Our Scots Translator: On the Death of Edwin Morgan
Our Scots Translator: On the Death of Edwin Morgan

Summary/Abstract: Edwin Morgan, one of the major Scottish poets, and an outstanding translator of Hungarian poetry into English, as such a pioneer in the field, died at the age of 90 this summer. Over four decades his, among others, was the English voice of more than two dozen Hungarian poets, in most cases first translated and in not a few, repeatedly so. He introduced Hungarian poetry to English readers of poetry, a relatively small but, seen from here, vast community. He did so in the sixties, when all that existed were translations by, for the most part, dilettantes, enthusiastic Hungarian expats. Other poets were inspired by his example to engage in this adventure full of pitfalls. When I was, for forty years, literary editor of this journal, I was able to persuade more than one established English or American poet by pointing to his example. “Seriously? Edwin Morgan has done some stuff?” They would take a look and then set to it themselves, having been convinced.

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