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Hugh MacDiamid (1892-1978), Langholm Birthplace, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland UK
As you drive into Langholm you'll notice a sign proudly proclaiming itself as the birthplace of Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978). MacDiarmid, born Christopher Murray Grieve in Langholm on 11th August 1892, is an important poet to Scotland, credited as instigating a renaissance in Scottish poetry between the World Wars and a founder member of the National Party of Scotland, now the Scottish National Party (SNP).
He stood as a Scottish National Party candidate in Glasgow's Kelvingrove in 195 but came last. His early work, 'The Scottish Chapbook' is a clear belief in a Scottish Literary Renaissance, with motto 'Not Traditions-Precedents'. MacDiarmid reintroduced the idea of poet as transformer of society. He took on his alter-ego pseudonym - Hugh MacDiarmid in 1922.
Craigend Bed and Breakfast - Lanark
Craigend B&B near Lanark, South Lanarkshire, offers cosy, traditional bed and breakfast accommodation. Ideally located for Glasgow, East Kilbride and more.
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Hugh MacDiarmid - the Scottish Renaissance in Poetry between the Wars
Hugh MacDiarmid's influences were wide and his politics radical - he inherited much of his strong independence from his postman father and was a member of both the Scottish National Party and the Communist Party. His fierce independence saw him expelled from both, in the 1930s then unlike most who left the Communist Party after 1956 and the horrors of Hungry, he actually rejoined the party.
Influences included James Joyce, and Communist sympathisers Auden and Spender. Some of his poetry was written in the Scots language - Water Music is a prime example and a simultaneous ode to James Joyce, others in English like 'Facing the Chair' - "I think again of men as innocent as I am Pent in a cold unjust walk between steel bars, .. Because of the unconcern of men and women, Respectable and respected and professedly Christian, .. And I am suddenly completely bereft Of la grande amitie des choses crees, The unity of life which can only be forged by love".
Although like Robert Burns his poetry drew on the Scots language,(MacDiamid held Burns in high acclaim) he was critical of the sentimentalism within Scotland for Burns which he thought restricted the growth of new Scottish poetic drive. There is no god in MacDiarmid's poetry. Widely considered his greatest work, 'A Drunk man looks at the thistle' was published in 1926. Lines from this poem are inscribed on his gravestone in Langholm, "I'll ha'e nae hauf-way hoose, but aye be whaur, Extremes meet - it's the only way I ken. To doge the curst conceit o' bein' richt That damns the vast majority o' men".
In 1933 MacDiarmid, with wife Valda, moved to the Shetland Island of Whalsay where he lived for 9 years. By 1951 he was back on the mainland in a cottage in Biggar (now a museum). Financial fortune, as was the case with Robert Burns, alluded him through his life and he died in Biggar in 1978 and is buried in Langholm.
The MacDiarmid Memorial Langholm
Langholm's memorial to MacDiarmid, a huge open book sculpture of steel and bronze, situs just to the North of Langholm just off the A7 on the Newcastleton forad 2 miles on. It's clearly signposted, and well worth the effort for the splendid views up here of the Langholm and Newcastleton Hills.
It's moorland up here, one of the few remaining moorland areas in southern Scotland and a site of Special Proection and Scientific Interest.
Craigend Bed and Breakfast - Lanark
Craigend B&B near Lanark, South Lanarkshire, offers cosy, traditional bed and breakfast accommodation. Ideally located for Glasgow, East Kilbride and more.
£30 to £35 Per person B&B
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