William J. (Billy) Tait
1918 - 1992
Born in Yell. Taught in Lerwick, then on the mainland, and retired to Shetland in later life. He wrote poetry in Shetland dialect, English, and Scots, was nationally recognised and widely published in his lifetime. His work has been acclaimed for both its quality and its scope. A Day Between Weathers, his only collection, was published in 1980 by Paul Harris, Edinburgh. His remarkable dialect writing includes translations from, among others, the French poets Villon and Ronsard. In his poem ‘A Hogmanay Sermon’, he advises Shetland poets: Open your een./ Dunna glinder ida aze. Hit maitters little/ whit wy you look, As lang as you look hard.
