A talk is taking place about the life and works of a man regarded by many experts as Dundee’s ‘forgotten poet’.
James Young Geddes, a poet and past president of Dundee Burns Club, will be the focus of a talk delivered to Dundee Burns Club on Wednesday February 23.
The talk is being delivered by James Barrowman, a PhD student at the University of Dundee.
Geddes was born in Dundee in 1850, spending his youth and old age in Alyth.
However, “in both thought and action” he was considered to be a “son of the city”.
Who was James Young Geddes?
Self-educated and a talented painter, Geddes went on to be the Alyth correspondent of the Dundee Advertiser and chairman of the town council.
In the 1880s, Geddes was president of Dundee Burns Club, of which he penned an affectionate poem.
Much has been made of the clear influence of Walt Whitman’s free verse on his work.
But the impact of Burns is also apparent, in its disarming humour and demotic energy.
Poetry
He released three collections of poetry and wrote a libretto, Babes in the Wood.
His first, The New Jerusalem, takes a bold approach to religious material – inspired by discord among the Dundee churches of the time, and a damning critique of conservative Christianity.
His second collection, The Spectre Clock of Alyth, looks to Strathmore and explores stagnation and neglect.
Finally, To the Valhalla deals more explicitly with political themes, containing his two most enduring poems ‘The Glory has Departed’ and ‘Glendale & Co’.
Sadly, these collections are now largely unavailable, and the Burns Club itself only owns two copies of To the Valhalla.
Edwin Morgan wrote in the 1991 Duende edition of Gairfish: “It will be good if the city (or town) of Dundee can restore the memory of such an attractively pungent critic and defender.
“A contemporary praised his signal devotion to the views of the people, and it is time they returned the compliment.”
Thirty years on, this restoration has not quite taken place.
However, James hopes that the Burns Club, in recognition and admiration of a notable former president, can lead the way in immortalising the memory of this neglected poet.
Talk open to public
Dundee Burns Club is hosting the event, which is open to the public, at its historic club premises at 37 Union Street.
It’s the second event in their successful 2021/22 series of Winter Warmers.
To register for talk, taking place at 7pm on February 23, go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/james-young-geddes-poet-prophet-president-of-the-dundee-burns-club-tickets-266882872857
