Robert Garioch
Robert Garioch Sutherland, (
May 9 1909 –
April 26 1981), was a
Scottish poet and
translator. His poetry was written almost exclusively in the
Scots language, he was a key member in the literary revival of the language in the mid-
20th century. However, his biggest influences were the
18th century poet
Robert Fergusson and the
Italian Giuseppe Belli.
Garioch (pronounced
Geary) was born in
Edinburgh, the son of a decorator and a music teacher, and attended school in the city before going to the
University of Edinburgh. He was
conscripted into the
Royal Corps of Signals in
1941, and married early the following year. However, whilst serving in
Operation Torch in North Africa, Garioch was captured by
German troops in November
1942 and spent the following three years as a
Prisoner of War.
After Garioch returned to the
United Kingdom in
1945 he became a teacher, a job he held until taking early retirement in
1964. Following his retirement he worked on a number of Scottish literary magazines, most notably
Scottish International. He also spent a number of years in the
1970s as writer-in-residence at Edinburgh University.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Garioch wrote very little poetry concerning his war experiences (although he did write an autobiography about his time in captivity). Instead he focussed primarily on social causes and the plight of the "wee man", a fact that may account for his enduring popularity (particularly on the readings circuit). Aside from his original compositions, Garioch also translated a number of works by other poets into Scots. He translated a number of works by Belli, who was a massive influence on his own poetry, as well as two plays by
George Buchanan (which were originally written in
Latin), and works by
Pindar, and
Hesiod.
*Fulton, Robin (1986).
A Garioch Miscellany. Edinburgh, MacDonald. ISBN 0863340571
*Garioch, Robert (1975).
Two Men and a Blanket: Memoirs of Captivity. London, Southside, ISBN 0900025190.
*Lindsay, Maurice (ed.) (1979).
As I Remember: ten Scottish authors recall how writing began for them. London, Hale, ISBN 0709173210.
