Long time he lay upon the sunny hill,
To his father's house below securely bound.
Far off the silent, changing sound was still,
With the black islands lying thick around.
From ‘Childhood’ by Edwin Muir
Muir’s idyllic childhood contrasted with his later teenage years spent in Glasgow, when he suffered several family tragedies. He went on to become a translator, novelist and poet. Edwin Muir and his wife Willa were the first people to translate Kafka’s works into English.
Bu Farm - Edwin Muir courtesy of Orkney Library & Archive
White Galloway Cattle at Onziebust, Wyre, Cubbie Roos castle and Bu Farm on the right in the distance. Tori Quinn, Age 21
