Scottish Byron Society

For the year since summer 2013, this report may more properly be headed ‘Report of a Byron Society representative in Scotland’, since due to work and health reasons the founder members of the Scottish Society are somewhat dispersed.

The highlight of 2013 was the National Library of Scotland’s John Murray Archive support for the Kings College London conference exhibition and catalogue. This was to point up the theme Byron and Politics, with display at the Maugham Library.

Though lacking a Byron salon in the sense that Elma Dangerfield would have wished, we nevertheless feel well endowed with the JMA Albemarle Street-of-the-North on our doorstep which runs an extremely full literary programme with learned evening talks every week of the year. (Check the NLS quarterly Discover house magazine and What’s On.)

The lecture programme and website of the Scottish Hellenic Society whilst not overtly Byronic is the Edinburgh classics atheneum of excellence most likely to cater to the philhellene, with international network connection abroad to the British School in Athens and south to London King’s College, whence come half our invited speakers. Though nearly a year after publication, Roddy Beaton comes home to launch his Byron’s War on 1 April 2014 at NLS, accompanied by the Greek ambassador and party and his CUP publisher. Peter Cochran’s review in The Byron Journal, 41.2 (2013) is timely. A celebratory supper is planned.

3 March sees JMA Curator David Mc Clay giving an illustrated talk, ‘Paddy Leigh Fermor: Adventures and Travels in his Archives’. On 29 March Friends of the British School at Athens and the Hellenic Societies of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews invade the environs of Edinburgh Academy for a Greek Day.

Other privileged diverting occupation for one of your office bearers, just to recapitulate: honorary treasurership of the Scottish Poetry Library which in April 2014 is publishing After Lermontov, a volume of fresh translations following a conference on translation from Russian literature held in Moffat last autumn; honorary treasurership of the Robert Louis Stevenson Club; and role of honorary examiner to the Scottish branch of International PEN.

Whilst our English cousins may have been celebrating on 22 January the birthday of Lord Byron, 25 January continues to be dominated by Burns, the Edinburgh Burns Club this year being addressed by Regius Professor Nigel Leask of Glasgow University. And whilst his image is polished and put away in the chiffonier for another year both the New Club and the Advocates Library alternate as venues for the Walter Scott Club’s monthly talks for the year ahead. The most dynamic talk to the Walter Scotters lately was delivered by Professor Sigrid Rieuwerts on the theme of ‘Scott’s Border Minstrelsy’. She mentors German PhD students who seem to be striking gold in Scottish folklore and balladry.

As ever, given some notice, any Byron Society member from home or abroad will be made cordially welcome in any of the foregoing settings.