RIP Edwin Morgan

Having made off with literary critic and scholar Frank Kermode yesterday, the Grim Reaper bagged Scottish poet Edwin Morgan, today:

Morgan, who was born in Glasgow in 1920, was recognised internationally as one of the great poets of the 20th century and his fame grew largest late in life. Winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, in 2004 he was appointed "Scots Makar", in effect Scotland's poet laureate, with his poetry widely taught in Scotland's schools.

He passed away at his care home in Glasgow, after a bout of pneumonia, but he had been battling prostate cancer since 1999. When he was diagnosed, his doctor told him he could live six months, or six years. Famously, he replied: "I will take the six years, thank you".

Morgan lived another decade, and went on to write Gorgon and Beau, a poem about the disease and the battle between healthy and cancerous cells.