Full coverage at funeral of 'world-class' poet Edwin Morgan

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Leading figures from the fields of art and politics gathered to say farewell to "world-class poet" Edwin Morgan at his funeral in Glasgow.

Morgan, Scotland's national poet, died aged 90 at his care home in Glasgow on August 19. He had suffered from prostate cancer since 1999 but died after a bout of pneumonia.

He was recognised as one of the great poets of the 20th century and was appointed 'Scots makar', in effect Scotland's poet laureate, in 2004 by the then First Minister Jack McConnell.

Full coverage at funeral of 'world-class' poet Edwin Morgan

On Thursday hundreds of people attended a humanist service to celebrate his life in Bute Hall at the University of Glasgow, where he was a student, lecturer and later a professor.

First Minister Alex Salmond, Mr McConnell, novelists James Kelman and Alasdair Gray and poet and playwright Liz Lochhead were among those present.

Eulogy

Delivering the eulogy, Dr George Reid, former Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, said that Morgan "expanded the frontiers of Scottish poetry".

He said: "We honour a world-class poet who was one of our own. A master of versatility and variety in verse.

"A poet of this parish who was universal in his outreach. A whittrick of a writer who could start in a tenement close and take this city and country off on an intergalactic voyage.

"A great humanist Scot who, despite all the pyrotechnics of his poetry, always wanted to explore existence and what it means to be alive. Nothing was beyond Eddie's frontiers."

Dr Reid also described how Morgan publicly announced that he was gay "as a 70th birthday present to himself" and approached life with vigour through his 80s.

A black-and-white photo of Morgan was projected onto a screen at the back of the hall behind the coffin, on which a thistle had been placed.

'Big Seven'

During his life Morgan penned more than 60 poetry books and was the last remaining member of the 'Big Seven' group of poets which comprised Hugh MacDiarmid, Robert Garioch, Norman MacCaig, Iain Crichton Smith, George Mackay Brown and Sorley MacLean.

During the service, fellow poets including Ms Lochhead and Hamish Whyte read from Morgan's work, with David Kinloch reading Strawberries, Morgan's famous love poem.

Musician Tommy Smith read Morgan's poem Wolf and played the saxophone piece he improvised to accompany the work.

At the end of the service, the university choir sang Is There for Honest Poverty by Robert Burns.

The coffin was then carried from the hall to the sound of Strawberry Fields by the Beatles, Morgan's favourite band, which was played live on the organ.

University chaplain Rev Stuart MacQuarrie said: "Eddie was a national figure in Scottish life and indeed in international life.

"His words reached out to many people and touched many hearts. He was not just ours, he was not just Scotland's, he belonged to the wider world."

After the service mourners were invited to enjoy a dram of Glenmorangie, Morgan's favourite whisky, and a Tunnocks caramel wafer in a room at the university.

The service was followed by a private cremation at Maryhill Crematorium which the poet's close family and friends attended.

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