THE First Minister has paid tribute to Jackie Kay as her tenure as Scotland’s national poet comes to an end.
Nicola Sturgeon said that as Makar, Kay had made an “enduring and positive impact” and praised her for helping to widen the appeal of poetry to a broad and diverse audience both at home and internationally.
“The coronavirus pandemic has brought unique challenges, but Jackie’s vitality, warmth and tremendous talent has helped to keep the role of Makar relevant,” said Sturgeon.
“Her Fare Well Hogmanay collaboration was a memorable event which shows the universal appeal of poetry and her lullaby Welcome Wee One has been the first introduction to poetry for thousands of children.”
Kay, who succeeded Edwin Morgan and Liz Lochhead as Makar, described her five years in the role as an “incredible journey”.
“I’ve gained so much in terms of peoples’ love and interest in poetry,” she said. “I’ve found out so many things about my country.”
READ MORE: Jackie Kay's successor as Makar to be chosen with new selection process
Kay added she felt she had achieved her aim of taking poetry to “unexpected places”.
“It’s been a glorious, joyous, interesting ride to have been to every major city and to have been to so much of the Highlands and Islands, rural parts of Scotland.”
Kay’s time as Makar saw her read Threshold at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 2016, take up residency at Young Scot during the Year of Young People in 2018 and develop online digital films during lockdown.
She also wrote The Long View, partly in Gaelic, partly sung and partly in sign language, performed for the 20th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament. Fare Well formed the centrepiece of this year’s Hogmanay celebrations and Welcome Wee One has featured in every Baby Box – more than 167,000 – since the scheme launched in 2017.
The National revealed this week that the old selection process for the post of Makar, which saw a shortlist being sent to the serving and former First Ministers, had been ditched and a new system was being drawn up.
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