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His sang Freedom Come All Ye wis sang at the Scots Parliament oan his centenary. [6] [1] The Varsity o Edinburgh haes an archive o Henderson's warks an correspondence. [7] Sandy Bell's, the tavern frequentit bi Hamish Henderson Selected warks [ eedit | eedit soorce ] In 1990, Hamish Henderson was invited to speak at the Celtic film and television festival in Douarnenez, a body of which I used to be the director. The festival was due to be held in a brand new hotel, but the hotel was never built—a lesson for the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport. As a result, it was held in a very old hotel on the beach at Tréboul, which is the twin town with Douarnenez, just across the river. The hotel's last big booking had been during the second world war when the German officers stayed there. It had been decaying ever since. In 1983 he wis votit Scot o the Year in 1983, bi Radio Scotland listeners; he refusit an OBE in protest aboot nuclear weapons. [5] Raymond Ross, editor (2000) Collected Poems and Songs, Curly Snake Pub., Edinburgh, Scotland ISBN 978-1-90214-101-5 [15]
Like other members, I congratulate Cathy Peattie on securing this debate. I, too, lodged a motion on Hamish Henderson and I am delighted to take part in the debate. Norman Buchan on Hamish, Tocher no 43, School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh, 1991, p 19-21 I, too, start by congratulating Cathy Peattie on obtaining the debate and by congratulating the various contributors. This week, a certain rather vacuous female journalist on "Newsnight" referred, in her criticism of the Scottish Parliament, to the fact that we did such things as discussing Hamish Henderson, as if that were something that a proper Parliament does not do. I believe that commemoration of such an important Scottish figure and his contribution to Scotland's song and musical traditions is a worthwhile subject for debate in the Parliament. Ian Spring (2020), Hamish Henderson: A Critical Appreciation, Rymour Books, Perth, ISBN 978-1-8381863-3-3Following the outbreak of war, Hamish tried to enroll with the Cameron Highlanders on 4 September 1939, but poor eyesight meant his call-up was delayed. Returning to Cambridge, he continued to use debates at the Union and various political meetings to speak up against Chamberlain and in favour of socialism. In late 1939, he was involved in setting up the Cambridge Students’ People’s Convention, ‘to steer government policy towards a Socialist future’. The Flyting o' Life and Daith by Hamish Henderson". Scottish Poetry Library (in Inglis) . Retrieved 23 Januar 2022. Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica (London: John Lehmann Ltd, 1948; republished by EUSPB in 1977 with introduction by Sorley MacLean, and by Polygon in 1990, 2008) Hamish Henderson supported many causes, including nuclear disarmament, the anti-apartheid movement, international socialism, home rule and, possibly, independence for Scotland. He saw no contradiction between being a patriotic Scot and being a believer in international solidarity. That is an important factor, because there is often a contradiction in people, who believe that, somehow, pride in one's nation or culture means that one cannot respect the traditions and cultures of others. That is not the case—it is through understanding, creating and caring for one's own culture that one learns to respect and appreciate the pride that others have in their cultures. That was an important gift that people such as Hamish Henderson gave our country. He was also a great linguist and a highly original translator of poetry. He often translated new poetry from Gaelic, French, German and Latin—often into Scots. Neat, Timothy (11 March 2002). "Books: Hamish Henderson". The Guardian . Retrieved 18 October 2015.
It would seem customary, when writing about Henderson, to start with a personal anecdote. Sadly, I never actually met him – although I did study and go on to teach for several years in the university department that was formerly the School of Scottish Studies, where Henderson was a founding member. This place and this community has gifted me so much. Henderson’s cultural imagination has been a huge influence on my own; I was delighted, then, to be invited to share my thoughts on ‘why Hamish matters’ in our time, as part of a wider conversation. He studied Modern Languages at Downing College, Cambridge, in the years leading up to World War II, and as a visiting student in Germany ran messages for an organization run by the Society of Friends aiding the German resistance and helping to rescue Jews. [3] [4] World War II [ edit ] Those lines are a mark of the man's internationalism, but they are also a mark of his nationalism. I look forward to our country being independent and being a country that can match that sentiment, and becoming the kind of country that other places all over the world will look up to because of our statement of peace and freedom. I thank Hamish Henderson for encapsulating that for me in so few words. Cathy Peattie and I were on the Equal Opportunities Committee when it conducted its inquiry into Gypsy Travellers. As Cathy Peattie said, Hamish Henderson collected a lot of that culture and tradition and put it on record for us all. In a meeting of that committee, Cathy Peattie made the point strongly that it was sad that the vast majority of people in Scotland did not know about Gypsy Traveller culture and that it would be a loss to us all if no one did. I want to put on record—because otherwise the Official Report will not show it—the presence of the Lord Advocate in the chamber. Hamish was a man who had run-ins with the law from time to time. It will be appreciated immensely that the Lord Advocate is here to commemorate him.From 1955 to 1987 he was on the staff of the University of Edinburgh's School of Scottish Studies which he co-founded with Calum Maclean: there he contributed to the sound archives that are now available on-line. Henderson held several honorary degrees and after his retirement became an honorary fellow of the School of Scottish Studies. For many years he held court in Sandy Bell's Bar, the meeting place for local and visiting folk musicians. In April 1979, he was ' the prevailing spirit' at the first Edinburgh International Folk Festival conference ' The People's Past' both on ballads and in challenging traditional history telling. He also spoke at a Riddle's Court meeting which had hosted in the past, the Workers' Educational Association when he said that Calvinism was repressive in the Scottish psyche and that 'we had to divest ourselves of layers or preconception and misconception before we could come to grips with Scotland and its people.' [7] Tune History - The Bloody Fields of Flanders" (PDF). Schoolofpiping.com . Retrieved 15 November 2015. I first became aware of the work and personality of Hamish Henderson in the early 1970s, when I was involved in a big birthday party in Glasgow for another left-wing thinker and protector of the folk song tradition in Scotland, Norman Buchan. Some of those who came to that party had been brought to public attention and to the awareness of folk singers and folk song lovers around the world through the work of Hamish Henderson. Many guests were there, including Billy Connolly as one of the Humblebums. He was not connected to Hamish Henderson at that time. It was a memorable occasion when those people came together. The Times Literary Supplement in its review in January 1949 wrote about the former soldier's poems, reflecting upon his experience. It noted:
Henderson’s friendships extended into many spheres which may have seemed incompatible but were brought together in his enormous energies, voracious reading, extraordinary linguistic ability and deep commitment to socialist politics. Among other notable achievements, he translated the prison letters of Antonio Gramsci; accompanied the American folklorist Alan Lomax on the collecting tour of Scotland which proved the impetus for the folk revival; promoted the singer and storyteller Jeanie Robertson, who carried the tradition of the travelling people; locating that tradition was also Henderson’s great work; he became one of the founding members of the School of Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh; and effectively laid foundations for the Festival Fringe. Macdonald, Hugh (24 July 2014). "The Games opens: a ceremony of gallusness with a powerful charity theme". Herald Scotland . Retrieved 30 December 2021. In these days, when the words socialist and revolutionary have become non-words, all of us should keep that in mind.Eberhard Bort, editor (2011) Tis Sixty Years Since: The 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh and the Scottish Folk Revival ISBN 978-1-907676-10-9 In 1948 – 1949, Henderson workit wi the Workers' Educational Association and wis screiving in Inglis an Scots. [3] Frae 1955 tae 1987 he warkit at the Scuil o Scots Studies at the Varsity o Edinburgh, [3] an wis flyting wi Hugh MacDiarmid. He whiles translatit the letters frae prison o socialist Antonio Gramsci. [4] [2] His ‘ The Flyting o’ Life and Daith’ (1964) and ithir works in Scots wir promuivin the Scots Renaissance. [4]
The " Freedom Come-All-Ye" ( Scottish Gaelic: Thig Saorsa Uile) is a Scots language song written by Hamish Henderson in 1960. Henderson’s biographer Tim Neat (2010) suggests that his credo ‘Poetry Becomes People’ captures the essence of his beliefs and life’s work. This phrase comes from a poem series called ‘Freedom Becomes People,’ published in 1985, inspired by the German poet Heine: In August 2013, Edinburgh University announced that it had acquired his personal archive of "more than 10,000 letters from almost 3400 correspondents, plus 136 notebooks and diaries", dating from the 1930s to the end of his life. [11] These will be kept in the Special Collections department of the main library. [12]Corey Gibson (2015) The Voice of the People: Hamish Henderson and Scottish Cultural Politics, Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0-74869-657-4 And that brings us full circle to the animating core of Henderson’s work in all forms, at all stages of his career, though variously expressed. This, in an interview of 1966:
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