2015 Fellow: Angus Peter Campbell hosted by the National Library of Scotland
The poet, novelist, journalist and actor Angus Peter Campbell was appointed to the third annual Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship, 2015–2016, which was hosted by the National Library of Scotland.
Campbell (Aonghas Phàdraig Caimbeul) writes in English and Gaelic, and was born on the Island of South Uist. He has four collections of poetry: Aibisidh was published by Polygon in 2011 and won the Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award in 2012, and his novels in Gaelic win critical acclaim. He was awarded the Bardic Crown for Gaelic Poetry in 2001. His English-language novel, Memory and Straw, was published by Luath Press in 2017, and a bi-lingual poetry collection, Stèisean, in 2018.
Of his appointment, Angus Peter Campbell commented that he was delighted to have been chosen:
“I am especially delighted that the Fellowship is to be based at another national treasure of ours — the National Library of Scotland. […] the theme of the Fellowship is ‘the recorded memory of Scotland’’.
The National Library of Scotland was the host organisation for this fellowship, and is a reference library with world-class collections. It is also Scotland’s largest library and one of the major research libraries in Europe. The Fellowship at the National Library of Scotland explored the theme of the recorded memory of Scotland. The Fellow was invited to explore, and be inspired by, the ways in which the Library’s collections record the memories of Scotland. Looking back on their involvement with the Gavin Wallace Fellowship, the National Librarian said: “One of the Library’s key priorities is to act as the guardian of the published and recorded memory of Scotland in all its forms. We look forward to welcoming the writer who wins the fellowship to the Library and the collections.”
