We were saddened to hear that the poet Roddy Lumsden passed away on Friday 10th January 2020, aged 53. Speaking at the T.S. Eliot awards on Sunday, Ian McMillan paid tribute to Roddy's life and work: "Many people here will owe the way they write to Roddy Lumsden. We will miss him very much."
Roddy Lumsden was born in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1966. His first book Yeah Yeah Yeah (1997) was shortlisted for Forward and Saltire prizes. His second collection The Book of Love (2000), a Poetry Book Society Choice, was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. 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. His last book, So Glad I'm Me (2017), was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize and the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year 2018 and reviewed in the PBS Bulletin.
Roddy received an Eric Gregory Award and was poetry editor of Salt Publishing from 2010-2013, as well as Series Editor of The Best British Poetry anthologies. He also edited the seminal anthology Identity Parade: New British and Irish Poets, published by Bloodaxe Books in 2010.
Roddy was a huge supporter of poets and a selfless champion of poetry. He will be much missed by the poetry community.