Roddy Lumsden (1966-2020) was born in St Andrews and lived in Edinburgh for many years before moving to London. His first collection, Yeah Yeah Yeah (1997), was shortlisted for the Forward and Saltire prizes, and his second, The Book of Love (2000), for the T. S. Eliot Prize, as well as being a Poetry Book Society Choice. Mischief Night: New & Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2004) was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. His later collections were Third Wish Wasted (2009), Terrific Melancholy (2011), Not All Honey (2014), which was shortlisted for the Saltire Society’s Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award, and So Glad I’m Me (2017), shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2017 and the Saltire Society Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award 2018. His anthology Identity Parade: New British and Irish Poets was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2010. He was a freelance writer and editor, also specialising in quizzes and word puzzles, and represented Scotland twice on BBC Radio 4’s Round Britain Quiz. He also held several residencies, including ones with the City of Aberdeen, St Andrews Bay Hotel, and as ‘poet-in-residence’ to the music industry when he co-wrote The Message, a book on poetry and pop music (Poetry Society, 1999). His other books include Vitamin Q: a temple of trivia, lists and curious words (Chambers Harrap, 2004). Author photo © Hayley Madden for The Poetry Society
This biography is taken from the Bloodaxe Books website.
