Douglas Dunn
Encyclopedia
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born October 23, 1942) is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He currently lives in Scotland.
Background
Dunn was born in InchinnanInchinnan
Inchinnan is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is located on the main A8 road between Renfrew and Greenock, just southeast of the town of Erskine.-History:...
, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
. He was educated at the Scottish School of Librarianship, and worked as a librarian before he started his studies in Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. After graduating with a First Class Honours degree from the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
, he worked in the Brynmor Jones Library under Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
. He was friendly with Larkin and admired his poetry, but did not share his political opinions.
He was a Professor of English at the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
from 1991, becoming Director of the University's Scottish Studies Centre in 1993 until his retirement in September 2008. He is now an Honorary Professor at St Andrews, still undertaking postgraduate supervision in the School of English. He was a member of the Scottish Arts Council
Scottish Arts Council
The Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
(1992–1994). He holds an honorary doctorate (LL.D., law) from the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
, an honorary doctorate (D.Litt., literature) from the University of Hull and St Andrews. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
in 1981, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 2003. Terry Street, Dunn's first collection of poems, appeared in 1969 and received a Scottish Arts Council Book Award as well as a Somerset Maugham Award
Somerset Maugham Award
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
.
Awards and honours
- 1968 Eric Gregory Award
- 1969 Scottish Arts Council Book Award for Terry Street
- 1969 Somerset Maugham AwardSomerset Maugham AwardThe Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
. for Terry Street - 1976 Scottish Arts Council Book Award for Love or Nothing
- 1976 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for Love or Nothing
- 1981 Hawthornden Prize for St. Kilda's Parliament
- 1981 Fellow of the Royal Society of LiteratureRoyal Society of LiteratureThe Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
- 1985 Whitbread Book of the Year for Elegies
- 1989 Cholmondeley Award
- 2003 Officer of the OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Guggenheim Fellowship
- Honorary doctorate (LL.D., law) from the University of DundeeUniversity of DundeeThe University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
- Honorary doctorate (D.Litt., literature) from the University of Hull
- Honorary doctorate (D.Litt., literature) from the University of St Andrews
Selected works
- Terry Street - 1969
- The Happier Life - 1972
- Love or NothingLove or NothingLove or Nothing is the 22nd studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in October 1994.Lead-off track of the album is another rendition of "Between the Sky and You" arranged by David Campbell, her biggest hit single which reached number-one on the Japanese Oricon chart...
- 1974 (winner of the Geoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeGeoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeThe Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman publisher Faber & Faber...
) - Barbarians - 1979
- St. Kilda's Parliament - 1981 (winner of the Hawthornden PrizeHawthornden PrizeThe Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Authors are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature" which can be written in either poetry or prose...
) - Europa's Lover - 1982
- Elegies - 1985
- Secret Villages (collection of short stories) - 1985
- Northlight - 1988
- Andromache (translation of Racine's play of the same nameAndromaqueAndromaque is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre in the private chambers of the Queen, Marie Thérèse, by the royal company of actors, called "les Grands...
) - 1990 - Dante's Drum-Kit - 1993
- Boyfriends and Girlfriends - 1995
- The Donkey's Ear - 2000
- The Year's Afternoon - 2000
- New Selected Poems 1964-2000 - 2002