Mary Symon

Mary Symon (25 September 1863 – 27 May 1938) was a Scottish poet who wrote in Scots with a regional and rural focus. Her work was praised by Hugh MacDiarmid during the Scottish Renaissance. Her father was a prominent figure in local life, and helped to found the Pittyvaich Distillery. She was a graduate of The University of St Andrews.

Works Mary Symon grew up fluent in the Scots of rural Banffshire.

She had skill in translation, with three poems by Béranger represented in her work Deveron Days. She also had a strong knowledge of Banffshire traditions and customs, and wrote and lectured on these.

Legacy and death Following her death in 1938, Symon was buried next to her parents in Mortlach Old Kirk cemetery in Dufftown. alt=An image of an old, cream coloured church building. In the foreground are an array of gravestones and memorials.