Scotland Magazine section Scottish Poets

White Elephant

GAVIN D SMITH EXPLAINS THE PECULIAR SUCCESS OF SCOTLAND’S WORST POET WILLIAM MCGONAGALL, AKA ‘KNIGHT OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT OF BURMA’

Scotland’s second best-known poet after Burns”, I said to the magazine’s Editor, trying to persuade him to commission a feature about William McGonagall, who died a century ago this year. “Scotland’s second-best poet,” he mused. “No,” I replied, “second best-known. There’s a big difference.” Rober...

By Gavin D. Smith from Issue 5 published on 4/11/2002