Sydney Goodsir Smith
Sydney Goodsir Smith (26 October 1915 – 15 January 1975) 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.[1] 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. He also claimed to have studied art in Italy, wine in France and mountains in Bavaria.[2]
His first poetry collection of many, Skail Wind, was published in 1941. Carotid Cornucopius (1947) was a comic novel about Edinburgh. His A Short Introduction to Scottish Literature, based on four broadcast talks, was published in 1951.[3] His play The Wallace formed part of the 1960 Edinburgh Festival.
Smith was also associated with the editorial board for the Lines Review magazine.[4][5]
Under the Eildon tree (1948), a long poem in 24 parts, is considered by many his finest work;[1] 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 in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh[4] after a heart attack outside a newsagents on Dundas Street in Edinburgh and was buried in Dean Cemetery in the northern 20th century section, towards the north-west.
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
- A Short Introduction to Scottish Literature, Serif Books, 1951
- So Late into the Night - fifty lyrics, 1944-1948, with a preface by Edith Sitwell, 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
References
- 1 2 "About Sydney Goodsir Smith". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ Smith, Sydney Goodsir (1947), Selected Poems, Saltire Modern Poets series, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, back cover
- ↑ Smith, Sydney Goodsir (1951), A Short Introduction to Scottish Literature, Serif Books, Edinburgh
- 1 2 "Smith, Sydney Goodsir". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/58855. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Royle, Trevor (29 April 1998). "Lines reaches the end". The Scotsman – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . Retrieved 22 November 2014.
External links
- A brief biography of Sydney Goodsir Smith.
- A list of his work at Scottish Poetry Library.
- Brief biography at the official website of Sorley Maclean.