Sydney Goodsir Smith facts for kids

Sydney Goodsir Smith (born October 26, 1915 – died January 15, 1975) was a talented writer and artist. He was born in New Zealand but became a well-known Scottish poet, playwright, and novelist. He was famous for writing poetry in a special Scottish language called Scots, also known as Lallans. He was an important part of a literary movement called the Scottish Renaissance, which aimed to bring Scottish culture and literature back to life.

Life Story

Sydney Goodsir Smith was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His father, Sydney Smith, was a pioneer in forensic science. This means his father was one of the first people to use science to solve crimes. He later became a professor at the University of Edinburgh.

In 1928, when Sydney was 13, his family moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. He went to school at Malvern College. Later, he started studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh. However, he changed his mind and decided to study history at Oriel College, Oxford. He finished his degree there.

In the late 1930s, Sydney Goodsir Smith discovered the works of Hugh MacDiarmid. MacDiarmid was another very important Scottish poet. This meeting helped shape Smith's own writing style.

His first collection of poems, Skail Wind, was published in 1941. He also wrote a funny novel about Edinburgh called Carotid Cornucopius in 1947. In 1951, he published A Short Introduction to Scottish Literature. This book was based on talks he gave on the radio.

Sydney Goodsir Smith also wrote plays. His play The Wallace was about the Scottish hero William Wallace. It was first broadcast on BBC radio in 1959. The play was later performed on stage in Edinburgh in 1960 as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. Another poem, Kynd Kittock's Land (1964), was specially written for BBC television. He had many other works broadcast on the radio, including The Death of Tristram and Iseult and The Twa Brigs.

When he was younger, Sydney Goodsir Smith really wanted to be an artist. He drew pictures while traveling in Europe in 1936–37. In Scotland, he continued to sketch and paint, especially during trips to the Highlands. He also worked as an art critic for The Scotsman newspaper from 1960 to 1967.

Sydney Goodsir Smith passed away in Edinburgh on January 15, 1975, after a heart attack. He was buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh.

Remembering Him

Sydney Goodsir Smith is remembered in a special way in Edinburgh. There is a "pavement poem" dedicated to him in "Makars' Court". This is a section of James Court, which is off the famous Royal Mile street.

His Published Works

Here are some of the books and poems Sydney Goodsir Smith published:

• Skail Wind - poems, 1941
• The Wanderer, and other poems, 1943
• The Deevil’s Waltz, 1946
• Selected Poems, 1947
• A Short Introduction to Scottish Literature, 1951
• So Late into the Night - fifty lyrics, 1944-1948, 1952
• Orpheus and Eurydice - a dramatic poem, 1955
• Figs and Thistles, 1959
• The Wallace, a triumph in five acts, 1960
• The Vision of the Prodigal Son, 1960
• Kynd Kittock’s Land, 1965
• Fifteen Poems and a Play, 1969
• Collected Poems, 1941-1975, 1975
• The Drawings of Sydney Goodsir Smith, poet, collected by Ian Begg, 1998
• Gowdspink in Reekie, 1974