MacDiarmid, Hugh, 1892-1978

C. M. (Christopher Murray) Grieve [Hugh McDiarmid, 1892-1978] was a Scottish poet, writer, and cultural activist. Politically, he was both a nationalist, helping found the National Party of Scotland in 1928, and a communist. During the 1930's, he was expelled from each group for his membership in the other. His nationalist leanings were, for a time, characterized by pre-Reformation Catholic Scotland "as a model of social, spiritual, and national coherence." (Roderick Watson, ODNB). Grieve founded a series of periodicals: the Scottish Chapbook fourteen issues beginning in 1922; the weekly Scottish Nation, thirty-four issues beginning in 1923; and the monthly Northern Review four issues in 1924. These periodicals "set about the definition of a literary and cultural 'renaissance' in Scottish affairs." (Watson, ODNB). Grieve moved toward the use of Scots as an exploration of the vernacular, a move reflected in his adoption of the pseudonym Hugh M'Diarmid.

From the description of Christopher Murray Grieve [Hugh MacDiarmid] Collection, 1927-1965. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 759010124

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