Arts / ‘A rare privilege’: original Hugh MacDiarmid manuscripts and letters to feature in exhibition
MORE details have been released about a “landmark” new exhibition set to come to Lerwick soon which explores the life of Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid, who lived in Whalsay in the 1930s.
Outwith: Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay will focus on the years that poet MacDiarmid (the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve) and his wife Valda Grieve spent in Whalsay, exploring how the island influenced their lives and work despite persistent challenges.
The exhibition, due to be held at the Shetland Museum and Archives from 28 March to 20 June, is part of National Library of Scotland’s centenary celebrations.
Christopher Grieve spent nine highly creative years in Whalsay between 1933 and 1942.
However, it was Valda’s “strength, resilience and independence that were central to their survival”, National Library of Scotland said.
During these years, Grieve wrote half of his life’s work, drawing on Whalsay’s landscape and people, while the experience profoundly influenced his engagement with Scottish identity, language and politics.
The exhibition will feature original manuscripts of Shag’s Nest and In Dury Voe from the National Library’s collections, poems that were written during MacDiarmid’s Whalsay years.
Visitors will also be able to see personal letters sent between Chris and Valda in this period.
Director of collections, access and research at the National Library, Alison Stevenson, said: “We’re delighted to send these precious and personal papers from our shelves in Edinburgh to the museum in Shetland, and to collaborate with Shetland Museum and Archives to create an exhibition and events programme that will bring the past to life for residents of and visitors to Lerwick.
“These manuscripts and letters will help visitors step into the lives of this couple and discover how the island community and rugged tranquillity of Shetland shaped both their personal lives and creative legacies.
“We’re particularly excited by the renewed focus on Valda, whose memory is still kept alive by people in Whalsay today, and who leaves a fascinating legacy that we’re still learning more about.”
Shetland Museum and Archives’ collections manager Tracey Hawkins said it was a “rare privilege” to be able to host original letters and manuscripts, as well as other items.
“We are proud to present this special exhibition, which reveals how profoundly the island of Whalsay and its community shaped Hugh MacDiarmid’s work and the creative partnership he shared with Valda,” she said.
“Her story is integral to the exhibition, deepening our understanding of their relationship and its influence on his writing. It is a rare privilege to share these original letters and manuscripts in Shetland, alongside photographs and artefacts, offering fresh insight into a remarkable partnership and its enduring legacy.”
Culture secretary Angus Robertson meanwhile said the National Library of Scotland “has been and continues to be, a cornerstone of our nation’s cultural life, preserving, protecting and sharing Scotland’s remarkable and complex history”.
“It is valuable that, as part of National Library’s centenary celebrations these treasures are shared with Shetland Museum and Archives, enabling people to get close to these exhibits and explore the stories,” he said.
Other key items in the exhibition include photographs from the Grieves’ estate, and loans from Whalsay Heritage Centre including Valda’s knitting pattern books.
There will also be visual art from portrait artist Alexander Moffat (RSA) and landscape artist Ruth Nicol (RSW).
The exhibition is a continuation of the National Library’s national outreach programme OUTWITH: National Library around Scotland, which has been marking the library’s centenary around the country.
Cultural partners in Aberdeen, Perth and Shetland all chose items to borrow from the national collections that resonate locally.
As part of this project, Shetland Library will also host a special edition of National Library Live on Thursday 14 May, where a team of National Library staff will give taster talks about the library’s collections and resources, as well as drop-in games and activities.
They will also deliver a wider series of school and community outreach events around Shetland from 12–15 May, with more details to be announced in due course.
For more information, visit here.
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