William McGonagall - weaver, tragedian and poet - ridiculed by his
peers for his use of language, has become known as the 'worst poet'
of all time, and 'Scotland's other national bard'. His influence
has spread far and wide. Spike Milligan renewed interest in the
poet - McGonagall making frequent appearances in "The Goon Show",
alternatively played by Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. "Harry
Potter" readers know of Minerva McGonagall - so named by JK Rowling
after the poet. Fans of "The Muppet Show" will recognise Angus
McGonagle - the Argyle Gargoyle. In Terry Pratchett's "The Wee Free
Men", the Nac Mac Feegle have a Gonagale as a battle poet who uses
dreadful poetry to see off the enemy. Monty Python's "Flying
Circus" created the McGonagallesque character Ewan McTeagle played
by Terry Jones. Billy Connolly's "World Tour Of Scotland" featured
him reading McGonagall. "Private Eye" has recently parodied his
work. It is the mangled metre, limited vocabulary, clumsy rhythms,
distractingly awful rhymes, lack of poetic metaphor and
extraordinarily inappropriate imagery of his poems which combine to
delight and appal, and his indomitable spirit that made his legend
grow. Having been drawn to poetry in the 1870s he never stopped his
efforts, publishing various collections and broadsheets of his work
and touring widely giving readings, becoming something of a cult
figure in his own lifetime. Scots, young and old, at home and
abroad, celebrate his memory, and this new presentation of his work
will appeal to those who already hold him dear, and bring a new
audience to his work who will learn why he had bestowed upon him
the elaborate title, "Sir William Topaz McGonagall, Poet and Knight
of the White Elephant, Burmah" and understand why he carried an
umbrella to protect himself from rotten fruit. McGonagall, who died
in September 1902, is most famous for his account of the Tay Bridge
Disaster in 1879 when a storm destroyed the bridge as a train
passed over it. Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay! Alas!
I am very sorry to say, that ninety lives have been taken away, on
the last Sabbath day of 1879, which will be remember'd for a very
long time. "The Comic Legend of William McGonagall" by Charles
Nasmyth - with an introduction by Richard Demarco, Scotland's most
influential advocate for contemporary art - is a part-satirical,
part-factual collection which illustrates the legend and poetry of
the maligned Edinburgh-born Dundonian owing as much to the "Broons"
and "Oor Wullie" comic strip artist Dudley Watkins as it does to
William Blake and the Surrealists. Combining the absurd with
elements of social satire and artistic parody, the illustrations, a
series of 36 paintings, depict McGonagall in a range of roles and
settings, from a romantic partner to Marilyn Monroe to an enemy of
Hitler, providing a fascinating portrayal of the poet and his
unconventional verse in a quite unique collection. The artist sees
McGonagall as a complex character. 'He may have been deluded with
regard to his own abilities, but he was motivated by an unshakeable
self-belief which is one of the very qualities we associate with
genius' - "Scotland on Sunday".
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