# Burns Singer > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Burns_Singer > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Burns_Singer.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Singer > Source revision: 1345746280 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) '''Burns Singer''' (29 August 1928 – 8 September 1964) was born '''James Hyman Singer''' in [New York City](/source/New_York_City). He was a Scottish poet and translator.{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Michael |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/896225809 |title=Lives of the poets |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1998 |isbn=0-297-84014-2 |location=London |pages=746 |oclc=896225809}} ==Early life and education== Though he was born in New York, from the age of four, Singer was brought up in Scotland and educated in [Glasgow](/source/Glasgow). At the age of 15 he already had well-developed and original literary interests.{{Cite book |first=Burns |last=Singer |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/3649361 |title=Selected poems [of] Burns Singer |date=1977 |publisher=Carcanet New Press |isbn=0-85635-177-6 |oclc=3649361}} Singer's father was a [Manchester](/source/Manchester)-born second-generation Jewish immigrant from Poland, his mother was of Irish, Scottish and Norwegian background. Singer would go on to adopt her maiden name, Burns. Singer showed considerable interest in [Polish poetry](/source/Polish_poetry). His collaborative translations of Polish poets included [Ignacy Krasicki](/source/Ignacy_Krasicki), [Juliusz Słowacki](/source/Juliusz_S%C5%82owacki), [Cyprian Norwid](/source/Cyprian_Norwid) and [Jerzy Peterkiewicz](/source/Jerzy_Peterkiewicz). Some of these appeared in the [anthology](/source/anthology) ''Five Centuries of Polish Poetry, 1450–1950'' (1962), with Peterkiewicz, and a later edition. ==Career and marriage== While in Scotland Singer studied English composition for two terms at the [University of Glasgow](/source/University_of_Glasgow) and then zoology. In 1945, at age 17, between two periods at Glasgow university, Singer went to [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall) where he came into contact with [W. S. Graham](/source/W._S._Graham), a major poetic influence. Singer then had a period of several years when he travelled and worked in Europe. After the 1951 suicide of his mother he returned to Scotland where he worked for four years the marine biology lab in Aberdeen, supporting his father. He had by then spent a year in [Marburg](/source/Marburg) and done some service in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army). In 1955, he married [Marie Battle](/source/Marie_Battle_Singer), an African-American psychologist; they moved to London, where he sought freelance work writing. He enjoyed a period of success in literary journalism and as a poet. ''Still and All'' (1957) was the only collection of his poetry published during his lifetime and was the [Poetry Book Society Recommendation](/source/Poetry_Book_Society_recommendation) for that year''.'' In 1960 he published with [Jerzy Peterkiewicz](/source/Jerzy_Pietrkiewicz) ''Five Centuries of Polish Poetry'',{{Cite book |author=Peterkiewicz, Jerzy |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1154546247 |title=Five centuries of Polish poetry, 1450-1950 |date=1960 |publisher=Secker & Warburg |oclc=1154546247}} a selection of translations. It is considered that his style was a "middle way" or compromise, between the [New Apocalyptics](/source/New_Apocalyptics) and [The Movement](/source/The_Movement_(literature)), or the [Scottish Renaissance](/source/Scottish_Renaissance) and the Sassenach. ==Death== He spent some time with Marie in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge), before ultimately returning to marine biology. His early death, in [Plymouth](/source/Plymouth), was from a heart attack. His ashes were scattered at sea. There is a memorial to Singer in the churchyard of [St Mary the Less](/source/Little_St_Mary's%2C_Cambridge) (Little St Mary's) in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge). ==Works== *''Living Silver'' (1953) - a study of the British fishing industry *''Still and All'' (1957) (poems) *''Five Centuries of Polish Poetry'' (1962) with Jerzy Peterkiewicz *''Collected Poems'' (1970) - posthumously, edited by W. A. S. Keir *''Selected Poems'' (1977) - posthumously, edited by Anne Clusenaar *''Collected Poems'' (2001) - posthumously, edited by James Keery == References == {{Reflist}} ==Sources== *[http://poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/record2a64-3.html?id=6386 poetry magazine article on Singer]{{dead link|date=February 2026}} *[https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/burns-singer/ Burns Singer 1928 - 1964]. Scottish Poetry Library. {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Burns}} Category:1928 births Category:1964 deaths Category:American emigrants to Scotland Category:American marine biologists Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:United States Army soldiers Category:20th-century American zoologists --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Burns Singer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Singer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Singer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.