A poet until the end, Edwin Morgan dies at 90

One of Britain and Scotland's best loved poets has died at the age of 90 after a ten-year battle with cancer.

The poet and playwright Liz Lochhead Was one of many who paid tributes to him on Thursday 19 August. It had been she who had read out his stirring poem celebrating the opening of the Scottish parliament in 2004.

Ms Lochhead said: "He made it clear that poetry could be about anything, from outer space to the cancer cell, of everything from ordinary scenes of people on buses, to intensely personal gay love poems,

"What his poetry said to me was life, and life abundantly".

Edwin Morgan had an international reputation as one of the great poets of the 20th century. Born in Glasgow in 1920 he became most renowned as he grew older, producing his best work in later life. He was winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry and was made, in effect, Scotland's poet laureate when, in 2004, he was appointed Scots Makar.

Since 1999 Edwin Morgan had battled prostate cancer following a bout of pneumonia. His doctor told him he could live six months - or six years - to which he famously replied: "I'll take the six years, thank you."

In fact, he lived another ten years and during this time he wrote Gorgon and Bleu which described the cancer and the fight between healthy and sick cells.

At her performance in Edinburgh at The Fringe. Poet Laureate carol Ann Duffy said: "A great, generous, gentle genius has gone. He was poetry's true son and blessed by her. He was quite simply irreplaceable."

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Edwin Morgan was truly a great man, an exceptional poet, an inspiration and a most fitting choice as Scotland's first National Poet.

"I vividly recall the poem he wrote, 'For the Opening of the Scottish Parliament', when he wrote, 'Don't let your work and hope be other than great'."

Ms Lochhead said she had been terrified at reading out the poem: "It was a great rhythmic thing of tongue-twisters to do, but it made perfect sense to everybody listening to it.

"There was nothing anodyne about Eddie Morgan, ever."

Edwin Morgan continued to write up to the end of his life, despite hearing and other physical difficulties. His volume of poetry Dreams and Other Nightmares, was published at the end of April which he celebrated with his 90th birthday party along with tributes from leading Scottish writers.

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