Robin Jenkins

This article is about the Scottish novelist. For the English cricketer, see Robin Martin-Jenkins. For the American role-playing game designer, see Robin Jenkins (game designer).
Robin Jenkins
Born John Robin Jenkins
(1912-09-11)11 September 1912
nr. Cambuslang, Scotland
Died 24 February 2005(2005-02-24) (aged 92)
Occupation Novelist
Nationality Scottish
Citizenship Scottish
Alma mater University of Glasgow
Period 1950-2005
Genre Scottish literature
Notable works The Cone Gatherers
Notable awards OBE
1999
Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun prize
2008 lifetime achievement

John Robin Jenkins OBE (11 September 1912 – 24 February 2005) was a Scottish writer of thirty published novels, the most celebrated being The Cone Gatherers. He also published two collections of short stories.

Robin Jenkins was born in Flemington near Cambuslang in 1912;[1] his father died when John was only seven years old and he and his three siblings were brought up by his mother in straitened circumstances. However, he won a bursary to attend the former Hamilton Academy then a famous fee-paying school.[2] The theme of escaping circumstances through education at such a school was to form the basis of Jenkins's later novel Happy for the Child (1953) [3] Winning a scholarship, he subsequently studied Literature at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1936. During the Second World War, he registered as a conscientious objector and was sent to work in forestry (a theme that would re-appear in The Cone Gatherers). Upon the release of his first novel, So Gaily Sings the Lark in 1951, he shortened his writing name to 'Robin Jenkins'.

In the early years of his writing career, Jenkins worked as an English and History teacher. In the 1950s, he taught at Riverside Senior Secondary in Glasgow's East End and later moved with his family to Dunoon where he taught at the prestigious Dunoon Grammar School. He also spent four formative years at the Gaya School in Sabah, Borneo, living there with his wife May and their children. Before that, he had held British Council teaching posts in both Kabul and Barcelona.[4]

His best-known novel, The Cone Gatherers, is based upon his forestry work as a conscientious objector and is often studied in Scottish schools. While The Cone Gatherers has been criticised as being devoid of any real sense of place, other novels such as The Thistle and the Grail, his 1954 football story, paint vivid pictures of more accessible settings. His writing typically touches on many themes, including morality, the struggle between good and evil, war, class and social justice. Just Duffy is another of his novels which focuses on such themes, in a style which has been compared to that of the earlier Scottish writer, James Hogg.

Jenkins was awarded the OBE in 1999 and in 2003 received the Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun prize from the Saltire Society for his lifetime achievement. His portrait, by Jennifer McRae, is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland. The Robin Jenkins Literary Award has been established in his name.[5]

Robin Jenkins died in 2005, aged 92; his novel The Pearl-fishers was published posthumously in 2007.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Black and White Publishing, author's biography Retrieved 20 October 2010
  2. ↑ Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association Magazine, February 1950, feature on Hamilton Academy in the article series 'Famous Scottish Schools'
  3. ↑ The Association for Scottish Literary Studies - Robin Jenkins's Fiction Retrieved 20 October 2010
  4. ↑ Books from Scotland - biography, Robin Jenkins Retrieved 20 October 2010
  5. ↑ The Robin Jenkins Literary Award Retrieved 20 October 2010
Media offices
Preceded by
George Stone		 Editor of the Socialist Leader
1960s–1970s 		Succeeded by
Alistair Graham
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