Magnus Dixon

About Magnus Dixon

Magnus Dixon was emboldened to keep writing after winning the Foyle Young Poets of the Year award in 2013, and has since won and been commended in the competition twice.  A childhood spent in an Aberdeenshire fishing village saturated the imagery and soundscapes of his winning poetry and the intersection between people and the hostile geographies they are immersed in consumed his writing.  In 2015’s winning poem: ‘Compass-Point Lullabies for Emily,’ this intersection is a benign one— hands are in peaceful equilibrium with the land they work.  Identity and rural life’s paradoxes of community and isolation are explored in ‘Streetview’: a monologue from the fisheyed perspective of google maps’ yellow man. Now eighteen, Magnus studies Geography and Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow.  This sea change in his life has shaken up his writing and he hopes to publish soon.  

Magnus’s recording was made along with the other winners of the Foyle Young Poet of the Year. Talking about the experience of winning the prize and making a recording for the Poetry Archive Magnus said:

“Foyle has been an incredible adventure through poetry and has been intertwined with my writing since I was 13. The encouragement that the poetry society provides has given me the confidence to be bold in my writing and explore the world of poetry. A wealth of opportunities have arisen from Foyle— taking me from Gretna Green to London to Ledbury, the new places and experiences themselves catalysts for my writing. Meeting other young writers has given me the best friends and provided inspiration and support for my writing. Going to London to record my poetry was amazing, even if the tube did terrify and baffle me. Thankfully a friend I made through Foyle was my tour guide and got me to the studio where everyone was so friendly. It was a real privilege to be able to get my scribblings professionally recorded, and adds a different dimension to my writing.”