Margaret Bennett (writer)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Margaret Bennett is a renowned Scottish
writer
, folklorist, ethnologist, broadcaster
and singer. Her main interests lies in the field of traditional Scottish folk culture
and cultural identity
of the Scots, home and abroad. The late Hamish Henderson
, internationally distinguished poet and folklorist, said about her: Margaret embodies the spirit of Scotland.
, from her mother's side, and Irish and Lowland Scots
from her father's. She and her three sisters lived their childhood in the Isle of Skye, "in a household where singing, playing music, dancing and storytelling were a way of life as were traditional crafts." The family moved to the Isle of Lewis in the late of 1950s, and then to the Shetland Islands
between 1963–1964, when her father (a civil engineer
) emigrated to Newfoundland
, Canada
. When visiting him in 1965, she came across the newly-founded Folklore Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland
. There, under the direction of Prof. Herbert Halpert
, she realised that her cultural heritage "was a subject you could actually study and get a degree in."
After finishing her teacher training in Scotland
with distinction, Margaret went back to Newfoundland, where she worked as an elementary school teacher in St. John's
between 1967-68. From 1968 she attended the University, intermittently lecturing part-time at St. John's Vocational College, then, in 1975, earned a post-graduate M.A. from M.U.N. She spent a year in Quebec
as folklorist for the Museum of Man
(now Canadian Museum of Civilization
, across the Ottawa River
) before returning to Scotland. Between 1977-1984, she worked as a special education
teacher in the Scottish Education Department. From 1984 to 1995, she was lecturer in Scottish Ethnology at the School of Scottish Studies
of the University of Edinburgh
. Since October 1995 she has been Glasgow Honorary Research Fellow
of the University of Glasgow
(attached to Glasgow-Strathclyde School of Scottish Studies) and lecturer in folklore at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
in Glasgow
.
She is the mother of the late Martyn Bennett
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, folklorist, ethnologist, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and singer. Her main interests lies in the field of traditional Scottish folk culture
Folk culture
Folk culture refers to the lifestyle of a culture. Historically, handed down through oral tradition, it demonstrates the "old ways" over novelty and relates to a sense of community. Folk culture is quite often imbued with a sense of place...
and cultural identity
Cultural identity
Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics....
of the Scots, home and abroad. The late Hamish Henderson
Hamish Henderson
Hamish Scott Henderson, was a Scottish poet, songwriter, soldier, and intellectual....
, internationally distinguished poet and folklorist, said about her: Margaret embodies the spirit of Scotland.
Biography
Margaret Bennett grew up in a family of tradition bearers: GaelicGaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
, from her mother's side, and Irish and Lowland Scots
Lowland Scots
Lowland Scots can refer to:* people of Lowland Scotland* Scots language...
from her father's. She and her three sisters lived their childhood in the Isle of Skye, "in a household where singing, playing music, dancing and storytelling were a way of life as were traditional crafts." The family moved to the Isle of Lewis in the late of 1950s, and then to the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
between 1963–1964, when her father (a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
) emigrated to Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. When visiting him in 1965, she came across the newly-founded Folklore Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
. There, under the direction of Prof. Herbert Halpert
Herbert Halpert
Dr. Herbert Halpert was an American anthropologist and folklorist, specialised in the collection and study of both folk song and narrative.- Biography :...
, she realised that her cultural heritage "was a subject you could actually study and get a degree in."
After finishing her teacher training in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
with distinction, Margaret went back to Newfoundland, where she worked as an elementary school teacher in St. John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
between 1967-68. From 1968 she attended the University, intermittently lecturing part-time at St. John's Vocational College, then, in 1975, earned a post-graduate M.A. from M.U.N. She spent a year in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
as folklorist for the Museum of Man
Museum of Man
The Museum of Man may refer to:* Musée de l'Homme , Paris, France* San Diego Museum of Man, anthropology and pre-Columbian museum in San Diego, California...
(now Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada....
, across the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
) before returning to Scotland. Between 1977-1984, she worked as a special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
teacher in the Scottish Education Department. From 1984 to 1995, she was lecturer in Scottish Ethnology at the School of Scottish Studies
School of Scottish Studies
The School of Scottish Studies was founded in 1951, and is affiliated to the University of Edinburgh. It holds an archive of over 9000 field recordings of traditional music, song and other lore, housed in George Square, Edinburgh...
of the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. Since October 1995 she has been Glasgow Honorary Research Fellow
Research fellow
The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...
of the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
(attached to Glasgow-Strathclyde School of Scottish Studies) and lecturer in folklore at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a conservatoire of music, drama, and dance in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Educational Association, it is the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
She is the mother of the late Martyn Bennett
Martyn Bennett
Martyn Bennett was a Scottish musician who was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...
.
Academic life
- 1967: Dip. Ed (Distinction), Jordanhill College of Education (Strathclyde University), Glasgow.
- 1970: she received a B.A.(Ed.) in Education from the Memorial University of Newfoundland at St. John's.
- 1975: she earned a Post-graduate M.A. in Folklore from M.U.N. defending her thesis "Some Aspects of the Scottish Gaelic Traditions of the Codroy ValleyCodroy ValleyThe Codroy Valley is a valley in the southwestern part of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.The Codroy Valley is a glacial valley formed in the Anguille Mountains, a sub-range of the Long Range Mountains which run along Newfoundland's west coast...
, Newfoundland", where she records and analyses the traditions of the Gaelic-speaking settlers in the Codroy Valley. - 1994: she achieved a Ph.D.Ph.D.A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Ethnology from the University of Edinburgh with a thesis entitled "Hebridean Traditions of the Eastern Townships of Quebec: A Study in Cultural Identity".
Works
- The Last Stronghold: Scottish Gaelic Traditions in Newfoundland (Canada's Atlantic Folklore-folklife series). Canongate Books Ltd, Breakwater Books Ltd, 1989 / ISBN 0862411971 - ISBN 9780862411978, ISBN 0920911382 - ISBN 9780920911389
- Oatmeal and the Catechism: Scottish Gaelic Settlers in Quebec (Mcgill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History). McGill Queens University Press, Birlinn, 1999, 2002, 2004. ISBN 077351810X - ISBN 9780773518100,ISBN 0859765741 ISBN 9780859765749, ISBN 0859764613 - ISBN 9780859764612, ISBN 077351810X - ISBN 9780773518100, ISBN 0773527753
- Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave. Polygon, Birlinn Ltd, 1993, 1998,2004. ISBN 184158293X - ISBN 9781841582931, ISBN 0748661182 - ISBN 9780748661183, ISBN 18415.
- Then another thing-Remembered in Perthshire: reminiscences, rhymes, games, songs and stories. (With Doris Rougvie) Perth & Kinross Council Educations Services, 2000. ISBN 0905452313 - ISBN 9780905452319
- Recollections of an Argyllshire Drover: And Other Selected Papers Eric Cregeen (ed. Margaret Bennett). John Donald Publishers Ltd, 2004. ISBN 085976575X - ISBN 9780859765756
- ‘See when You look Back…’ Clydeside Reminiscences of the Home Front, 1939-45. The Mitchell Library, 2005. ISBN O906169585
- It's Not the Time You Have...': Notes and Memories of Music-Making with Martyn Bennett. Grace Note Publications, 2006. ISBN 0955232619 - ISBN 9780955232619
Discography
- Love and Loss – Remembering Martyn in Scotland's Music, 2007
- Take the road to Aberfeldy, 2007
- Glen Lyon, 2002
- In the sunny long ago…, 2000 (all arrangements and production by Margaret and Martyn Bennett)
Prizes and Homages (main)
- Michaelis-Jena Ratcliff Folklore Prize (1991, for her book The Last Stronghold)
- The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Award (1994)
- The Donald Fergusson International Essay Prize (1995) for her study of Gaelic Song in Eastern CanadaEastern CanadaEastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...
- Master Music Maker Award (1998)
- The Clio Award for Quebec, Canadian Historical AssociationCanadian Historical AssociationThe Canadian Historical Association is a Canadian organization founded in 1922 for the purposes of promoting historical research and scholarship. Marius Barbeau, the anthropologist, was its founding Secretary...
/Société historique du Canada (1999, for her book Oatmeal and the Catechism) - Exceptional Celtic Woman Award from Celtic Women InternationalCeltic Women InternationalCeltic Women International is an American nonprofit organization, dedicated to "honor, celebrate and promote Celtic women and their heritage."The CWI has the only tartan registered by the Scottish Tartans Authority to a women's group...
, (2003) - Honorary Life Membership of the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland (2007)
External links
- Personal page
- Biography at The American Folklife Center