Poet


William Cleland (c1661-1689) ~ Scottish Covenanting Poet and Soldier

William Cleland (c1661-1689) – Scottish Covenanting poet and soldier educated at St Andrew’s University and at Utrecht. He fought at Drumclog, Bothwell Brig and in Argyll’s expedition, when, as colonel of the Cameronians, he fell in the successful defence of Dunkeld against the Jacobite (Highland) clansmen in 1689. Also noted for […]


Hugh MacDiarmid ~ Poet and Political Activist

Hugh MacDiarmid ~ poet and political activist (Scottish nationalist and communist) – was born Christopher Murray Grieve, in the Scottish Borders town of Langholm in 1892. His father was a postman and the family lived above the town library, so, from childhood, Grieve (or MacDiarmid as he became known from […]


William Shakespeare ~ Actor, Poet, Playwright, and Dramatist

There is a suggestion that William Shakespeare came to Perth in 1589 as part of a troupe of English players. This company performed at the Amphitheatre in Perth – located outside the city walls and close to the Dewars Centre roundabout. William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and mother […]


Dugald Buchanan ~ Gaelic Poet

Dugald Buchanan (1716-1768) – Gaelic poet – was born at Ardoch Farm, Strathtyre (near Balquhidder) in Perthshire. After some schooling at Stirling and Edinburgh, Buchanan began work as an apprentice carpenter. An early spirituality was formalised by the attending of a college of divinity in Glasgow (early 1740s). Buchanan atones for […]