SCOTLAND’S new Makar yesterday vowed to help the country speak to itself and the rest of the world.
Accepting the appointment at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, award-winning poet and novelist Jackie Kay said Scotland is in an “exciting time” and said she would not “toe any political line”.
Kay, whose appointment was met with applause from writers, academics and readers, spoke of the delight she shares with her parents, saying: “I hope that I can do my country proud and do them proud.
“It’s a really wonderful day for me, my family and everyone that loves me. It feels a little like a fairytale for me. I was born in Edinburgh, adopted, and my mum said to me the other day ‘who would have thought that that wee baby that we brought home in a basket would end up being the Makar?’”
Kay, whose best-selling memoir Red Dust Road charted her search for her birth parents, was brought up in Bishopbriggs by communist parents who campaigned against nuclear weapons and apartheid.
Currently chancellor of Salford University, her work deals with identity and relationships, much of it drawn from her personal experiences.
Yesterday she said she had had to think carefully before accepting the role of Scotland’s national poet – a post which involves celebrating the country’s culture and making new work.
Kay said: “You always have to weigh things up when you are asked to do massive jobs and have to think ‘can I do this and am I the right person?’ I decided it was almost like destiny and that I couldn’t turn my back on such a great honour. It felt like the right time.”
She added: “Having a national role like this is not really about me, it’s about what you can actually do.
“I’m looking forward to looking at all of the different ways that we can use poetry to develop Scotland’s conversation, not just with itself, but also with the rest of the world. It is a very exciting time to be in Scotland at the moment under this particular government, which is kind of amazing.
“Scotland has shown that it can be a player on the world stage and has shown the world that it can do different things. I’m really looking forward to engaging politically and socially in all sorts of different ways to make poetry have an active and exciting role in our national conversation.”
Kay, who found her birth father in Nigeria and Scots birth mother in England, will hold the role of Makar for five years, following on from Liz Lochhead and Edwin Morgan.
Her former partner, Glasgow-born Carol Ann Duffy, the UK poet laureate, was amongst those to welcome her appointment, saying: “This is fabulous news for Scotland and for poetry.
“Jackie Kay is loved throughout the UK for the warmth and generosity of her work and she will prove an inspired choice as Makar.”
Recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Kay read from her works at the event, saying she hopes to “open up the conversations, the blethers, the arguments and celebrations that Scotland has with itself and with the rest of the world”.
Looking Glass Books in Edinburgh said she was a “great choice”, while fans shared excerpts from her work on social media to welcome the announcement.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon, who selected Kay with her predecessors Alex Salmond, Jack McConnell and Henry McLeish, said: “Jackie Kay’s poems sometimes deal with challenging subjects, taken from her own life experiences, and she has a particular Scottish brand of gallus humour.”
“She is hugely respected, is known for her poignant and honest words, and is a role model for many.”
Alan Riach: It is hard to imagine a better choice of Makar
The National View: Makar Jackie Kay is a voice worth listening to
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