Morgan, Edwin George, b 1920

Edwin Morgan was born in Glasgow on 27 April 1920, the only child of Stanley Lawrence Morgan and Margaret McKillop Arnott. He began his studies at the University of Glasgow in 1937 but he took leave of his studies to serve in the Royal Army and Medical Corps during the Second World War, returning to his studies in English Language and Literature in 1946. Thereafter, he began working in the University's English Department where he earned in 1975 an appointment to a Titular Chair. Alongside his teaching responsibilities, Morgan published numerous works as well as contributed his poetry and translations to anthologies and journals. He is renowned for his translations and for his concrete poetry. He worked tirelessly editing anthologies, judging competitions, giving poetry readings, writing book reviews, as well as working on musical and theatre productions. He has achieved an international standing for his work and has received the Cholmondeley Books Award, Scottish Arts Council Book Award, the Hungarian PEN Memorial Medal, the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, and several honorary degrees. In 2004, Morgan was appointed as Scots Makar by the Scottish Parliament.

The Edwin Morgan Archive website is at http://www.edwinmorgan.spl.org.uk/ .

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