Norman MacCaig

Juliet Linden Bicket (University of Glasgow)

Ed. by J. Derrick McClure, University of Aberdeen
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 14 Nov 1910
Died 23 Jan 1996
Activity 1939-1992

Places

Born in Scotland
Active in Scotland

Activities

Primary

Poet
Teacher/ Professor

Resources

MacCaig's Works

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Norman MacCaig is best known as a poet associated with the twentieth century Scottish Literary Renaissance. Unlike his friend and contemporary Hugh MacDiarmid, MacCaig’s nationalism was not expressed through the use of Scots as a poetic medium; but though his poetry is in English, he often wrote about the Scottish landscape he loved best, including Assynt in Sutherland, and of his hometown of Edinburgh, as well as poetry inspired by travelling in Europe and North America. His poetic voice is distinctively his own, often characterised by compassion for and a love of the natural world, and also by concision, wit, and a marked influence from his Classical education.

Norman Alexander MacCaig was born on 14th November 1910, in Edinburgh. He was the youngest of four children (his sisters were

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2339 words

Citation: Bicket, Juliet Linden. "Norman MacCaig". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 June 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2841, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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