Scottish Blog

Scotland has been blessed throughout time with a wide array of talented poets. As with any artistic field, there are Scottish poets that are know by many and those that are relatively obscure. This article has a few examples of Scottish poets that I have enjoyed, and a number of other examples that you might also appreciate.

One cannot talk about Scottish poets, without mentioning Robert Burns. His work can still be seen and heard today, from Burns Day and his dedication to Haggis to the singing of Robert Burns’s ”Auld Lang Syne” at New Years. Robert Burns was born in to a poor farming family. He was educated by a private tutor that his father was able to hire. “Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect” was Robert Burns’s first publication, and sent him into the high classes of Edinburgh society. From here, Robert Burns managed to propel himself from just a Scottish poet, to an important man in politics and academic thought.

Another talented figure in the long list of Scottish poets is James MacPherson, born in 1753 in Ruthven. He studied in King’s College in Aberdeen and Marischal College, later attended University in Edinburgh but did not earn any degree. He soon returned to Ruthven to become a teacher and work on his writing. In 1760 the Scottish poet James MacPherson published his first major work “Fragments of Ancient Poetry collected in the Highlands of Scotland”. This was followed by “Fingal, an Ancient Epic Poem in Six Books, together with Several Other Poems composed by Ossian, the Son of Fingal, translated from the Gaelic Language” in 1761, Temora in 1763 and The Works of Ossian in 1765.

There have been a number of distinct talents in the scope of Scottish poets in more recent times, Norman MacCaig is undoubtedly one of them. He was born in Edinburgh in the year of 1910, in Edinburgh. Norman MacCaig studied classics at the University of Edinburgh, which he followed by working as a primary school teacher whilst writing poetry. His first work, “Far Cry” was published in 1943; this were followed by another 15 books, with the last being published in 1988. The works of this Scottish poet are different from many others, in that it has been described as part of the “New Apocalypse” genre, which was popular in UK during the 1930’s and 1940’s.

There has always been abundance of talented Scottish poets, and there are no signs that this is going to change anytime soon. I encourage you to discover some of there works for yourself so you can appreciate their talents, as Scotland has for generations. As a starting point you might find these Scottish poets of interest to you Henry Erskine, Robert Ferguson, Robert Tannahill . For some more contemporary Scottish poets you might want to explore the works of H M Anstruther, J C Gillies, N Hall, D Lloyd, J J Sen Turner, Marc Sherland. You can also visit Scottish Links Catalogue for more examples of Scottish poets and literature.