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Norman MacCaig Biography

Norman Alexander MacCaig FRSE FRSL ARSA DLitt OBE (14 November 1910 – 23 January 1996) was a Scottish poet and teacher. His poetry, in modern English, is known for its humour, simplicity of language and great popularity.

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Norman MacCaig Quotes

I was very interested in American poetry for many years. Much less now.

American Poetry, Interested, Literature, Poetry, Years

A terrible thing about getting oldish is that your friends start dying, and in the last ten years I have lost seven or eight of my closest.

Closest, Dying, Eight, Terrible, Years

I don't care whether a book is a first edition or not. I'm not a bibliophile in that word's natural sense.

Book, Care, Edition, Literature

In some ways I'm a reticent man, and for quite a number of years there wasn't very much of my real true deep feelings in my writing.

Men, Quite, Real, Reticent, Writing, Years

Landscape is my religion. . . . God in a green legend, I lean over the pool In a testament of leaves. I dangle my twinkling mood Before me in a cool cave roofed with branches And floored with a skin of water.

Caves, Landscape, Pool, Skins, Water

When I was asked to be Writer in Residence at Edinburgh I thought, you can't teach poetry. This is ridiculous.

Edinburgh, Euthanasia, Residence, Ridiculous, Teach

However, I learned something. I thought that if the young person, the student, has poetry in him or her, to offer them help is like offering a propeller to a bird.

Bird, Like, Literature, Offering, Propeller

Well, I'm a light traveller. I chuck things away.

Chuck, Light, Literature, Things

I used to fish the Border rivers, but nowadays you have to queue up for a shot and I can't stand that.

Borders, Fish, Fish Tanks, Rivers, Stand, Used

When I talk of hearing a poet's voice speaking, I always think of it as in the presence of the man.

Men, Thinking, Voice, Speaking, Think, Hearing

When I was a teacher, teachers would come into my classroom and admire my desk on which lay nothing whatever, whereas theirs were heaped with papers and books.

Book, Classroom, Lay, Literature, Papers, Teacher

In fact a lot of them I think are absolute baloney. Those Charles Olsens and people like that. At first I was interested in seeing what they were up to, what they were doing, why they were doing it. They never moved me in the way that one is moved by true poetry.

Baloney, Literature, People, Poetry, Thinking

I just didn't want to shoot other people.

Literature, People, Shoot, Want

But I hang on to books. I love them. I even think they're very nice decor in a room - far better than paintings. . . That's not quite true!

Book, Books, Nice, Paintings, True, True Love

I never think about poetry except when I'm writing it. I mean my poetry.

Mean, Poetry, Think, Thinking, Writing

People haven't got the interest in long long works these days. A lack of interest which I share.

Literature, Long, People, Works

All those authors there, most of whom of course I've never met. That's the poetry side, that's the prose side, that's the fishing and miscellaneous behind me. You get an affection for books that you've enjoyed.

Affection, Authors, Book, Fishing, Literature, Met

When I go fishing I like to know that there's nobody within five miles of me.

Fishing, Five, Miles, Nobody

But you'd have a job to find many of my poems which would seem to be very influenced by a particular person.

Influenced, Job, Jobs, Literature, Person, Persons

I learned words, I learned words; but half of them died from lack of exercise. And the ones I use often look at me with a look that whispers, Liar.

Exercise, Liar, Liars, Looks, Ones, Use

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Norman MacCaig Biography

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