Frae Rab Wilson on Facebook
A juist postit this oan Bella Caledonia (http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/…/02/15/and-the-next-makar-is/…) anent the chuisen o the next Scots makar;
Ma take oan the next Makar wid be this; ah’ll ettle oan it bein a poet wha’s affiliated tae ane o the universities. The tribble wi this is that poets wha are in the poackets o the establishment wull no be verra likely tae bite the haund that hus bin feedin thaim! E’en tho, as Eliot said, it is their duty tae bite the haund that feeds thaim!
Eliot alsae hud some ither wise saws;
“A poet must take as his material his own language as it is actually spoken around him.”
“The duty of the poet, as poet, is only indirectly to his people: his direct duty is to his language, first to preserve, and second to extend and improve.”
Ower mony modren established poets rely oan the establishment fir their leevin.
Fir masel, ma ain independent minded view wid be tae write maistly in Scots. Mind, there a wheen daicent makars in Scotland fir wha the first chyce widnae be Scots, an thon’s ok tae an extent. But the clue is kindae in the title; ‘Scots Makar’. Dis that no suggest a direct link tae the great Scots Makars an a duty tae keep the auncient tung o Scotland alive?
Here’s howpin the next Makar is ane wi teeth that wull rumble things up a bit! Firget the glitterin prizes an gie us poetry that speiks the truth anent social justice in oor laund in the leid o the people wha bide in the laund.