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Walter McCorrisken

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Walter McCorrisken
Born(1926-05-28)28 May 1926
Died29 January 2004(2004-01-29) (aged 77)
LanguageEnglish
GenrePoetry

Walter McCorrisken (28 May 1926 – 29 January 2004) was a Scottish writer, self-styled as the world's worst poet.[1]

Writing career

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In the mid 1970s, McCorrisken entered a bad poetry competition organized by The Herald Diary in Glasgow. The competition ran for a month and attracted over 1000 entries from across Scotland. However, 259 of the entries were submitted by McCorrisken. He won the competition and claimed the title of Scotland's worst poet.[1]

McCorrisken's career as a writer extended over three decades while he continued with his day job at Glasgow Airport. He appeared on radio and television and was interviewed by Michael Parkinson and Michael Barrymore.[2]

The style of McCorrisken's writing is described as gentle, self-effacing and parochial humour.[3]

A documentary film about McCorrisken, The Renfrew Rhymer, [4] was made by filmmaker Paul Russell with the assistance of McCorrisken's son Richard. It premiered in June 2020.[5]

Works

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  • Come back again, hen: a Silver Jubilee poem (1977)
  • Cream of the dross (1979)
  • Cream of the crackers (1980)
  • Cream of the corn (1981)
  • Cream of the crop (1982)
  • More Punishing Poems from Walter McCorrisken – Scotland's Worst Poet (1984)
  • Porridge in my pibroch (1994) audiobook
  • Tadpoles in tenements : trials of a taxidermist (1997)
  • A Wee Dribble of Dross (1998)
  • Hairy Knees and Heather Hills (1998)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Walter McCorrisken Self-styled world's worst poet". The Herald Scotland. 5 February 2004. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  2. ^ Lennon, Holly (2 June 2020). "Documentary film made about 'world's worst poet' Walter McCorrisken from Renfrew". GlasgowLive. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  3. ^ Carrick, Heather (2 June 2020). "'World's worst poet' features in new documentary film". Glasgow Times. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  4. ^ "The Renfrew Rhymer: Walter McCorrisken". oneren.org. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  5. ^ Brenan, Victoria (2 June 2020). "Small screen glory for Scotland's 'worst' poet". The Herald Scotland. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
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