Hugh MacDiarmid

thumb|upright=1.1|I'll ha'e nae hauf-way hoose, but aye be whaur Extremes meet. Hugh MacDiarmid (11 August 1892 – 9 September 1978) is the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve, who was a leading Scottish poet. He was a member of the Communist party and a prominent Scots Nationalist. Quotes thumb|upright=1.1|To meddle wi the thistle and to pluck The figs frae't is my metier, I think. thumb|upright=1.1|The rose of all the world is not for me.I want for my partOnly the little white rose of ScotlandThat smells sharp and sweet — and breaks the heart. I amna fou' sae muckle as tired — deid dune. It's gey and hard wark coupin' gless for glessWi' Cruivie and Gilsanquhar and the like,And I'm no' juist as bauld as aince I wes. A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle (1926), opening lines I'll ha'e nae hauf-way hoose, but aye be whaurExtremes meet — it's the only way I kenTo dodge the curst conceit o' bein' richtThat damns the vast majority o' men. A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle (1926), ll. 141–4 These lines are on MacDiarmid's tombstone To meddle wi the thistle and to pluck The figs frae't is my metier, I think. A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle (1926), ll. 341–2 The figs = the thistle's flower heads The number of people who can copulate properly may be few; the number who can write well are infinitely fewer. Review of Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) If there's a sword-like sangThat can cut Scotland clearO a' the warld besideRax me the hilt o't here.For there's nae jewal tillFrae the rest o earth it's free,Wi the starry separatenessI'd fain to Scotland gie. To Circumjack Cencrastus The rose of all the world is not for me.I want for my partOnly the little white rose of ScotlandThat smells sharp and sweet — and breaks the heart. The Little White Rose External links BBC page on MacDiarmid Category:Poets from Scotland Category:1978 deaths