Neil M. Gunn

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Kenn and the Salmon , characters from Highland River , Memorial to Neil M. Gunn in Dunbeath .

Neil Miller Gunn (born November 8, 1891 in Dunbeath ; died January 15, 1973 in Inverness ) was a successful Scottish novelist, critic and playwright who was known as one of the leading figures of the " Scottish Renaissance " of the 1920s and 1930s . Because of his over twenty novels, Gunn was one of the most influential Scottish novelists in the first half of the 20th century. His novel Highland River was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1938.

Like his contemporary Hugh MacDiarmid , Gunn was politically committed to the ideals of Scottish nationalism and socialism. His fictional stories are primarily about the Highlands communities and the landscape of his youth. Although he wrote exclusively in English - instead of in Scots or Gaelic  - influences of the Scottish languages ​​can also be demonstrated.

Life

Neil Miller Gunn was born in the village of Dunbeath in the Caithness region in 1891 . His father was a captain on a fishing boat. Gunn's fascination with the sea and the courage of fishermen can be traced back to memories of his father's work. His mother was the inspiration for the characterful, down-to-earth and tradition-conscious women who appeared in many of his works.

Gunn had eight siblings. When he finished elementary school in 1904, he moved south to live with one of his sisters and her husband in St John's Town of Dalry in Kirkcudbrightshire . He continued his education and passed his public service exams in 1907 . This led to a move to London , where the young Gunn got to know the exciting world of new political and philosophical ideas and the seductions of the modern city.

In 1910 he became a customs officer and was transferred back to the Highlands. He remained a customs officer throughout the First World War until he finally began to work as a writer. In 1921 Gunn married Jessie Dallas Frew and moved with her to Inverness .

Beginnings as an author

During the 1920s, Gunn began to publish short stories as well as poems and short essays in various literary magazines. Through his writing he came into contact with other authors such as Hugh MacDiarmid , James Bridie , Naomi Mitchison , Eric Linklater , Edwin Muir , Lewis Grassic Gibbon and George Blake , who were also connected to the "Scottish Renaissance".

The first novels Gunn published were The Gray Coast (1926) and The Lost Glen (1928). During this time, Gunn was active in the Scottish National Party and formed part of the party.

Professional writing

After the successful publication of the novel Highland River , for which he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1938 , Gunn was able to finish his job as a customs officer and became a full-time writer. He rented a farmhouse near Strathpeffer ; thus began his most productive phase as a novelist, essay writer and journalist. The works Butcher's Broom and The Silver Darling are historical novels which of the Highland Clearances act. In the 1930s and 1940s Gunn was very active as a journalist, he was involved in radio productions and published in various journals, such as Anarchy Magazine in London , the Glasgow Herald and Scots Review .

Young Art and Old Hector and The Green Isle of the Great Deep are both fantasy novels that go back to Scottish folk legends. Gunn's later works in the 1940s and 1950s dealt with questions of totalitarianism . Gunn's last completed work was his autobiography The Atom of Delight . This text shows how Gunn was influenced by the work Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel , which is why Gunn was sometimes referred to as a Highland Zen Master .

Aftermath

Part of the Neil Gunn Memorial on a hill above Strathpeffer , built by the Neil M. Gunn Memorial Foundation.

Gunn is remembered in the courtyard of the Writers Museum on Edinburgh's Lawnmarket . The authors' selection for the courtyard is made by the Writers Museum , the Saltire Society and the Scottish Poetry Library . The Neil Gunn Foundation was established in 1986, and in October 1987 a memorial to him was unveiled on the Heights of Brea in Strathpeffer .

The Neil Gunn Writing Contest was launched in 1988 by the Ross & Cromarty Area Administration (later Highland Council) and the Foundation. The competition is organized by the organization highlifehighland and the Neil M. Gunn Foundation.

Works

Novels

Short stories

  • Hidden Doors (1929)
  • The White Hour (1950)

Essays and biographies

  • Whiskey and Scotland (1935)
  • Off in a Boat (1938)
  • Highland Pack (1949)
  • The Atom of Delight (1956)

See also

  • CJL Stokoe: A Bibliography of the Works of Neil M. Gunn . University Press, Aberdeen 1987, ISBN 978-0080350790 .

literature

Biographies

  • Francis Hart, JB Pick: Neil M. Gunn, a Highland Life . Polygon, Edinburgh 1985, ISBN 0-904919-95-1 . (Original edition: John Murray, London 1981).
  • JB Pick (Ed.): Neil M. Gunn. Selected letters . Polygon, Edinburgh 1986, ISBN 978-0948275296 .
  • JB Pick: Neil Gunn . Northcote House 2004, ISBN 0-7463-0989-9 .

Literary reviews

  • John Burns: Celebration of the Light: Zen in the Novels of Neil M. Gunn . Canongate, Edinburgh 1988, ISBN 978-0389207801 .
  • Douglas Gifford: Neil M. Gunn and Lewis Grassic Gibbon . Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh 1983, ISBN 978-1849211383 .
  • Philippe Laplace: Les Hautes-Terres, l'histoire et la mémoire dans les romans de Neil M. Gunn , Besançon 2006, ISBN 978-2848671321 .
  • Margery McCulloch: The Novels of Neil M. Gunn: A Critical Study . Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh 1987, ISBN 978-0707304984 .
  • Richard Price: The Fabulous Matter of Fact: The Poetics of Neil M. Gunn . University Press, Edinburgh 1991, ISBN 978-0748605361 .
  • Alexander Scott and Douglas Gifford: Neil M. Gunn: The Man and the Writer . Blackwood, Edinburgh 1973, ISBN 978-0851581156 .

Web links

Remarks

Unless otherwise noted: all web links in this section accessed on January 26, 2017.

  1. ^ Verlag Birlinn: Neil M. Gunn , author's page.
  2. ^ A b c Rob Allanson: Neil M. Gunn (1891-1973). The Highland Zen master. Scotland Magazine 59, October 2011, p. 69.
  3. ^ Carl MacDougall: Neil M Gunn . Writing Scotland series , BBC .
  4. ↑ Undiscovered Scotland: Neil M. Gunn .
  5. ↑ Book Description , on Alistair McCleery (Ed.): Nation and Nationalism , Neil Gunn Circle 1. Whittles Publishing, Dunbeath 2013, ISBN 978-184995-211-8 .
  6. ^ Alan MacGillivray: Teaching Scottish Literature , Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 1997, ISBN 978-0-585-08674-3 .
  7. ^ Brian Stableford : The A to Z of Fantasy Literature. Scarecrow Press, Plymouth 2005, ISBN 978-0-8108-6829-8 .
  8. ↑ Undiscovered Scotland: Neil M. Gunn .
  9. ↑ Neil M Gunn Trust, main page of the website: Neil M Gunn Trust ( Memento of the original from May 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.harenet.co.uk archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
  10. ^ High Life Highland: Neil Gunn Writing Competition .
personal data
SURNAME Gunn, Neil M.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gunn, Neil Miller; Guinne, Nial (Gaelic form of name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish writer
DATE OF BIRTH November 8, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Dunbeath , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH 15th January 1973
Place of death Inverness , Scotland