Joe Corrie (13 May 1894 – 13 November 1968) was a Scottish miner, poet and playwright best known for his radical, working class plays. He was born in

Slamannan Slamannan ( gd, Sliabh Mhanainn) is a village in the south of the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. It is south-west of Falkirk, east of Cumbernauld and north-east of Airdrie. Slamannan is located at the cross of the B803 and B8022 ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

in 1894. His family moved to

Cardenden Cardenden () is a Scottish town located on the south bank of the River Ore in the parish of Auchterderran, Fife. It is approximately north-west of Kirkcaldy. Cardenden was named in 1848 by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway for its new railway ...

in the

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

coalfield when Corrie was still an infant and he started work at the pits in 1908. He died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1968. Shortly after the First World War, Corrie started writing. His articles, sketches, short stories and poems were published in prominent

socialist newspapers Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the econ ...

and journals, including ''Forward'' and ''The Miner.'' Corrie's volumes of poetry include ''The Image O' God and Other Poems ''(1927), ''Rebel Poems'' (1932) and ''Scottish Pride and Other Poems ''(1955). T. S. Eliot wrote "Not since Burns has the voice of Scotland spoken with such authentic lyric note". He turned to writing plays during the

General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

in 1926. His one-act plays and sketches were performed by the Bowhill Players, an amateur company of miners who performed to raise money for local

soup kitchens A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup ...

. The company operated professionally as the Fife Miner Players in 1928-31 under the management of comedian and theatrical agent, Hugh Ogilvie. Corrie's first play, ''Hogmanay'' was published by the Fife Miners' Reform Union. His full-length play, ''In Time O'Strife'', depicting the General Strike's effect on the Fife mining community, toured Fife mining villages and musical halls all over Scotland. Described by critic

Alan Riach Alan Scott Riach (born 1 August 1957)Smith, Anna'Riach, Alan (Scott)' ''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved 16 April 2022. is a Scottish poet and academic. He was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, and was educated at Gravesend Grammar School for Boys, C ...

as showing examplary 'defiance of the spirit'. Corrie wrote at last six plays about Robert Burns: the full-length "Robert Burns" and five one-acts, "The Rake o’Mauchline," "A Man’s A Man or Burns Amang the Gentry," "There Was a Lad," "Clarinda, and "Robert Burns and His Highland Mary," as well as a popular radio adaptation of “Tam o’Shanter” that was performed and broadcast repeatedly for over forty years, and at least half a dozen radio programs for Burns Nights. Corrie wrote a number of plays for groups who took part in the

Scottish Community Drama Association The Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) is an association of amateur dramatic clubs throughout Scotland. It was first founded in 1926. Amateur theatre companies in Scotland have generally presented repertoire in English, Lowland Scots ...

's annual competitive festivals. Winning plays included ''Martha'' (1935), ''And So To War'' (1936) and ''Hewers of Coal'' (1937). Corrie's commitment to naturalism invited strong criticism from the Scottish theatrical establishment in his day and caused him to feel disconnected from other Scottish writers. His work was staged professionally by

Scottish National Players Scottish National Players, founded in Glasgow c.1920 by figures such as playwright John Brandane, was a non-professional touring theatre company which had the aim to pioneer the establishment of a Scottish National Theatre along the lines of the ...

and the

Citizens' Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various s ...

, Glasgow. Posthumously, agitprop theatre group, 7:84 republished ''In Time O' Strife ''alongside'' ''a collection of writing and poems after their 1982 revival, which Alan Riach said was met with 'new acclaim'. The Corrie Centre community provision in Cardenden was named after Corrie in 1985. Corrie also wrote songs and many of his poems have been set to music. ''Maid of Kenmore'' was recorded by Robert Wilson.

Calum Kennedy Calum Kennedy (born as Malcolm Martin Kennedy; 2 June 1928 – 15 April 2006) was a Scotland, Scottish singer who performed in both English language, English and Scottish Gaelic. Biography Kennedy was born in Orinsay, a small crofting village ...

recorded ''Kirsteen''.

Battlefield Band Battlefield Band were a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band. The band is noted for t ...

recorded settings by Alan Reid of ''The Image O God'', ''Miners Wives'' and ''I Am the Common Man''. In 2013, ''The Joe Corrie Project: Cage Load of Men'', a collection of poems set to contemporary and traditional music, was released. The 2012 feature film, ''

The Happy Lands The Happy Lands is a 2012 British film written by Peter Cox and Robert Rae about a coal-mining community in Fife, Scotland, during the long strike of 1926. The film was released on 17 February 2012. Much of the film's dialogue is in the Scots ...

'', was inspired by ''In Time O' Strife'', being set in the same fictional village of Carhill. In 2019, the University of St Andrews released a biography of Corrie, as well as a guide to his archive and several academic essays in a new website marking the 50th anniversary of his death. This includes papers by Robert Crawford,

Tom Hubbard Tom Hubbard (born 1950) was the first librarian of the Scottish Poetry Library and is the author, editor or co-editor of over thirty academic and literary works. Biography Tom Hubbard was born in Kirkcaldy. After obtaining first class honour ...

, Willie Hershaw, Malcolm Petrie, Gavin Bowd, Sarah Leith, and Paul Malgrati.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corrie, Joe 1894 births 1968 deaths Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish miners People from Falkirk (council area) People associated with Fife People from Cardenden Scottish socialists Proletarian literature 20th-century Scottish poets Scottish male poets 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights

Further reading

References