Edwin Muir

Edwin Muir (1887-1959), Scottish poet, translator, and critic. From 1921 to 1925 Muir lived in Europe and, with his wife, Willa Anderson Muir, translated contemporary German literature. Their collaborations introduced the work of the Czech writer Franz Kafka to English-speaking readers. Muir's poetry, from First Poems (1925) to his last verse in Collected Poems (1960), has great strength and a tone of quiet thoughtfulness often mixed with complex mythic imagery. Scottish Journey (1935) is a report on conditions in modern Scotland, its pessimism relieved by compassionate concern for the land and its people. Muir's work was influenced by the discoveries of Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud and Swiss psychologist Carl Jung; Muir underwent psychoanalysis which affected his work. His autobiography of 1954 addresses the significance of his dreams, and his other works emphasize myth, dreams, and childhood memories.