Liz Lochhead facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Liz Lochhead Hon FRSE
Lochhead speaks at the 2024 St Andrew's Book Festival.
Makar
In office 19 January 2011 – 31 January 2016
Preceded by	Edwin Morgan
Succeeded by	Jackie Kay
Personal details
Born	Elizabeth Anne Lochhead (1947-12-26) 26 December 1947 (age 77) Craigneuk, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Alma mater	Glasgow School of Art
Occupation	Teacher, poet, playwright, Makar

Liz Lochhead (born on December 26, 1947) is a famous Scottish poet, writer for plays, and translator. She also worked as a broadcaster. From 2011 to 2016, she was the Makar, which means the National Poet of Scotland. Before that, she was the Poet Laureate for Glasgow from 2005 to 2011.

Early Life and Education

Liz Lochhead, whose full name is Elizabeth Anne Lochhead, was born in Craigneuk. This was a small village near Motherwell in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Her parents both served in the army during World War II. Later, her father worked as a clerk for the local government.

In 1952, her family moved to a new house in Newarthill, another mining village. Her sister was born there in 1957. Even though her teachers wanted her to study English, Liz decided to go to Glasgow School of Art. She studied art there from 1965 to 1970. After finishing art school, Liz taught art in high schools in Glasgow and Bristol. She has said she was "terrible" at teaching.

A Career in Writing

Liz Lochhead started writing poetry when she was a child and continued during art school. In 1971, she won a poetry competition held by BBC Scotland. Her first collection of poems, Memo For Spring, was published in 1972.

Poetry and Collaborations

Liz Lochhead published more poetry collections over the years. These included Islands in 1978 and The Grimm Sisters in 1979. She also spent time living in Toronto, Canada, and later in New York, USA. In 1986, she moved back to Glasgow permanently.

She enjoyed combining her poetry with music. She worked with singer-songwriter Michael Marra. She also collaborated with saxophonist Steve Kettley and the band The Hazey Janes.

Writing for the Theatre

Liz Lochhead became very successful with her plays for the theatre. Some of her well-known plays include Blood and Ice (1982) and Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (1987). She also wrote Perfect Days in 2000.

She adapted a play by Molière called Tartuffe into the Scots language in 1985. This adaptation was highly praised. She also adapted old medieval plays called the York Mystery Plays. Her adaptation of Euripides' play Medea won an award in 2001. Many of her plays have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

In 2011, her play Edwin Morgan's Dreams and Other Nightmares was first performed in Glasgow. It was brought back three years later for the Commonwealth Games cultural events. She has also written new works for the Oran Mor theatre in Glasgow.

Views and Beliefs

Liz Lochhead is known for her strong beliefs. She supports Scottish independence, meaning Scotland becoming its own country. She has performed with groups that support independence. She also believes that the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns would have supported independence.

Liz Lochhead is also a feminist. This means she believes in equal rights and opportunities for women. She once said that "feminism is like the hoovering, you just have to keep doing it." This means it's something you need to keep working on.

In 2012, Liz Lochhead visited Palestine. She was very moved by what she saw there. She has spoken out against the Israeli occupation and supports a cultural boycott of Israel. In 2014, she helped create a book of Palestinian poetry translated into Scottish languages.

She has also openly criticized Creative Scotland, which is an organization that funds arts in Scotland.

Awards and Recognition

In 2005, Liz Lochhead became the Poet Laureate for Glasgow. She held this important role until 2011. That year, she was chosen as the second Scots Makar, or national poet of Scotland. She took over from Edwin Morgan, who had passed away. She finished her term as Makar in February 2016. Jackie Kay then became the next Makar.

Liz Lochhead is currently the Honorary President of the Caledonian Cultural Fellows at Glasgow Caledonian University. She also has special honorary doctorates from ten different universities in Scotland.

She has been a writer in residence at several places, including Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Glasgow University, The University of Edinburgh, Glasgow School of Art, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Eton College. This means she was invited to live and write at these places.

In 2014, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2015, Liz Lochhead received the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. She was only the 11th woman to receive this award since it started in 1933.

A statue of her face, along with other famous Scottish poets, was put up at Edinburgh Park. This statue has parts of her poems carved into it. In 2023, Liz Lochhead won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Book Awards Ceremony in Glasgow.

Personal Life

In 1986, Liz Lochhead married an architect named Tom Logan. They lived together in Glasgow until he passed away in 2010. After his death, she wrote a poem called Favourite Place. It was about their caravan on the West Coast of Scotland.

Published Works

• 1972: Memo For Spring
• 1978: Islands
• 1979: The Grimm Sisters
• 1999: Bagpipe Muzak
• 1999: Perfect Days
• 2000: Medea
• 2001: Cuba (with Gina Moxley)
• 2002: Misery Guts
• 2003: The Colour of Black and White
• 2003: Dreaming Frankenstein and Collected Poems, 1967–84
• 2003: Thebans
• 2003: True Confessions: And New Cliches
• 2006: Good Things
• 2009: Educating Agnes
• 2009: Blood and Ice
• 2010: Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off
• 2011: A Choosing
• 2012: Liz Lochhead: Five Plays

Radio Plays