Marion Cleland Lochhead


Marion Cleland Lochhead was a Scottish writer and social historian. Her works span historiography and biography, poetry and fiction, children's writing, journalism, and broadcasting.

Early life and career

Marion Lochhead was born 19 April 1902 in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, the daughter of Helen Watt and Alexander Lochhead, a draper and clothier.
In 1923, she graduated in English Literature and Latin from the University of Glasgow. Initially, Lochhead worked as a schoolteacher, turning to poetry and writing in the 1920s. Lochhead said 'I began as a poet, with an increasing interest in biography and social and domestic history'.
Her strong Christian beliefs are often reflected in her works.

Literary associations

Lochhead is rarely associated with the Scottish Renaissance, though she was an active member of Edinburgh's literary scene in her younger years.
In 1927, Lochhead co-founded the, along with writers including Hugh MacDiarmid and Helen B. Cruickshank.

Journalism

From the 1930s, Lochhead was a key contributor to the Scottish press, publishing in titles including The Scotsman, Glasgow Herald, Scottish Home and Country, Scottish Field, Weekend Scotsman, Quarterly Review and Blackwood's Magazine.
In her later life, she gave interviews on BBC Radio Scotland.

Recognition

In 1955, Lochhead was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (RSL).
In 1963, she was awarded an MBE.

Notable works

Poetry collections

  • Poems.Painted Things.Feast of Candlemas and Other Devotional Poems.Fiddler's Bidding.

Novels

  • Anne Dalrymple.Cloaked in Scarlet.Adrian Was A Priest.
  • Island Destiny.The Dancing Flower.

Historical Texts

Biographies

Children's Literature

On Tintock Tap.The Other Country: Legends and Fairytales of Scotland.