Alexander Gray

J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen)

Ed. by J. Derrick McClure, University of Aberdeen
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of York), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 6 Jan 1882
Died 17 Feb 1968
Activity 1902-1968

Places

Born in Scotland
Active in Scotland

Activities

Primary

Poet
Translator

Resources

Gray's Works

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Poetic translations form a remarkably extensive and impressive section of modern literature in Scots, nearly every major poet from MacDiarmid and Soutar onwards including some exercises in translation as part of their output. Sir Alexander Gray is unusual in that his poetry consists of two quite distinct bodies of work, original poems in English and translations in Scots; and that it is almost entirely on the latter group, quantitatively the more substantial, that his reputation rests.

Gray was a scholar of international experience, studying at the Universities of Edinburgh, Göttingen and Paris. After a period of work in the civil service, he was appointed in 1921 to the chair of Political Economy at Aberdeen University, and in 1934 transferred to the corresponding post at Edinburgh

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1147 words

Citation: McClure, J. Derrick. "Alexander Gray". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 September 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5831, accessed 28 November 2024.]