is a courtyard in central Edinburgh, Scotland. It forms part of Lady Stair's Close, which connects the Lawnmarket with The Mound to the north, and is next to the Writers' Museum. Described as an "evolving national literary monument ...

" a section of James Court off the Lawnmarket on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

Works

*''Skail Wind - poems'', Edinburgh, The Chalmers press, 1941 *''The Wanderer, and other poems'', Edinburgh, Oliver and Boyd, 1943 *''The Deevil’s Waltz'', Glasgow, W. MacLellan, 1946 *''Selected Poems'', Edinburgh, published for

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 was "set up to promote and celebrate the uniqueness of Scottish culture and Scotland’s ...

by Oliver and Boyd, 1947 *''A Short Introduction to Scottish Literature'', Serif Books, 1951 *''So Late into the Night - fifty lyrics, 1944-1948'', with a preface by

Edith Sitwell Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (7 September 1887 – 9 December 1964) was a British poet and critic and the eldest of the three literary Sitwells. She reacted badly to her eccentric, unloving parents and lived much of her life with her governess ...

, London, P. Russell, 1952 *''Orpheus and Eurydice - a dramatic poem'', Edinburgh, M. Macdonald, 1955 *''Figs and Thistles'', Edinburgh, Oliver and Boyd, 1959 *''The Wallace, a triumph in five acts'', Edinburgh, Oliver and Boyd, 1960 *''The Vision of the Prodigal Son'', M. Macdonald, 1960 *''Carotid Cornucopius, caird o the Cannon Gait and voyeur o the Outluik Touer'', Edinburgh, M. Macdonald, 1964 *''Kynd Kittock’s Land'', Edinburgh, M. Macdonald, 1965 *''Fifteen Poems and a Play'', Edinburgh, Southside, 1969 *''Collected Poems, 1941-1975'', with an introduction by

, London, John Calder, 1975 *''The Drawings of Sydney Goodsir Smith, poet, collected by Ian Begg'', edited by Joy Hendry, Edinburgh, Chapman Press, on behalf of The New Auk Society, 1998 *''A Publisher of the Nineties (Leonard Smithers) in The Holiday Book.'' 1946 (Ed. by John Singer) *''Gowdspink in Reekie'', Little Brown and Co., 1974 As editor: *''Robert Fergusson, 1750–1774: essays by various hands'' (Edinburgh: Nelson, 1952) *''Gavin Douglas: a selection from his poetry'' (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1959) *'' The Merry Muses of Caledonia'', with James Barke and

John DeLancey Ferguson John DeLancey Ferguson (November 13, 1888 – August 13, 1966) was a writer and academic. Early life Ferguson was born at Scottsville, New York in 1888. Academic career Ferguson attended Rutgers University, where he achieved a Bachelor of Art ...

(Edinburgh: M. Macdonald, 1959). *''

'': a Festschrift, with Kulgin Duval (Edinburgh: K.D. Duval, 1962) *''A Choice of Burns’s Poems and Songs'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1966)

Reviews

* Campbell, Donald (1975), review of ''Gowdspink in Reekie'', in Burnett, Ray (ed.), ''Calgacus'' 2, Summer 1975, pp. 54 & 55, * Burns, John (1983), review of ''Carotid Cornucopius'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed), ''

Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, Un ...

'' No. 14, Autumn 1983, pp. 50 & 51,

References

External links