Hamish Henderson Archive

Update at 4pm, Wed 15th June. 
"You've already hit your target, why should I give more?", we hear you cry. 
Well - we're sorry that we underestimated the amazing strength of feeling for Hamish and his work that is out there. We honestly thought we might struggle a bit to reach the initial £2,000, which was only intended to allow us to take the first step along a longer road, by doing a basic inventory of the papers to help make the case for the bigger campaign of a public body acquiring the papers for the nation. Because we busted through that first target within a matter of days, we have been encouraged to keep going towards that greater goal. So please keep giving until 11th July here and then follow our dedicated website which will be launched in time for the end of the Sponsume campaign at www.hamishhenderson.co.uk (currently redirects to Sponsume).

The Hamish Henderson Archive Trust is looking to raise funds to spend July/August 2011 making an initial inventory of the papers of Hamish Henderson, the Scottish poet, soldier, pacifist, political activist, songwriter and the leading folklorist of his generation.

Recipient of the Somerset Maugham Prize for Literature in 1949, and a songwriter of international standing, his songs have been acknowledged by such figures as Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Nelson Mandela.

Hamish was one of the co-founders of the School of Scottish Studies archive at the University of Edinburgh in 1951, which has gone on to record 12,000 hours worth of oral tradition reflecting the lives and cultures of the Scottish people.

Hamish sadly died in 2002, leaving behind a large personal archive of letters, unpublished poems and notebooks from his field collecting. The papers have been valued at almost £100,000, but despite negotiations with a number of public bodies to have them acquired for the nation, they still remain with Hamish's family. As a result, the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust has been formed by a group of friends of the Henderson family to secure the archive's fate and make it publicly accessible. 

This initial inventory is a vital first step towards securing funding for both the purchase of the full archive in the near future, working in partnership with a national repository, as well as future research on its contents by academic institutions.

Please help secure the legacy of this important cultural figure whose contribution to Scottish life is long overdue full recognition. 

Read more about Hamish here:
letsgetlyrical.com/cata-news/audio-hamish-henderson-tribute
www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/mar/11/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries
www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/hamish-henderson-729817.html
www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/arts/writingscotland/writers/hamish_henderson
www.eyes-and-ears.co.uk

All monies raised over our target will go towards the ongoing work of the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust, helping to achieve our longer term aim of securing the future of the archive.

For more information on the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust, contact
Follow us on Twitter @hamisharchive 

Video produced by the fabulous Jack Foster

Photo of Dominic Behan by kind permission of Alison Chapman McLean.
Opening photo of Hamish by Jeffrey Craig · Other photos credits: Ian Hamilton Finlay by Robin Gillanders · Jeannie Robertson by Fred Kent/School of Scottish Studies · Hamish in hat, scarf and glasses by Jean Mohr · Older Pete Seeger by Josef Schwarz · Alasdair Gray by Eamonn McCabe · Other photos from School of Scottish Studies/Ian F. MacKenzie/Henderson Archive
Some footage from 'Journey to a Kingdom' by Timothy Neat/Tree of Liberty Films. 
This video is unlisted on YouTube and can only be accessed using the direct link to this fundraising page. The Hamish Henderson Archive Trust is a non-profit making organisation.