Andrew Young (poet)
Encyclopedia
Andrew John Young was a Scottish poet and clergyman. His status as a poet was recognised quite late and he received the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry
in 1952.
in Scotland in 1885. Two years later his father moved to Edinburgh
, where young Andrew attended the Royal High School and later took an arts degree at the University of Edinburgh. The disappearance of his brother David in discreditable circumstances in 1907 so affected him that he gave up his intention to become a barrister and instead studied theology at the local New College
. Old habits died hard, however, and his first collection of poems, Songs of Night, a work of Swinburnean aestheticism
, was published in 1910 at his father’s expense - pillar of the presbytery though he was.
Ordained into the United Free Church of Scotland
in 1912, Young was appointed two years later to his first ministry in the village of Temple, Midlothian
, and married Janet Green, who was lecturing in English at a teacher training college in Glasgow. Thereafter she devoted her energies to looking after their two children, Anthony (1915–1987) and Alison (1922–2001), and making it possible for her husband to pursue his literary career.
After the hiatus of war service, Young’s next appointment took him to Sussex where in 1920 he became the minister of the Presbyterian Church at Hove
. In that year too Boaz and Ruth, his next collection was published, shortly followed by several more. The style was now that of the Georgian poets
, among whom he had many friends. He was later to renounce these books upon achieving the honed and focused nature poetry of Winter Harvest (1933) and the four later collections that he called his canon. Earlier poems were now ‘quarried’ and rewritten in his new style. The change was signalled by signing these poems as Andrew Young, rather than A.J.Young as formerly, and it was only from the publication of the 1960 Collected Poems that editors began to use selections from the earlier work again.
In 1939 he applied for admission to the Anglican ministry
and in 1941 became Vicar of the rural parish of Stonegate in East Sussex. In 1959 he was enabled to retire and moved to Yapton
, where he had become a canon of the nearby Chichester Cathedral
. The work of his later years included the two long religious poems of Out of the World and Back (1958), highly regarded at the time, and several prose works dealing with botany and the landscape. His literary reputation was being fostered in these years by Leonard Clark
, who made selections and collections of his poetry between 1959-1974. Thereafter his daughter, who had married the poet Edward Lowbury
, continued the work.
Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry
The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry is awarded for a book of verse published by someone in any of the Commonwealth realms. Originally the award was open only to British subjects living in the United Kingdom, but in 1985 the scope was extended to include people from the rest of the Commonwealth realms...
in 1952.
Life
Andrew Young was born to the stationmaster of ElginElgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
in Scotland in 1885. Two years later his father moved to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where young Andrew attended the Royal High School and later took an arts degree at the University of Edinburgh. The disappearance of his brother David in discreditable circumstances in 1907 so affected him that he gave up his intention to become a barrister and instead studied theology at the local New College
New College, Edinburgh
New College was opened in 1846 as a college of the Free Church of Scotland, later of the United Free Church of Scotland, and from the 1930s has been the home of the School of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh...
. Old habits died hard, however, and his first collection of poems, Songs of Night, a work of Swinburnean aestheticism
Aestheticism
Aestheticism was a 19th century European art movement that emphasized aesthetic values more than socio-political themes for literature, fine art, the decorative arts, and interior design...
, was published in 1910 at his father’s expense - pillar of the presbytery though he was.
Ordained into the United Free Church of Scotland
United Free Church of Scotland
The United Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland...
in 1912, Young was appointed two years later to his first ministry in the village of Temple, Midlothian
Temple, Midlothian
Temple is a village and parish in Midlothian, Scotland. Situated to the south of Edinburgh, the village lies on the east bank of the River South-Esk.-Pre-Reformation:...
, and married Janet Green, who was lecturing in English at a teacher training college in Glasgow. Thereafter she devoted her energies to looking after their two children, Anthony (1915–1987) and Alison (1922–2001), and making it possible for her husband to pursue his literary career.
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
. In that year too Boaz and Ruth, his next collection was published, shortly followed by several more. The style was now that of the Georgian poets
Georgian poets
The Georgian poets were, by the strictest definition, those whose works appeared in a series of five anthologies named Georgian Poetry, published by Harold Monro and edited by Edward Marsh. The first volume contained poems written in 1911 and 1912. The poets included Edmund Blunden, Rupert Brooke,...
, among whom he had many friends. He was later to renounce these books upon achieving the honed and focused nature poetry of Winter Harvest (1933) and the four later collections that he called his canon. Earlier poems were now ‘quarried’ and rewritten in his new style. The change was signalled by signing these poems as Andrew Young, rather than A.J.Young as formerly, and it was only from the publication of the 1960 Collected Poems that editors began to use selections from the earlier work again.
In 1939 he applied for admission to the Anglican ministry
Anglican ministry
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglican ministry includes many laypeople who devote themselves...
and in 1941 became Vicar of the rural parish of Stonegate in East Sussex. In 1959 he was enabled to retire and moved to Yapton
Yapton
Yapton is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is three miles to the north-west of Bognor Regis at the intersection of the B2132 and B2233 roads...
, where he had become a canon of the nearby Chichester Cathedral
Chichester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, otherwise called Chichester Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in Sussex, England...
. The work of his later years included the two long religious poems of Out of the World and Back (1958), highly regarded at the time, and several prose works dealing with botany and the landscape. His literary reputation was being fostered in these years by Leonard Clark
Leonard Clark
Leonard Clark was an English poet and anthologist. He was born and brought up in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, and the early experience of growing up in an essentially rural setting influenced both his prose and his poetry...
, who made selections and collections of his poetry between 1959-1974. Thereafter his daughter, who had married the poet Edward Lowbury
Edward Lowbury
Edward Joseph Lister Lowbury was a pioneering and innovative English medical bacteriologist and pathologist, and also a published poet.-Life:...
, continued the work.
Works
- Songs of Night (1910)
- Boaz and Ruth (1920)
- The Death of Eli (1921)
- Thirty One Poems (1922)
- The Cuckoo Clock (1922)
- The Adversary (1923) - verse plays
- The Bird Cage (1926)
- The New Shepherd (1931)
- Winter Harvest (1933)
- The White Blackbird (1935)
- Collected Poems (1936, Cape)
- Nicodemus (1937) - verse play
- Speak to the Earth (1939)
- A Prospect of Flowers (1944) - prose
- The Green Man (1947)
- A Retrospect of Flowers (1950) - prose
- Collected Poems (1950, Cape)
- Into Hades (1952)
- A Prospect of Britain (1956) - prose
- Out of the World and Back (1958)
- Quiet as Moss: 36 Poems (1959, 1967) - selection by Leonard Clark
- Collected Poems (1960, Hart-Davis)
- The Poet and the Landscape (1962) - prose
- Burning as Light: 37 poems (1967) - selection by Leonard Clark
- The New Poly-Olbion (1967) - prose poems
-
- Posthumous publications
- The Poetic Jesus (SPCK, London 1972) - prose
- Complete Poems (Secker & Warburg, London 1974)
- Andrew Young : remembrance and homage (Tidal Press, Maine, 1978) - small selection
- Parables (Keepsake Press, Richmond 1985) - mini-sermons
- The Thirteenth Key (Protean Publishing Company, Birmingham 1985) - fiction
- Poetical Works (Secker & Warburg, London 1985)
- Crystal and Flint (Snake River Press, Brighton 1991) - selection
- Selected Poems (Carcanet, Manchester 1998)
- Posthumous publications