Sydney Goodsir Smith
Encyclopedia
Sydney Goodsir Smith was a Scottish poet, artist, dramatist and novelist. He wrote poetry in literary Scots
often referred to as Lallans
, and was a major figure of the Scottish Renaissance
.
He was born in Wellington
, New Zealand, and moved to Edinburgh with his family in 1928. He was at school at Malvern College
. He went to Edinburgh University to study medicine, but abandoned that, and started to read history at Oriel College, Oxford; whence he was expelled, but managed to complete a degree.
His first poetry collection of many, Skail Wind, was published in 1941. Carotid Cornucopius (1947) was a comic novel about Edinburgh. His play The Wallace formed part of the 1960 Edinburgh Festival
.
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. Kynd Kittock's land (1964) was a commission of a poem to be televised by the BBC
.
He died of a heart attack outside a newsagents on Dundas Street in Edinburgh and was buried in Dean Cemetery. He is now commemorated in The Makars' Court.
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
often referred to as Lallans
Lallans
Lallans , a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands meaning the lowlands of Scotland, was also traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole...
, and was a major figure of the Scottish Renaissance
Scottish Renaissance
The Scottish 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 Scottish literary renaissance, although its influence went beyond literature into music, visual arts, and politics...
.
He was born in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand, and moved to Edinburgh with his family in 1928. He was at school at Malvern College
Malvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
. He went to Edinburgh University to study medicine, but abandoned that, and started to read history at Oriel College, Oxford; whence he was expelled, but managed to complete a degree.
His first poetry collection of many, Skail Wind, was published in 1941. Carotid Cornucopius (1947) was a comic novel about Edinburgh. His play The Wallace formed part of the 1960 Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
.
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. Kynd Kittock's land (1964) was a commission of a poem to be televised by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
He died of a heart attack outside a newsagents on Dundas Street in Edinburgh and was buried in Dean Cemetery. He is now commemorated in The Makars' Court.
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 by Oliver and Boyd, 1947
- So late into the night - fifty lyrics, 1944-1948, with a preface by Edith SitwellEdith SitwellDame Edith Louisa Sitwell DBE was a British poet and critic.-Background:Edith Sitwell was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the oldest child and only daughter of Sir George Sitwell, 4th Baronet, of Renishaw Hall; he was an expert on genealogy and landscaping...
, London, P. Russell, 1952 - Robert Ferguson, 1750-1774, Edinburgh, Nelson, 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
- Carotid Cornucopius, caird of the Cannon Gait and voyeur of the Outlook 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 Hugh McDiarmid, 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