Hugh MacDiarmid is the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve (11 August 1892, Langholm – 9 September 1978, Edinburgh), a significant Scottish poet of the 20th century. He was instrumental in creating a Scottish version of modernism and was a leading light in the Scottish Renaissance of the 20th century. Unusually for a first generation modernist, he was a communist; unusually for a communist, however, he was a committed Scottish nationalist. He wrote both in English and in literary Scots (often referred to as Lallans).
Read more about Hugh MacDiarmid: Early Life and Writings, Politics, Later Writings, Places of Interest, Portrait in National Portrait Gallery Primary Collection
Famous quotes containing the words hugh and/or macdiarmid:
“He kicked the ball with his right foot,
And catched it with his knee,
And through and through the Jew’s window
He gared the bonny ball flee.”
—Unknown. Hugh of Lincoln (l. 5–8)
“Auden, MacNeice, Day Lewis, I have read them all,
Hoping against hope to hear the authentic call . . .
And know the explanation I must pass is this
MYou cannot light a match on a crumbling wall.”
—Hugh MacDiarmid (1892–1978)