Hugh Laing | Ùisdean Laing (Ùistean Dhòmhnaill Iain mhic Anndra, 11 October 1889, Stoneybridge – 22 September 1974, Perth, Australia) was a poet, prose writer, and translator into Gaelic, originally from South Uist. He studied at Glasgow University and emigrated to Australia in 1913 where he worked as a teacher and school inspector. His translations, short stories, and articles appeared in the quarterly Gairm. He received the Bardic Crown at the National Mòd in Largs in 1965 for the poem ‘Am Fiabhras nach Fhaigh Bàs’ [The Fever That Will Not Die].
Publications in Erskine’s Magazines
- Lord Byron: ‘Loch nan Garr’ [poetry, GD; translation from English], Volume XI, Issue 4 (Winter 1914)
- ‘“Màiri Bhàn Òg” as a Love Song’ [essay, ENG], Volume XII, Issue 3 (Autumn 1915)
- ‘Pagan and Ossianic tendencies in John MacCodrum’s Poetry’ [essay, ENG], Volume XIII, Issue 3 (Autumn 1916)
- ‘Last of the Old Dominies’ [prose, ENG], Issue 90, Volume 41 (Summer 1918)
- ‘The Auld Hoose’ [prose, ENG], Issue 91, Volume 41 (Autumn 1918)
- Ludwig Uhland: ‘Na Trì Òrain’ [poetry, GD; translation from German], Volume I (1917)
- Christina Rossetti: ‘Òran’ [poetry, GD; translation from English], Volume I (1917)
- Christopher Marlowe: ‘An Uair Dheireannach aig Faustus’ [poetry, GD; translation from English], Volume I (1917)
Resources
- M. Medcalf, ‘Laing, Hugh Boyd (1889–1974),’ Australian Dictionary of Biography (2000)
- An Sealgair Naomh agus Dàin Eile: Saor-eadar-theangaichte le Ùisdean Laing [a collection of poems translated into Gaelic, including W. B. Yeats, John Donne, and G. M. Hopkins] (1974)
- Ùisdean Laing, Gu Tìr mo Luaidh (Dàin Eilthireach, Sgeulachdan agus Eachdraidh), translations and original poems in Scottish Gaelic and English; introduction by Derick Thomson (Stornoway: Paipear-Naigheachd Steòrnabhaigh, 1964)
- Raghnall MacilleDhuibh, ‘The Bunbury incident,’ The Quern-Dust Calendar 281, West Highland Free Press (23 May 1997)
- Gillebrìde MacMillan (ed.), 100 Bliadhna de Bhàird a’ Chomuinn Ghàidhealaich 1923 – 2023 (CLÀR, 2023), including Laing’s Mòd-winning poem
- Information about Laing in the database Gairm Air-loidhne