Biography
Born in Strathmore, Sutherland, he never learnt to speak English, nor to read and write, but was strongly influenced by the poetry of Alexander Pope, which he heard in translation into Gaelic by the local minister, the Rev. Murdo MacDonald. His own poetical abilities were picked up early on by Iain MacEachainn, a tacksman who would patronise the former cowherd. In return, Rob Donn praised and delineated MacEachainn and his family in his poetry, in a way normally reserved for nobility in Scottish Gaelic poetry.
Another major figure in his life was Donald MacKay, the fourth Lord Reay. Both he and the Rev. Murdo MacDonald were great influences on him, and celebrated in his poetry.
Rob Donn's life coincided with the two major Jacobite campaigns, in 1715 (when he was only one) and in 1745.
Read more about this topic: Rob Donn
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“The best part of a writer’s biography is not the record of his adventures but the story of his style.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
—James Boswell (1740–95)