Dr Fred Freeman (Fellow, English, University of Edinburgh) -Culture and Colonialism: A Tribute to Hamish Hederson

CULTURE AND COLONIALISM

FRED FREEMAN

on Hamish Henderson

Hamish Henderson (1919-2002), poet and songwriter, was one of the outstanding cultural and political figures of the twentieth century. He accepted the surrender of Italy during World War II, won the Somerset Maugham prize for his war elegies (which bear comparison with Wilfred Owen or Siegfried Sassoon), and helped found the University of Edinburgh‰۪s School of Scottish Studies. His songs were sung by British soldiers and Italian partisans to battle in the 1940s, and by the freedom fighters of South Africa in the 1960s, and recognised by Nelson Mandela, E.P. Thomson, Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, & Bob Dylan.

11am Wednesday 9^th October

Arts Millennium AM 203

All welcome

CULTURE AND COLONIALISM:

A TRIBUTE TO HAMISH HENDERSON

Drawing musical and poetical examples from Dr Fred Freeman‰۪s CD tribute album, the talk considers in context one of the outstanding figures of the twentieth century: a man who accepted the surrender of Italy during World War II; won the Somerset Maugham Prize for his war elegies (which bear comparison with Siegfried Sassoon or Wilfred Owen); was a prime mover for the founding the School of Scottish Studies; and influenced, quite directly, the course of twentieth-century history. His songs (like BALLAD OF THE D-DAY DODGERS, BANKS OF SICILY, RIVONIA & THE FREEDOM COME ALL YE) were sung by British soldiers and Italian partisans in the field of battle during WW II and by the freedom fighters of S. Africa throughout the 1960s. His achievement has been fully acknowledged by Nelson Mandela, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, E. P. Thomson and others.

Hamish Henderson worked for some years for Workers Education in Northern Ireland, after WW II, and his songs like THE FREEDOM COME ALL YE have been recorded by several groups like The Dubliners.

Dr. Fred Freeman (Fellow, English, University of Edinburgh)

Dr. Fred Freeman is an internationally acclaimed scholar and researcher on the song traditions of Scotland. He has published over 100 articles, together with books and comprehensive CD collections, documenting the rich history of Scotland‰۪s song poets and their work.