The Evergreen: “Spring”
For World Poetry Day and the spring equinox we have a poem from the spring edition of Evergreen. This was one of only 4 issues, published by Patrick Geddes and colleagues between 1895-6 (each themed around a season of the year). The first of the set, “Spring” with its ornate leather binding is 120 years old this year!
Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) was a Scottish polymath: botanist, ecologist, community activist, sociologist, geographer and philanthropist. He is known as the Father of Town Planning and promoted a wide range of sympathetic redevelopment and conservation schemes in Edinburgh. He was also an advocate of the importance of the arts to everyday life and Evergreen reflected his interest in Celtic revivalism.
This charming poem about the arrival of Spring is by Thomas Nicoll Hepburn (1861–1930). He was a Scottish poet and author who wrote under the pseudonym of Gabriel Setoun.