Margaret Tait

Margaret Tait was one of Britain's most individual artist filmmakers. Over the course of 46 years she produced over 30 films including one feature, Blue Black Permanent (1992) and published five books of poetry and short stories, while living between the Island of Orkney and Edinburgh.
Margaret described her life's work as consisting of making film-poems. She often quoted Lorca's phrase of 'stalking the image' to define her philosophy and method, the idea that if you look at an object closely enough it will speak its nature. This clarity of vision and purpose with an attention to simple commonplace subjects combined with a rare sense of inner rhythm and pattern give her films a transcendental quality, while still remaining firmly rooted within the everyday. Margaret once said of her films, with characteristic modesty, that they are born of 'of sheer wonder and astonishment at how much can be seen in any place that you choose...if you really look'.

LUX publishes a Margaret Tait reader and DVD (including Hugh MacDiarmid: A Portrait), which can be purchased from www.lux.org.uk or amazon.co.uk

Margaret Tait, Selected Films 1952 - 1976
DVD contains the following films: Portrait of Ga (1952), Aerial (1974), Hugh MacDiarmid: A Portrait (1964), Colour Poems (1974), Where I am is Here (1964), Place of Work (1976), Tailpiece (1976), John Macfadyen (1970).

Subjects and Sequences: A Margaret Tait Reader
Subjects and Sequences gathers together new essays on Orcadian film-poet Margaret Tait's work, interviews, reprints of key poems, a story and texts as well as detailed filmography, chronology, bibliography and resources. Full colour throughout with extensive illustrations. Edited by Peter Todd and Benjamin Cook with contributions by Ali Smith, Gareth Evans, Lucy Reynolds, David Curtis, Ute Aurand, Sarah Wood, Janet McBain and Alan Russell.

more information on Margaret Tait and her films http://www.luxonline.org.uk/artists/margaret_tait
Writer Ali Smith pays homage to Margaret Tait http://www.luxonline.org.uk/tours/margaret_tait(1).html

Text supplied by Lux