Douglas Dunn
Douglas Dunn is a notable Scottish poet and writer, born on October 23, 1942, in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He pursued his education at the University of Glasgow and the Scottish School of Librarianship, graduating in 1962. Dunn's literary career is marked by his unique blend of poetry and his professional life as a librarian, which spanned various institutions in Scotland and included a stint at the Akron Public Library in Ohio. His first poetry collection, *Terry Street* (1969), garnered critical acclaim and awards, showcasing his keen observations of life in a working-class setting.
Throughout his career, Dunn's works received numerous accolades, including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Whitbread Literary Awards for poetry. He held various academic positions, including a directorship at the Scottish studies program at the University of St. Andrews and was recognized with honors such as the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003. Personal experiences, such as the loss of his first wife, profoundly influenced his writing, leading to the creation of poignant works like *Elegies*. As a prominent figure in modern British poetry, Dunn's contributions continue to resonate, reflecting the complexities of human experience.
Douglas Dunn
Scottish poet, short fiction writer, and critic
- Born: October 23, 1942
- Birthplace: Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Biography
The son of William Douglas, a factory worker, and Margaret (McGowan) Dunn, Douglas Dunn was born on October 23, 1942, in the village of Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland. After attending the University of Glasglow and the Scottish School of Librarianship, from which he graduated in 1962, he married Lesley Balfour Wallace (a senior keeper of an art gallery) on November 26, 1964. He intermingled his writing with a successful career as a librarian, and he worked in numerous university and public libraries in Scotland from 1959 to 1971, including fourteen months spent in the United States working at the Akron Public Library in Akron, Ohio, from 1964 to 1965. Although he and his wife planned to remain in the United States longer, he became eligible for the draft after a year’s residence, and this forced their return; his poem “The Wealth” describes this event, which affected him deeply. It was while he was living in the United States that Dunn decided to acquire a university degree, and after returning to England, he attended the University of Hull; he completed his BA in English with first class honors upon graduation in 1969. While attending Hull, Dunn and his wife lived in a deprived, working-class area, and he used this setting for the Terry Street poems, which formed part one of his first collection. Also during this time, he came under the influence of English writer and fellow librarian Philip Larkin, a relationship that shaped Dunn's work and career.
Dunn’s technique of using detailed and sometimes humorous observations of the ironies of life among the unfortunate residents of Terry Street earned critical praise. In fact, the entire collection, entitled Terry Street and published in 1969, received numerous awards: the Poetry Book Society Choice Award in 1970, a Scottish Council publication award in 1970, and the Somerset Maugham Award in 1972. In recognition of his growing literary reputation, Dunn was appointed to several university writer-in-residence positions in Scotland and Australia, and he continued to work as a poet and freelance writer throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. For his 1974 collection Love or Nothing, Dunn received a second Scottish Council publication award in 1975 and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1976. After the death of his first wife on March 13, 1981, he married Lesley Jane Bathgate, an artist and graphic designer; they settled in Scotland in 1984, in Tayport, Fife, and had one son. Dunn’s work continued to achieve critical success: he received the Hawthornden Prize in 1982 for St. Kilda’s Parliament and the Whitbread Literary Awards for poetry and book of the year for Elegies in 1985. He received an honorary LLD from the University of Dundee in 1987. Beginning in 1991, Dunn served as director of the Scottish studies program at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where he was also a professor of English language and literature. A prolific writer, he became widely known as one of the leading British poets, and perhaps even as a major figure in modern British poetry. In 2003 he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 2013, Dunn received the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.
Author Works
Poetry
Terry Street, 1969
The Happier Life, 1972
Love or Nothing, 1974
Barbarians, 1979
St. Kilda's Parliament, 1981
Europa's Lover, 1982
Elegies, 1985
Northlight, 1988
Dante's Drum-Kit, 1993
The Donkey's Ears, 2000
The Year's Afternoon, 2000
New Selected Poems, 1964–2000, 2002
Invisible Ink, 2011
Second Wind, 2015 (pamphlet, with Vicki Feaver and Diana Hendry)
Short Fiction
Secret Villages, 1985
Boyfriends and Girlfriends, 1995
Translation(s)
Andromache, 1990 (translation of Racine)
Nonfiction
Under the Influence: Douglas Dunn on Philip Larkin, 1987
Essays, 2003
Edited Work(s)
A Choice of Byron's Verse, 1974
Two Decades of Irish Writing, 1975
A Rumoured City: New Poets from Hull, 1982
The Faber Book of Twentieth-Century Scottish Poetry, 1992
The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories, 1995
Robert Browning: Poems Selected by Douglas Dunn, 2004
Twentieth-Century Scottish Poetry, 2006
Bibliography
Crawford, Robert, and David Kinloch, editors. Reading Douglas Dunn. Edinburgh UP, 1992. Presents a biography of Dunn and a critical analysis of Dunn's poetry and short stories.
Dósa, Attila. "Douglas Dunn: A Different Drummer." Beyond Identity: New Horizons in Modern Scottish Poetry. Rodopi, 2009. Presents a critical analysis of Dunn's poetry and career, placing him in the context of Scottish literature and focusing on the class politics of his poetry.
"Douglas Dunn (b. 1942)." Scottish Poetry Library, www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poets/douglas-dunn. Accessed 25 Apr. 2016. Presents a brief biography of Dunn and a bibliography of his publications.
Kennedy, David. Douglas Dunn. Northcote House, 2008. A critical survey of Dunn's literary career, from his first volume of poetry, Terry Street, to New Selected Poems, 1964–2000.
Wroe, Nicholas. "Speaking from Experience." The Guardian, 17 Jan. 2003, www.theguardian.com/books/2003/jan/18/featuresreviews.guardianreview24. Accessed 25 Apr. 2016. Presents a biography of Dunn beginning in 1965 and discussing his literary career and influences.