Obituary
Thursday 25 February 2010 19:46
Councillor and passionate campaigner for the Scots language Born: 25 October, 1951, in Dumfermline. Died: 13 February, 2010 in Blackford, aged 58. The untimely death of John MacPhail Law at his Blackford home came as an enormous shock to all his friends and family.
John was robust, strong, always active and engaged with passion and energy in everything that interested him. He gave the impression of being indestructible. No problem fazed him; where he had a will, there was always a way.
He was born in Dunfermline, the son of Thomas Law and Peggy (Margaret) MacPhail, but the family eventually settled in rural Lanarkshire. His father, of Lanarkshire mining stock, was a considerable poet, writing as TS Law, a left-wing republican and advocate of Scots language.
His radicalism was balanced by the gentle sensitivity of Peggy, who more than held her own, quietly. She was born and raised in South Africa, but her family roots were on Mull, and echoes of the diaspora of the Gaels from Mull and the Gaelteachd resonated deeply with John, who at one point went out of his way to learn Gaelic and harboured desires to go to live in Argyll.
John inherited his father's political radicalism and love of literature and spent much of his life promoting left-wing Scottish nationalism. Eventually, he became a diligent councillor, serving on Perth and Kinross Council for the SNP, two terms for Letham ward between 1988 and 1996 and one for Strathallan, 2007 until his death. In 1973, John married Janet, whom he met in the 1960s.
Their daughter, Anna, now lectures in psychology at John Moores University in Liverpool. His working career proves him as indeed a "lad o pairts", not following the conventional path of an academic (and sporting) achiever.
He studied English and philosophy at Glasgow University, briefly teaching English at Vale of Leven Academy. But teaching wasn't for him – his main ambition was to be a writer. He did many other things, repairing TVs and radios, tinkering with computers, repairing cars, and, before it was fashionable, looking after Anna while Janet taught art.
Eventually he established and ran the computing business Silicon Glen. By this time, the family were living in Perthshire. Their house became a hub of activity – political, cultural, literary. There was a remarkable "gang" of friends from Hamilton Academy, many now distinguished in diverse careers and who, thanks to the hospitality always on offer from the Laws, maintained strong links to the end.
Others, like me, added to the extended family. We all have fond memories of "nichts" in stimulating conversation. John collaborated with many people on various ingenious ideas. When he was first elected as a councillor in 1988, he asked me for ideas for a cultural project. I'd been researching the poet William Soutar, and suggested Soutar's house, left to the town by the poet's father, which had fallen into neglect.
We evolved the idea of renovating the house and establishing a writer in residence – and soon this idea was a reality. John did all the work. Something similar happened in 1993, leading to what is now the Scots Language Centre (SLC), which John convened for several years. John took up the Scots language cause with a passion.
He could be thrawn, and once an idea took hold of him he could dig his heels in. There were disagreements with a number of people over the years. At one point he determined that a Scots spelling checker was essential and set about creating one with gusto.
But you can't have a commitment and dedication as powerful as John's without sparks flying. He had an implacable will. But never was there bad feeling left. John was too good-natured for that. For him, life was about doing what mattered – and enjoying good things. 2001 saw the creation of the Parliament's Cross Party Group for Scots Language, and John played a huge role there.
It is largely thanks to John's work that there is going to be a Scots Language question in the coming census, for example. John became editor of Lallans, the magazine for new writing in Scots, taking it to new heights of publication in content, presentation and design.
He persuaded SLC to "adopt" the Scotsoun archive of sound recordings of hundreds of poets, collected over many years. One of John's last acts was the production of a uniquely interesting catalogue for Scotsoun. Latterly he stepped back both from SLC and Lallans but continued to administer the Scots Language Society. More recently, John was looking to explore new territory. He realised a long-standing dream in 2006 by visiting South Africa, renewing contacts with relatives.
He also intensified his literary activities. His father had died in 1997, leaving an enormous literary archive. Working with Anna and Tom Hubbard he published At the Pynt o the Pick – a collection of his father's poems,. such as The Years Gane By, written for Peggy.
John also began translation work. Chapman, the magazine I edit, published his resetting of Pablo Neruda's long poem Alturas de Macchu Picchu as a pamphlet. |
ng with others to update Gavin Douglas's translation of Virgil's Aeneid. Almost certainly, he had in mind his youthful desire to be a writer, and was serving a belated apprenticeship. So many people in diverse fields are now left lamenting the things that otherwise would have come to pass. I don't think I'm alone in feeling my own resolve to carry on strengthened by his loss.
He helped so many people – friends, neighbours, constituents, collaborators, in so many ways. Bullish though he sometimes seemed, he was also extraordinarily sensitive – the care he gave to his mother in her closing years was exquisite.
He was a good friend to me, always doing what he could to help. He also, last year, became a doting grandfather when Anna gave birth to Charlie. So, we lose a chiel amang us who did much more than take notes. John's life was a unique contribution to "Scottish cultural affairs". He operated without thought for himself – never out of regard for any personal betterment.
He could, for example, have pursued political ambition, but chose not to. Always characteristic and individual, sometimes full of mischief and fun, he combined all that with a profound and thoroughgoing seriousness, which made him hard going at times.
But that stemmed from the depth of his belief in the rightness of certain things that he felt unarguable. And nobody who knew him would argue
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Councillor and passionate campaigner for the Scots language Born: 25 October, 1951, in Dumfermline. Died: 13 February, 2010 in Blackford, aged 58. The untimely death of John MacPhail Law at his Blackford home came as an enormous shock to all his friends and family.
John was robust, strong, always active and engaged with passion and energy in everything that interested him. He gave the impression of being indestructible. No problem fazed him; where he had a will, there was always a way.
He was born in Dunfermline, the son of Thomas Law and Peggy (Margaret) MacPhail, but the family eventually settled in rural Lanarkshire. His father, of Lanarkshire mining stock, was a considerable poet, writing as TS Law, a left-wing republican and advocate of Scots language.
His radicalism was balanced by the gentle sensitivity of Peggy, who more than held her own, quietly. She was born and raised in South Africa, but her family roots were on Mull, and echoes of the diaspora of the Gaels from Mull and the Gaelteachd resonated deeply with John, who at one point went out of his way to learn Gaelic and harboured desires to go to live in Argyll.
John inherited his father's political radicalism and love of literature and spent much of his life promoting left-wing Scottish nationalism. Eventually, he became a diligent councillor, serving on Perth and Kinross Council for the SNP, two terms for Letham ward between 1988 and 1996 and one for Strathallan, 2007 until his death. In 1973, John married Janet, whom he met in the 1960s.
Their daughter, Anna, now lectures in psychology at John Moores University in Liverpool. His working career proves him as indeed a "lad o pairts", not following the conventional path of an academic (and sporting) achiever.
He studied English and philosophy at Glasgow University, briefly teaching English at Vale of Leven Academy. But teaching wasn't for him – his main ambition was to be a writer. He did many other things, repairing TVs and radios, tinkering with computers, repairing cars, and, before it was fashionable, looking after Anna while Janet taught art.
Eventually he established and ran the computing business Silicon Glen. By this time, the family were living in Perthshire. Their house became a hub of activity – political, cultural, literary. There was a remarkable "gang" of friends from Hamilton Academy, many now distinguished in diverse careers and who, thanks to the hospitality always on offer from the Laws, maintained strong links to the end.
Others, like me, added to the extended family. We all have fond memories of "nichts" in stimulating conversation. John collaborated with many people on various ingenious ideas. When he was first elected as a councillor in 1988, he asked me for ideas for a cultural project. I'd been researching the poet William Soutar, and suggested Soutar's house, left to the town by the poet's father, which had fallen into neglect.
We evolved the idea of renovating the house and establishing a writer in residence – and soon this idea was a reality. John did all the work. Something similar happened in 1993, leading to what is now the Scots Language Centre (SLC), which John convened for several years. John took up the Scots language cause with a passion.
He could be thrawn, and once an idea took hold of him he could dig his heels in. There were disagreements with a number of people over the years. At one point he determined that a Scots spelling checker was essential and set about creating one with gusto.
But you can't have a commitment and dedication as powerful as John's without sparks flying. He had an implacable will. But never was there bad feeling left. John was too good-natured for that. For him, life was about doing what mattered – and enjoying good things. 2001 saw the creation of the Parliament's Cross Party Group for Scots Language, and John played a huge role there.
It is largely thanks to John's work that there is going to be a Scots Language question in the coming census, for example. John became editor of Lallans, the magazine for new writing in Scots, taking it to new heights of publication in content, presentation and design.
He persuaded SLC to "adopt" the Scotsoun archive of sound recordings of hundreds of poets, collected over many years. One of John's last acts was the production of a uniquely interesting catalogue for Scotsoun. Latterly he stepped back both from SLC and Lallans but continued to administer the Scots Language Society. More recently, John was looking to explore new territory. He realised a long-standing dream in 2006 by visiting South Africa, renewing contacts with relatives.
He also intensified his literary activities. His father had died in 1997, leaving an enormous literary archive. Working with Anna and Tom Hubbard he published At the Pynt o the Pick – a collection of his father's poems,. such as The Years Gane By, written for Peggy.
John also began translation work. Chapman, the magazine I edit, published his resetting of Pablo Neruda's long poem Alturas de Macchu Picchu as a pamphlet. |
ng with others to update Gavin Douglas's translation of Virgil's Aeneid. Almost certainly, he had in mind his youthful desire to be a writer, and was serving a belated apprenticeship. So many people in diverse fields are now left lamenting the things that otherwise would have come to pass. I don't think I'm alone in feeling my own resolve to carry on strengthened by his loss.
He helped so many people – friends, neighbours, constituents, collaborators, in so many ways. Bullish though he sometimes seemed, he was also extraordinarily sensitive – the care he gave to his mother in her closing years was exquisite.
He was a good friend to me, always doing what he could to help. He also, last year, became a doting grandfather when Anna gave birth to Charlie. So, we lose a chiel amang us who did much more than take notes. John's life was a unique contribution to "Scottish cultural affairs". He operated without thought for himself – never out of regard for any personal betterment.
He could, for example, have pursued political ambition, but chose not to. Always characteristic and individual, sometimes full of mischief and fun, he combined all that with a profound and thoroughgoing seriousness, which made him hard going at times.
But that stemmed from the depth of his belief in the rightness of certain things that he felt unarguable. And nobody who knew him would argue
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John Law's
Set Owre Frae Pablo Neruda's
Alturas de Macchu Picchu
The Heicht o Macchu Picchu
John
Law es un poeta escocés a quién conocí muy bien. John en
un grandísimo esfuerzo intelectual tradujo del castellano al "scots
tongue" y por primera vez, uno de los grandes poemas de Neruda que
aparecen en su Canto General: las Alturas de Macchu Picchu.
John fue uno de mis invitados en el 2004 a la celebración que hice
en Edimburgo para conmemorar el centenario del nacimiento de nuestro querido
poeta.
"The scots tongue" es, de vez en cuando, llamada en Escocia,
la lengua de las tierras bajas (the Lawland) y sería la parte este
del país donde hay ciudades como Edimburgo y Dundee.
La distinción se hace para no confundir "the scots tongue"
o "lengua de los escoceses" y derivada del lenguaje anglicano,
con el Gaélico: el lenguaje de los habitantes de las llamadas tierras
altas (The higlands) y las islas del oeste de Escocia.
Recien me entero de su muerte y esto esto es duro. Le doy mis infinitas gracias por su trabajo sobre la bra nerudiana.
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