Stella Cartwright was a Scottish

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

and lover to a number of Scottish poets. During her lifetime she was sometimes known as 'The Muse of Rose Street' and was often seen as part of a group meeting in Milnes Bar 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 ...

. She was the daughter of a local architect, her father was a friend of

Norman McCaig Norman Alexander MacCaig DLitt (14 November 1910 – 23 January 1996) was a Scottish poet and teacher. His poetry, in modern English, is known for its humour, simplicity of language and great popularity. Life Norman Alexander MacCaig was born ...

and through this connection she was introduced to other poets and writers. She features in Maggie Fergusson's biography of

George Mackay Brown George Mackay Brown (17 October 1921 – 13 April 1996) was a Scottish poet, author and dramatist with a distinctly Orcadian character. He is widely regarded as one of the great Scottish poets of the 20th century. Biography Early life and caree ...

and Stanley Roger Green's 'A Clamjafray of Poets: Tale of Literary Edinburgh 1950-1985' is both dedicated to her, and includes a full chapter on her. In his foreword to the book, Paul Henderson Scott suggests that "at least four of the six poets were in love with her, but she seems to have been an inspiration to them all". Her own work is little known and any poetry she produced is unpublished. Some of her artworks were sold in Edinburgh. Her best known relationship was with George Mackay Brown, to whom she was engaged, and she was described as 'The love of his life.' His correspondence to her is well-documented in archives of his life and work. Her relationship with Mackay Brown has also been reimagined in fiction in the novel ''Hame'' by Annalena McAfee. She is romantically linked also to Tom Scott and

Sydney Goodsir Smith Sydney Goodsir Smith (26 October 1915 – 15 January 1975) was a New Zealand-born Scottish poet, artist, dramatist and novelist. He wrote poetry in literary Scots often referred to as Lallans (Lowlands dialect), and was a major figure of the Sc ...

. She inspired Scott's poem of midlife crisis and religious loss, 'The Paschal Candil'. Letters from Goodsir Smith to Stella can be found in archives along with poems 'Seal Sang’ and ‘Christmas Carol 1966’ addressed to her. George Mackay Brown wrote Stella a birthday poem every year for the rest of her life. Cartwright struggled with alcoholism throughout her adult

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

and died prematurely in 1985 at the age of 47.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Stella 1938 births 1985 deaths Muses People from Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish people 20th-century Scottish women