"The negative aspects of Scottish Nationalism are a kind of aggressive complacency, that sort of boasting; but that's an expression of insecurity, I think, of a lack of confidence." -- Douglas Dunn
Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE (born October 23, 1942) is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He currently lives in Scotland.
Dunn was born in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire. He was educated at the Scottish School of Librarianship, and worked as a librarian before he started his studies in Hull. After graduating with a First Class Honours degree from the University of Hull, he worked in the Brynmor Jones Library under Philip Larkin. He was friendly with Larkin and admired his poetry, but did not share his political opinions.
He was a Professor of English at the University of St Andrews from 1991, becoming Director of the University's Scottish Studies Centre in 1993 until his retirement in September 2008. He is now an Honorary Professor at St Andrews, still undertaking postgraduate supervision in the School of English. He was a member of the Scottish Arts Council (1992-1994). He holds an honorary doctorate (LL.D., law) from the University of Dundee, an honorary doctorate (D.Litt., literature) from the University of Hull and St Andrews. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1981, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2003.
Terry Street, Dunn's first collection of poems, appeared in 1969 and received a Scottish Arts Council Book Award as well as a Somerset Maugham Award.
Further works include:
The Happier Life - 1972
Love or Nothing - 1974 (winner of the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize)
Barbarians - 1979
St. Kilda's Parliament - 1981 (winner of the Hawthornden Prize)
Europa's Lover - 1982
Elegies - 1985
Secret Villages (collection of short stories) - 1985
Northlight - 1988
Andromache (translation of Racine's play of the same name) - 1990
"A poem can have an impact, but you can't expect an audience to understand all the nuances.""A poet's cultural baggage and erudition can interfere with a poem.""I've always liked Muir without knowing quite why.""I've always thought my poems told stories.""Reading a poem aloud to an audience is gestural as much as precise."