Iain Crichton Smith

Iain Crichton Smith (Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn) (January 1, 1928 - October 15, 1998) was a Scottish man of letters, writing in both English and Scottish Gaelic, and a prolific author in both languages. He is known for poetry, short stories and novels.

He was born in Glasgow, but moved to the isle of Lewis at the age of two, where he and his two brothers were brought up by their widowed mother in the small crofting town of Bayble, which also produced Derick Thomson. Educated at the University of Aberdeen, Crichton Smith took a degree in English, and after serving in the National Service Army Education Corps, went on to become a teacher. He taught in Clydebank, Dumbarton and Oban from 1952, retiring to become a full-time writer in 1977, although he already had many novels and poems published. He was awarded an OBE in 1980.

Overview of work

Crichton Smith was brought up in a Scottish Gaelic speaking community, learning English as a second language once he attended school. Friend and poet Edwin Morgan notes that unlike his contemporaries (such as Sorley Maclean and Derick Thomson), Crichton Smith was more prolific in English than in Gaelic, perhaps viewing his writing in what, from Crichton Smith's view, was an imposed non-native language as a challenge to English and American poets. However, Crichton Smith also produced much Gaelic poetry and prose, and also translated some of the work of Sorley Maclean from Gaelic to English, as well as some of his own poems originally composed in Gaelic. It should also be noted that much of his English language work is actually directly related to, or translated from, Gaelic equivalents.

Crichton Smith's work also reflects his dislike of dogma and authority, influenced by his upbringing in a close-knit, island presbyterian community, as well as his political and emotional thoughts and views of Scotland and the Scottish Highlands. Despite his upbringing, Crichton-Smith was an atheist. A number of his poems explore the subject of the Highland Clearances, and his best known novel "Consider the Lilies (1968)" is an account of the eviction of an elderly woman during such times.

Elderly women and alienated individuals are common themes in his work.

Poetry

Crichton Smith's poetry quite often had a character perhaps based on his mother. He also typically used natural images to convey emotion.

His poetry includes:
* Culloden and After (1961) - an attack on that period in British history, especially "Bonnie Charlie".
* Old Woman (1965)
* The Iolaire (date?)

Bibliography

*"The Long River" (1955)
*" Burn is Aran" (1960)
*" Thistles and Roses" (1961)
*" Deer on the High Hills" (1962)
*" An Dubh is an Gorm" (1963)
*" Biobuill is Sansan Reice" (1965)
*" The Law and the Grace" (1965)
*" Modern Gaelic Verse" (1966)
*" The Golden Lyric: an Essay on the Poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid" (1967)
*" At Helensburgh" (1968)
*" Consider the Lilies" (1968)
*" Ben Dorain by Duncan Ban MacIntyre" (1969)
*" From Bourgeois Land" (1969)
*" The Last Summer" (1969)
*" Iain am Measg Nan Reultan" (1970)
*" Maighstirean is Ministearan" (1970)
*" Selected Poems" (1970)
*" Survival Without Error" (1970)
*" My Last Duchess" (1971)
*" Poems to Eimhir translated from Sorley MacLean" (1971)
*" Love Poems and Elegies" (1972)
*" An-t-Adhar Ameireaganach" (1973)
*" The Black and the Red" (1970)
*" Rabhndan is Rudan" (1973)
*" Eader Fealla-dha is Glaschu" (1974)
*" Goodbye Mr Dixon" (1974)
*" Hami Autumn" (1974)
*" The Notebooks of Robinson Crusoe" (1975)
*" The Permanent Island" (1975)
*" An t-Aonaran" (1976)
*" The Hermit and Other Stories" (1977)
*" An End to Autumn" (1978)
*" River, River" (1978)
*" On the Island" (1979)
*" Murdo" (1981)
*" A Field Full of Folk" (1982)
*" Selected Poems 1955-1982" (1982)
*" The Search" (1982)
*" Mr Trill in Hades" (1984)
*" The Exiles" (1984)
*" Selected Poems" (1985)
*" The Tenement" (1985)
*" Towards the Human: Selected Essays" (1986)
*" Twelve More Modern Scottish Poets" (1986) editor, with C. King:
*" A Life" (1986)
*" Burn is Aran" (1987)
*" An t-Eilean agus an Caan" (1987)
*" In the Middle of the Wood" (1987)
*" Moments in Glasshouses" (1987) editor
*" A' Bheinn Oir" (1989)
*" Na Speuclairean Dubha" (1989)
*" The Dream" (1989)
*" Selected Poems" (1990)
*" Turas tro Shaoghal Falamh" (1991)
*" Na Guthan" (1991)
*" An Honourable Death" (1992)
*" Collected Poems" (1992) An Dannsa mu Dheireadh" (1992).
*" Am Miseanaraidh" (first published 2006)

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/alba/foghlam/larachnambard/am_bard/iain_crichton.shtml BBC bio - Làrach nam Bàrd]
* [http://www.abdn.ac.uk/celtic Aberdeen University Celtic Department] Experts on Iain Crichton Smith's writing, especially in Gaelic
* [http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/ScotLit/ASLS/ICSmith.html The Contribution of Iain Crichton Smith] - An essay on Crichton Smith's poetry, by Edwin Morgan
* [http://www.simplyscottish.com/readingroom/history/gaelic_smith.htm Iain Crichton Smith - An extensive exploration of his life, work, and legacy] - Dissertation focusing on the Gaelic prose of Crichton Smith, by Alexander Shevellin
* [http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/general/resources/1982-Iain-Crichton-Smith-Real-People-Real-Place.pdf "Real People in a Real Place" and "Between Sea and Moor"] Iain Crichton Smith's essays