Ron Butlin Explained
Ron Butlin (born 1949 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish poet and novelist who was Edinburgh Makar (Poet Laureate) from 2008 to 2014.[1]
Education
Butlin was educated at the University of Edinburgh.[2] He later became writer in residence in 1982 and 1984 at the university.
Bibliography
He has written several novels, collections of short stories, poems and plays. His work has been widely anthologised in Britain and abroad, and translated into over a dozen languages. His debut novel, The Sound Of My Voice, was republished in 2002 with an introduction by Irvine Welsh who called it “one of the greatest pieces of fiction to come out of Britain in the Eighties”.
Butlin is married to the Scottish-Swiss novelist and short story writer Regi Claire.
Opera Libretto
He has written seven libretti for opera, mostly for Scottish Opera, and frequently in collaboration with composer Lyell Cresswell.[3]
Bibliography
Novels
- The Sound of My Voice (1987)
- Night Visits (1997)
- Belonging (2006)
- Ghost Moon (2014)
Short Story Collections
- The Tilting Room (1983)[4]
- Vivaldi and the Number 3 and Other Impossible Stories (2004)
- No More Angels (2007)
Poetry
- The Wonnerfuu Warld o John Milton (1974)
- Stretto (1976)
- Creatures Tamed by Cruelty (1979)
- The Exquisite Instrument: Imitations from the Chinese (1982)
- Ragtime in Unforgettable Bars (1985)
- Histories of Desire (1995)
- Without a Backward Glance (2005)
- The Magicians of Edinburgh (2012)
- The Magicians of Scotland (2015)
- Here Come the Trolls! (verse for children, 2015)
- The Offering (2017)[5]
Reviews
- Murray, Glen (1980), review of Creatures Claimed by Cruelty, in Cencrastus No. 2, Spring 1980, pp. 43 – 45
- Holton, Brian (1983), review of The Exquisite Instrument, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), Cencrastus No. 11, New Year 1983, p. 43,
Opera
- Markheim
- Dark Kingdom
- Faraway Pictures
- Good Angel, Bad Angel
- The Perfect Woman
- The Money Man
- Wedlock
Notes and References
- Book: Richard Baines. The New Paper Families: An Anthology of Short Short Stories. 27 July 2020. 14 September 2010. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-15728-5. 190.
- Web site: Ron Butlin . British Council . 27 July 2020 . Literature.
- News: Smith. Rowena. Five:15. 25 June 2010. The Guardian. 16 May 2010.
- Web site: Wallace . Gavin . Ron Butlin . Scottish Poetry Library . Scottish Arts Council . 27 July 2020 . Poets . 2012.
- Web site: Poem – Soothe.