De Tavi Pontis Clade

Filed under: Web Links; in the year 2019, on the 14th day of January at 1:44 pm

Ain’t the internet wonderful? Over on fanworks website Archive of our Own, user “cnoocy” has discovered fragments of the best known work of “Caledonian poet Gulielmus McGonagall” in the original Latin. Here is the opening stanza:

Trāminis ō pulcher pons tū Tāvī radiantis!
Mortem (vae!) vītās nōnāgintā rapuisse
Lūmine postrēmō sanctō cūjūspiam || annī
(Hic millēsimus atqu’octōcentēsimus annus
Undēoctōgēsimus est) mē dīcere lædit
Cūjūs nos memorēs erimus per sæcula multa.

Cnoocy has also translated, oops, sorry, discovered the last stanza similarly transposed into Virgilian hexameters. I encourage you to go over there and read it. You can also find some other works inspired by the Tay Bridge Disaster there too.

Of course, you only really appreciate McGonagall if you read him in the original Klingon.

McGonagall’s Chronicles

Filed under: Events; in the year 2019, on the 10th day of January at 7:19 pm

There’s a treat for those able to get to Glasgow later this month, a short run of Gary McNair’s one man show dedicated to the life and works of our favourite poet and tragedian:

A biography of the late Dundonian poet, Sir William Topaz McGonagall, the play charts the poet’s life story, trying to understand how he could be so bad at what he did. It addresses the dilemma that surrounds his legend – is it okay for us to laugh at someone’s obvious and relentless failings?

The tale is brought to life by music from Frightened Rabbit’s Simon Liddell, and is directed by multi-award winning director Joe Douglas.

This theatrical gem will be performed from the 22nd to the 25th January at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, as part of the Celtic Connections festival. I won’t be able to go myself, but if anybody is able to see it and provide a review, I’d love to publish it.

Find out more at the theatre’s web site. Hat tip: The Scotsman.