Douglas Eaglesham Dunn,OBE (born 23 October 1942) is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He is Professor of English and Director of St Andrew's Scottish Studies Institute atSt Andrew's University.
Dunn was born inInchinnan,Renfrewshire.[1] He was educated at the Scottish School of Librarianship, and worked as a librarian before he started his studies inHull. After graduating with a First Class Honours degree from theUniversity of Hull, he worked in the university'sBrynmor Jones Library underPhilip Larkin.[2] He was friendly with Larkin and admired his poetry, but did not share his political opinions.
He was a Professor of English at theUniversity of St Andrews from 1991, becoming Director of the University's Scottish Studies Centre in 1993 until his retirement in September 2008. He is now an Honorary Professor at St Andrews, still undertaking postgraduate supervision in the School of English. He was a member of theScottish Arts Council (1992–1994). He holds an honorary doctorate (LL.D., law) from theUniversity of Dundee, an honorary doctorate (D.Litt., literature) from the University of Hull and St Andrews. He became a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Literature in 1981, and was appointed an Officer of theOrder of the British Empire in 2003.
Terry Street, Dunn's first collection of poems, appeared in 1969 and received a Scottish Arts Council Book Award as well as aSomerset Maugham Award. Evoking his time working in Hull, the poems take as their inspiration working class life on a street ofback-to-backs just off the Beverley Road (the street remains today, but all of the houses have been replaced).
