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William McGonagall: Scotland's Other National Bard |
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© SCRAN |
McGonagall led a colourful life, marrying in 1846, and embarking on several travels round Scotland – including a trek in 1878, 50 miles on foot, to Balmoral to see the Queen, only to be turned away at the gates and ordered not to return. On another occasion, in 1887, he sailed to New York to seek fame and fortune, but after failing to pick up any work had to appeal to a local benefactor for his fare back home.
In his long and often rambling autobiography, McGonagall admits to undergoing ‘the most startling incident of his life’ when, at the age of 52, he discovered his destiny as a poet after working for most of his adult life in Dundee’s textile industry.
His calling - he describes a omnipotent voice ordering him to grasp a pen in ‘divine inspiration’ - led him to write a poem in appreciation of Rev George Gilfillan, which appeared in the DC Thomson publication The Weekly News.
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