Norman MacCaig
Norman MacCaig
Norman Alexander MacCaig OBEwas a Scottish poet and teacher. His poetry, in modern English, is known for its humour, simplicity of language and great popularity...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth14 November 1910
years american-poetry
I was very interested in American poetry for many years. Much less now.
passion years way
And in a way, that's been a help to me, because I take great passions for a particular poet - sometimes it lasts for many years, sometimes only for a while. This happens to everybody.
years eight dying
A terrible thing about getting oldish is that your friends start dying, and in the last ten years I have lost seven or eight of my closest.
book years lucky
There are some friends you don't meet for twenty years and when you meet them again it's as if no twenty years has happened - you're lucky when that happens. I feel the same about books.
came century novels people television three time
The nineteenth century novels came from a time when there was no television and people had time to read novels in three volumes.
books might
There are books up there I haven't read for many years but I wouldn't put them out. I never know when I might want to read them again.
I find it's impossible for me to read Proust.
poetry produce
And if they haven't got poetry in them, there's nothing you can do that will produce it.
rivers borders fish-tanks
I used to fish the Border rivers, but nowadays you have to queue up for a shot and I can't stand that.
book
I only keep books that I like very much. Otherwise I'd throw them out.
writing mean thinking
I never think about poetry except when I'm writing it. I mean my poetry.
thinking
I don't think of myself all the time.
jobs persons particular
But you'd have a job to find many of my poems which would seem to be very influenced by a particular person.
nature love-is hills
I'm very gregarious, but I love being in the hills on my own.