Name/TitleThe Ponnage Pool
MakerCruickshank, Helen Burness
Maker RoleAuthor
About this objectHardback book titled 'The Ponnage Pool' by Helen B. Cruickshank. Signed by the author. The blurb states: "Two volumes of Helen Cruickshank's poems have previously appeared, 'Up the Noran Water' in 1934 and 'Sea Buckthorn' in 1954, both long out of print. The present volume contains a selection from these earlier publications together with some seventeen new poems, most of which have been written since her seventieth year."
Medium and MaterialsOrganic, paper and board
MeasurementsH: 222 x W: 143 x D: 8 mm
Date Made1968
Period1960s
Place MadeScotland, Edinburgh
PublisherM. Macdonald
Publication Date1968
Publication PlaceScotland, Edinburgh
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Cruickshank:
Helen Burness Cruickshank (15 May 1886 – 2 March 1975) was a Scottish poet and suffragette and a focal point of the Scottish Renaissance. Scottish writers associated with the movement met at her home in Corstorphine ... During World War I, Helen did weekend and holiday work on farms and in canteens. A summer job in the berry fields near Blairgowrie led to the publication of her first poem, "The Song of the Raspberry Picker", in 1917. Encouraged by this success, she began to write more, experimenting with different forms of verse, but sending only a small proportion of her work to editors. She contributed poems, mainly in her native Angus Scots, to Country Life, the Glasgow Herald and the Scots Magazine. She also published topical and satirical verse under various pseudonyms.
Cruickshank's first collection, Up the Noran Water (1934), published by Methuen, was mostly written in Scots with a few poems being written in English. Helen as a proud Scottish nationalist became a founding member of the Saltire Society in 1936. However, Helen's writing had to be put aside as her work-load became heavier due to World War II. Helen worked on a scheme to evacuate children abroad, and also volunteered for fire-watching duties at night, in addition to her own job and caring for her mother. Helen's mother died in 1940.
After the war, Helen took on the role of an Executive Officer for the Department of Health in Edinburgh, a role she held until her retirement, on medical grounds due to duodenal ulcers, in 1944. After her health had recovered sufficiently, Helen began to entertain once more at Dinnieduff. She was an enthusiastic follower of the Edinburgh International Film Festival since its beginnings in 1947. Helen's later works include Sea Buckthorn (1954), The Ponnage Pool (1968), Collected Poems (1971) and More Collected Poems (1978). She wrote poetry until the end of her life with her last unfinished poem being about a woman who cannot stop for death as she has too much to do [continues].
Subject and Association Keywordswomen's writing & literature
Subject and Association Keywordspoetry & verse
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypeBook
Object numberGWL-2025-94-1
Spine LabelTHE PONNAGE POOL ~ HELEN B. CRUICKSHANK
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved