Robert Crawford (Scottish poet)
Encyclopedia
Robert Crawford FRSE FRA
(born 1959) is a Scottish
poet
, scholar and critic
. He is currently Professor of English at the University of St Andrews
.
and grew up in Cambuslang
. He was educated at a private school in Glasgow
, Hutchesons' Grammar School
and at Glasgow University, where he received his M.A. degree
. He then went to Balliol College, Oxford
where he received his D. Phil
.
and he considers himself a "Christian
with a Presbyterian accent
, rather than a Protestant", which he feels has rather assertive overtones in the contemporary West of Scotland. He has written on the relationship between science and religion as well as religious poetry.
Scottish literature, including Robert Burns
and Robert Fergusson
, but he has a keen interest in contemporary poetry, including Edwin Morgan, Douglas Dunn
and Liz Lochhead
. He is a prolific and successful poet himself, and concerns himself with the nature and processes of creative writing. He has a particular interest in the work of T. S. Eliot
and other aspects of Modernism
.
He is interested in the relationship between literature, particularly poetry, and modern science, including Information Technology
. He says he shares an appreciation of ‘poetry and science as kinds of discovery quickened by observation and imagination’. He even goes so far as to claim that 'It is part of the poet's delight even duty, to use such [scientific] words and experience in poetry.
The geography and place names of Scotland feature very prominently in his own poems and he takes a lively interest in the developing politics of contemporary Scotland. As well as science, politics, religion, landscape, and environment and spirituality, his poems deal with gender and sex (particularly married sex).
of the Aberdeenshire
poet
Arthur Johnston.
He was a founder of the international magazine Verse in 1984, and worked as poetry editor for the Edinburgh publisher Polygon in the 1990s. With Simon Armitage
, he is co-editor of The Penguin Book of Poetry from Britain and Ireland since 1945 (1998) and with Mick Imlah
he co-edited The New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse (2000). He publishes poetry, and occasional works of criticism in the London Review of Books
and the Times Literary Supplement.
1988 Eric Gregory Award
1993 Scottish Arts Council Book Award
for Identifying Poets
1999 Scottish Arts Council Book Award
for Spirit Machines
2007 Saltire Society
's Scottish Research Book of the Year for Scotland's Books; The Penguin History of Scottish Literature,
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
.
In August 2011 he was elected a fellow of the British Academy
.
Robin Purves has found him a bad poet:
FRA
Fra is a variant of Friar.FRA may refer to:* Forward Rate Agreement , a financial instrument* Federal Railroad Administration, a division of the United States Department of Transportation...
(born 1959) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, scholar and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
. He is currently 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...
.
Early life
He was born in BellshillBellshill
Bellshill is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 10 miles south east of Glasgow city centre and 37 miles west of Edinburgh. Other nearby towns are Motherwell , Hamilton and Coatbridge . Since 1996, it has been situated in the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area...
and grew up in Cambuslang
Cambuslang
Cambuslang is a suburban town on the south-eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. Historically, it was a large rural Parish incorporating nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, and Halfway. It is known as "the largest village in...
. He was educated at a private school in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Hutchesons' Grammar School
Hutchesons' Grammar School
Hutchesons' Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in the southside of Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded by the brothers George Hutcheson and Thomas Hutcheson in 1641 and was opened originally to teach orphans, starting with "twelve male children, indigent orphans".In 1876 a girls'...
and at Glasgow University, where he received his M.A. degree
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...
. He then went to Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
where he received his D. Phil
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
.
Family
His paternal grandfather was a Minister in the Church of ScotlandChurch of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
and he considers himself a "Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
with a Presbyterian accent
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
, rather than a Protestant", which he feels has rather assertive overtones in the contemporary West of Scotland. He has written on the relationship between science and religion as well as religious poetry.
Themes
His main interest is in Post-EnlightenmentScottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy...
Scottish literature, including Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
and Robert Fergusson
Robert Fergusson
Robert Fergusson was a Scottish poet. After formal education at the University of St Andrews, Fergusson followed an essentially bohemian life course in Edinburgh, the city of his birth, then at the height of intellectual and cultural ferment as part of the Scottish enlightenment...
, but he has a keen interest in contemporary poetry, including Edwin Morgan, Douglas Dunn
Douglas Dunn
Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He currently lives in Scotland.-Background:Dunn was born in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire. He was educated at the Scottish School of Librarianship, and worked as a librarian before he started his studies in Hull...
and Liz Lochhead
Liz Lochhead
Liz Lochhead is a Scottish poet and dramatist, originally from Newarthill in North Lanarkshire.-Background:After attending Glasgow School of Art, Lochhead lectured in fine art for eight years before becoming a professional writer....
. He is a prolific and successful poet himself, and concerns himself with the nature and processes of creative writing. He has a particular interest in the work of T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
and other aspects of Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
.
He is interested in the relationship between literature, particularly poetry, and modern science, including Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. He says he shares an appreciation of ‘poetry and science as kinds of discovery quickened by observation and imagination’. He even goes so far as to claim that 'It is part of the poet's delight even duty, to use such [scientific] words and experience in poetry.
The geography and place names of Scotland feature very prominently in his own poems and he takes a lively interest in the developing politics of contemporary Scotland. As well as science, politics, religion, landscape, and environment and spirituality, his poems deal with gender and sex (particularly married sex).
Language
Crawford writes in a modern English, with a few nods to dialect words, with an occasional made-up word, or one borrowed from technical science. The main forms he uses are short and lyrical. He has translated from the 17th Century LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
of the Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
Arthur Johnston.
He was a founder of the international magazine Verse in 1984, and worked as poetry editor for the Edinburgh publisher Polygon in the 1990s. With Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage CBE is a British poet, playwright, and novelist.-Life and career:Simon Armitage was born in Marsden, West Yorkshire. Armitage first studied at Colne Valley High School, Linthwaite, Huddersfield and went on to study geography at Portsmouth Polytechnic...
, he is co-editor of The Penguin Book of Poetry from Britain and Ireland since 1945 (1998) and with Mick Imlah
Mick Imlah
Michael Ogilvie Imlah , better known as Mick Imlah, was a Scottish poet and editor.-Background:Imlah was brought up in Milngavie near Glasgow, before moving to Beckenham, Kent in 1966. He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he subsequently taught as a Junior Fellow...
he co-edited The New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse (2000). He publishes poetry, and occasional works of criticism in the London Review of Books
London Review of Books
The London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
and the Times Literary Supplement.
Awards
He has won several prizes, notably1988 Eric Gregory Award
Eric Gregory Award
The Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....
1993 Scottish Arts Council Book Award
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...
for Identifying Poets
1999 Scottish Arts Council Book Award
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...
for Spirit Machines
2007 Saltire Society
Saltire Society
The Saltire Society was established in 1936 to encourage everything that might improve the quality of life in Scotland and restore the country to its proper place as a creative force in European civilisation....
's Scottish Research Book of the Year for Scotland's Books; The Penguin History of Scottish Literature,
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
.
In August 2011 he was elected a fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
.
Reviews
His work has met with critical acclaim.
The voice of this poetry is engaging and likeable.
- Peter McDonaldPeter McDonaldPeter McDonald is an author, university lecturer and critic.-Biography:He was educated at Methodist College, Belfast, and University College, Oxford. He has been writing poetry since his teens, and was the winner of national young poet competitions in 1978 and 1979...
, Literary ReviewLiterary ReviewLiterary Review is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at Edinburgh University. Its offices are currently on Lexington Street in Soho, London, and it has a circulation of 44,750. Britain's principal literary monthly, the magazine was...
His Selected Poems is a revelation. Crawford is a very fine poet indeed. This book is aglitter with surprise, with new ways of seeing, of hearing, and of feeling... This astounding collection, rich also in wit, is a book to be homesick for.
- Candia McWilliamCandia McWilliamCandia McWilliam is a Scottish author. Her father was the architectural writer and academic Colin McWilliam.Born in Edinburgh, McWilliam was educated at Girton College, Cambridge, where she obtained first class honours. Her first novel, A Case of Knives, published in 1988, was the winner of a...
, The ScotsmanThe ScotsmanThe Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
Hugh MacDiarmidHugh MacDiarmidHugh MacDiarmid is the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve , 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...
once wrote a poem which contained the line: "Scotland small? Our multiform, our infinite Scotland small ?" Over the past dozen years, Robert Crawford has devoted much industry to soothing MacDiarmid's incredulity. Crawford specialises in poems about Scottish places and people, eulogising not only literary figures but scientists and engineers, such as Henry BellHenry BellHenry Bell was a Scottish engineer who is famed for introducing the first successful passenger steamboat service in Europe.-Early career:...
, James Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
and John Logie BairdJohn Logie BairdJohn Logie Baird FRSE was a Scottish engineer and inventor of the world's first practical, publicly demonstrated television system, and also the world's first fully electronic colour television tube...
, men associated with railways, steam and primitive models of the television. The native genius blends with native chippiness in lines such as: "When World War II ended / Baird equipment broadcast victory in the Savoy / But not one diner said cheerio when you faded".
Leaving this aside, what's appealing about Crawford is the musicality of his language, the surety of his lines and use of enjambement, all abundantly on display in his new Selected Poems. The pieces included here from his first collection, A Scottish Assembly (1990), still feel fresh and energetic, the work of a young writer in the best sense -- inventive, varied, alive with the possibilities inherent in the act of putting words together.
This is primarily a book about contemporary poetry, and what poetry can do now, as seen through its engagement with aspects of contemporary science. It is only fleetingly a book about ‘science and poetry’, where the relationship between two kinds of discipline might be propounded, and it is all the better for letting such moves remain incidental.
Robin Purves has found him a bad poet:
In his collection of essays, Identifying Poets, Robert Crawford claims to use Bakhtin to examine "the way 20th Century poets construct for themselves an identity which allows them to identify with or to be identified with a particular territory" (1) and how they "come to be taken as spokespeople for these territories". (2) A skim through the contents page of his first book of poems, A Scottish Assembly, ....an orgy of naming which at least suggests, before I have examined a single poem in detail, that Crawford's own poetic project is an attempt to "construct for [himself] an identity which allows [him] to identify with or to be identified with a particular territory" (3), a strategy which ought to result in him being "taken as spokes[person]" (4) for the territory called Scotland, if the argument in Identifying Poets is to believed. The following essay reads Crawford's poem "Scotland" in an attempt to isolate the points where its rhetoric and syntax go hand-in-hand with a mystificatory and unreflective politics of place.