Manuscripts of Works by William Soutar

Edinburgh University Library’s Papers of William Soutar (Coll-796) consist of verse manuscripts sent to John Fraser and William Morrison.

The manuscripts sent to Soutar's doctor John Fraser on 25 October 1929 consist of four simply bound volumes of poems(Gen 2005/1-4). These are printed in stencil duplicate with cover titles in Soutar’s own hand (‘Conflict’, ‘Earth’, ‘Quest’, ‘Epigrams’).

There are typescripts of 8 further poems (Gen 2005/6-9) sent by Soutar to William Morrison, Editor of the Scots Observer on 28 May 1934. All of the poems except Gen 2005/9 (‘The Airth Hings like a Keekin'-Gless’) are in English. There are covering letters to Fraser (in Gen 2005/4) and Morrison (Gen 2004/5).

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Gen 2005/1 ('Conflict', 55 ff.)

Contents: To the Spirit in the Sleeptime -- Flesh -- The Tree -- The Quest -- Acids -- The Sleepers -- The Door -- Evensong -- The Tryst -- The Stately Palace -- Moths -- Epitaph on a Potential Poet -- The Ghost -- The Thoughts of God -- Mind and Matter -- Autumn Nightfall -- Love’s Necessity -- In Excelsis -- Confession -- On a Poem -- On the Burial of a Young Maiden -- The Pleasant Isle -- On a Cold, Dead Beauty -- Frustration -- To Poets Lest They Grow Proud -- Address to my Dead Body -- Tide -- The Last Assault -- Recollection of First Love -- Sonnet: To Enrico Caruso -- The Immortals -- Dawn -- The Swan.

Gen 2005/2 ('Earth', 58 ff.)

Contents: To Earth -- The Happy Man -- To the Muse in Spring -- The Sleeper -- Ubiquity -- The Rainbow -- Among High Hills -- 'Peace upon Earth …' -- The Thrush -- The Cuckoo Comes through the Rain -- St Valentine’s Day -- Treasure -- The Grove upon the Hill -- Riches -- The Spider -- When the Young Die -- The Fiery Bird -- Sonnet on a Calm Spring Evening -- The Singing Bush -- Sonship -- For One Who Desired a Song -- On a Child Who Wept at my Departure -- A Blind Man in April -- A Desire during Illness -- Bias -- The Apotheosis -- The Old Yew -- The Lea -- The Ballad of the Bride -- For One Who Desired to See the End of the World -- The Planets -- Dirge -- On a Photograph -- The Kiss -- Epitaph.

Gen 2005/3 ('Quest', 62 ff.)

Contents: Quest -- The Return of the Cuckoo -- Civitas Dei -- The Silent Moment -- Vagabondage -- Man -- Reality -- On Dying amid the Sound of Bells -- Lost Youth -- Lust --In Autumn Days -- An Appeal -- Into Quiet Fields -- Microcosmos -- She Who Is Dead -- Body and Mind -- Egocentric -- An Old Woman -- The Race -- Anatomy -- The City -- To a Proud Mistress -- Life -- Be Thine Own World -- The Leper -- Beauty is Shy -- Sorrow of the World -- On Reading Othello in a Dispirited Mood -- On a Friend Dying -- Beauty -- Immortality -- Birthday -- A Moment for Desire -- Memory -- The Immortal City -- Return.

Gen 2005/4 ('Epigrams', 62 ff.)

Part 1. Miscellaneous Epigrams, I-LXXVII

On the Equality of Man -- On an Old Woman Who Drowned Herself -- On Wheazer, a Cornet Player -- Dreamless Sleep -- The Virgin -- On One Who Died When Scanning a Menu Card -- On a Beautiful Passerby -- The Hypochondriac -- Dawn -- On Chastising a Child -- Acids -- On Leech, a Physician -- The Traitor -- The Butterfly among the Flowers -- Life’s Day -- On a Cold, Dead Beauty -- A Wish -- Testament -- The Crow -- On a Professor of Psychology -- Uranoscopy -- Tide -- Somnium Vitae -- On a Moth -- On a Coiner -- For a Restrained Auto-Biography -- Contrariety -- On a Prehistoric Skull -- A Recollection of First Love -- Improviso -- Logic -- Postman’s Knock -- On an Argumentative Fundamentalist -- Night, November 5th -- On a Judge’s Witticism -- Miracles -- On One Who Writes on my Books -- Small Mercies -- On the Death of a Phlegmatic Young Lady -- The Anniversary -- Intangible -- Tarriance -- On Squill, a Mediocre Novelist -- Mars -- Autumn, November 11th -- The Runners -- On the Diary of a Famous Man -- Epitaph on a Vegetarian -- On Joanna Southcott -- Dreams -- The Flame -- On Playing the Instrument of a Dead Cellist -- On Mr High, a Lawyer -- Epitaph on a Racing Motorist -- On a Presbyterian Steeple -- On a Field Marshall -- On a Plain Girl Who Had Beautiful Legs -- On a Lie -- On Dreaming of a Dead Friend -- On a Man Who Wrote Prayers for a Child -- On a Mediocre Cellist -- On Hearing a Cuckoo Clock -- The Option -- On a Very Young Lady -- On a Still Born Infant -- Query -- Upon One Who Was Dying -- On Forgetting a Dream -- On the Discovery of my First Grey Hair -- Epitaph on a Fault Finder -- On a Miserly Minister -- On a Cantankerous Invalid -- On a Child Who Said She Loved Me -- On a Young Man -- Epitaph on a Politician -- On a Doctor Who Wrote upon Insomnia -- On a Child Who Weeps at my Departure.

Part II. On Poets and Poetry

Epitaph on a Potential Poet -- Epitaph on a Hack Poet -- The Suicide -- On a Lady who Wrote Verses for Christmas Cards -- On a Poem -- Epitaph on a Poetaster -- On a Bird -- The Poet to the Song Thrush -- The Poet -- Epitaph on a Clergyman -- Nec Rubor Est -- Potential Poet to the Spirit of Poetry -- To Poets Lest They Grow Proud -- On a Critic -- Epitaph on a Minor Poet Who Would Keep Good Company -- A Poet to his Barber -- A Poem -- The Criers -- On a Classical Poet -- On an Ugly Poet -- On Ream, a Poetaster -- On an Epigrammatist -- On a Poet Who Had a Very Poor Memory.

Gen 2005/6 (TS, 2 ff.)

Contents: Worker's Broadcast: 'Nation Shall Speak Peace unto Nation'.

Gen 2005/7 ('Three Epigrams', TS, 1 f.)

Contents: On Meeting One Who Had Been a Favourite Friend in Earliest Youth -- On a Man Who Was Befogged in an Argument -- On a Skull.

Gen 2005/8 ('Three Epigrams', TS, 1 f.)

Contents: On a Judge's Witticism at a Trial for Murder -- On Forgetting a Dream -- On a Professor at Psychology Who Swore at his Class.

Gen 2005/9 (TS, 1 f.)

Contents: The Airth Hings like a Keekin'-Gless.

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