The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Rarely seen bronze bust of Montrose poet unveiled to public
ARTS: Bust of Helen B Cruickshank to go on show at Glenesk Folk Museum
A rarely seen bronze bust of Montrose poet Helen B Cruickshank will be unveiled to the public during an afternoon of interactive entertainment in the Angus glens.
An informal afternoon of poetry and song will run from 2.30 to 4.30pm at the Glenesk Folk Museum tomorrow.
Angus Whitson, The Courier’s popular Man with Two Dogs columnist, and Christine Kydd, acclaimed exponent of traditional songs and the communities they come from, are presenting the entertainment introducing some of the inspiring voices of the Angus Glens and the north-east.
The museum has received the generous gift of a bronze bust of Montrose poet Helen B Cruickshank by Scottish sculptor Vincent Butler.
Born in Manchester, Butler studied at Edinburgh College of Art and under Marino Marini and Giacomo Manzù at the Brera Academy in Milan.
In 1963 he returned to Scotland, taking up a post at Edinburgh College of Art which he held until 1989.
He is one of the country’s leading figurative sculptors, concentrating on the human form. Bronze is Butler’s preferred medium, but he also works in stone and wood.
He is a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Glasgow Institute.
Helen Cruickshank was born at Hillside near Montrose.
The poet Hugh Macdiarmid, a close friend, described her as a catalyst to the Scottish literary renaissance of the 20th Century.
As Secretary of the Scottish PEN (an international association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists) she encouraged many young writers and was a particular support to Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
This sculpted head suggests both her strength and openness of spirit.
Her own first collection of poems ‘Up the Noran Water’ was published in 1934.
Helen was a contemporary and friend of Montrose’s other nationally known poet, Violet Jacob.
Angus will be reciting her poetry and Christine will perform songs and ballads of the north-east.
The event will be the first time the bust has been on public display for many years.
The event is free but donations for the museum will be welcome.