Langholm

Christopher Murray Grieve was born in the boarders town of Langholm in 1892. He became known as Hugh MacDiarmid in the 1920s, working as a journalist whilst becoming increasingly interested by developments in contemporary poetry and literature in Scotland. MacDiarmid’s first poetry collection, ‘Sangshaw’, was published in 1925

Acknowledged as the greatest poet that his country has produced since Robert Burns, MacDiarmid used Scots to express himself and was a joint-founder of the Scottish National Party. As a poetry lover, I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of him before a recent trip to Scotland took me to Langholm where we found his memorial -a giant metal open book- on the hills overlooking the town.

The memorial was unveiled in August 1985 and a small cairn below it offers information about MacDairmid and quotes his poetry. It is a beautiful spot, reached by a somewhat narrow and winding road, offering stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Further up the hillside is another monument which commemorates Sir John Malcolm, one of the ten Malcolm sons of Burnfoot, who apparently accomplished ‘several literary achievements’. The path to this monument is quite steep and offers the chance to meet adders in the wild!

The town itself makes little mention of the poet, but there is an inscription on the side of the library where he lived with his family and a quote from one of his poems, The Little White Rose, on the wall of a shop. Langham is a thriving town, known colloquially as the ‘Muckle Toon’, which is also known for having been visited by astronaut, Neil Armstrong, in 1972.

Hugh MacDiarmid

Whita Hill,

Langholm

DG13 0JH