No one seems to know who will or should fill the inestimably vast boots of Edwin Morgan, who was the greatest living Scottish poet, when he died. His position as Makar is now open, but as it was custom-made for him, no one else is quite right (yet) for it, and new tailorings need to be applied, it seems. Enter the usual roll call of prize-winning names, as per The Guardian piece. Not mentioned in the Guardian piece were Roddy Lumsden, Richard Price, John Glenday, Jen Hadfield, WN Herbert, AB Jackson, or Robert Crawford - but adding them to the list that was given, of Don Paterson, Kathleen Jamie, Douglas Dunn, Liz Lochhead, Robin Robertson, Jackie Kay, and John Burnside - shows the richness of the potential short-list. I suspect either Dunn, Paterson or Robertson will get this, ultimately - but Herbert follows most closely in the steps of Morgan as inventive explorer.
THAT HANDSOME MAN A PERSONAL BRIEF REVIEW BY TODD SWIFT I could lie and claim Larkin, Yeats , or Dylan Thomas most excited me as a young poet, or even Pound or FT Prince - but the truth be told, it was Thom Gunn I first and most loved when I was young. Precisely, I fell in love with his first two collections, written under a formalist, Elizabethan ( Fulke Greville mainly), Yvor Winters triad of influences - uniquely fused with an interest in homerotica, pop culture ( Brando, Elvis , motorcycles). His best poem 'On The Move' is oddly presented here without the quote that began it usually - Man, you gotta go - which I loved. Gunn was - and remains - so thrilling, to me at least, because so odd. His elegance, poise, and intelligence is all about display, about surface - but the surface of a panther, who ripples with strength beneath the skin. With Gunn, you dressed to have sex. Or so I thought. Because I was queer (I maintain the right to lay claim to that
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If I were the Makar Maker I would definitely give it to Kathleen Jamie. However, since I don't have a drop of Scottish blood in my veins, I don't suppose that my opinions will count for much!
Best wishes from Simon