How I became a published poet at 77

Publishing her first collection of poetry in her seventies has given Lilian McDade a new confidence

Retired English teacher Lilian McDade has written poetry for most of her adult life. It comes, she says, in fits and starts, helping her process the ups and downs of being human. But it’s only now, at the age of 77, that she feels she can legitimately lay claim to the label of “poet”.

That’s because she’s just had her first collection published, as part of Glasgow’s City of Poets community initiative.

Lilian attended a course with the organisation in February 2024, during which she sharpened her poetry-writing skills. She followed up with an advanced course in September – from which her anthology, Communion, was commissioned and published.

Making connections through poetry

“The collection represents my work over a period of 40 or more years,” Lilian says. “I don’t write in a particular style; my influences are varied. But I enjoy the process of bringing form to ideas through the structure of verse, using rhyme, rhythm and meter. It’s therapeutic, enabling me to explore my thoughts and feelings.”

Lilian certainly has plenty of experience to draw from as she produces her work. She lost her son, Daniel, to a virus when he was just 21. It turned her life upside down.

“I was already divorced, and I really struggled to see the point of going on after Daniel died,” she reflects. “Eventually, I moved into a new flat overlooking a park with dragonflies on the gate. Daniel and I had always loved dragonflies, so this felt like a positive sign.”

Taking this coincidence as motivation, Lilian says she made a decision to “embrace life”. She went to university to train as a teacher and began a career that would last until her retirement in her early 70s, working in schools in and around the Glasgow area.

“I was making up for lost time,” she says. “Until Daniel’s death, I was very self-conscious and wouldn’t push for what I wanted. Afterwards, I found who I am and decided I would devote myself to serving others.”

Meeting new people in later life

Education was just one way in which Lilian tried to positively influence the lives of others. She also discovered the power of the random compliment: “I stop people on the street to comment on something I like about their clothing, or show an interest in their lives,” she explains. “It’s amazing how people unfurl when you engage with them. Once they feel seen, they give a much better sense of who they are.”

Communion captures the sense of connection Lilian tries to establish with people she meets. “I know the title has religious connotations, but I mean it in a more general sense,” she says. “To my mind, we are all connected. Poetry is one of the ways I try to make sense of those connections, charting them in lived experiences that I recount in verse.”

An example from Lilian’s book is a poem entitled “Bike Ride”. It recounts a cycle ride she and Daniel took together, capturing the detail of the landscape and showing the love between mother and son. “That’s what I’m doing in my poetry,” she says. “I’m trying to make sense of experiences other people may recognise.”

“There’s so much more I’d like to achieve”

Judging by the warm reception Lilian’s work has received through Glasgow’s City of Poets and beyond, it is certainly striking a chord. That’s partly due to her extensive exposure to the trials of life. She drew on her own loss to train as a bereavement counsellor and has volunteered for Cruse Scotland since 2002.  Lilian has also worked with a private foster agency in her retirement. She certainly knows how to help people even at their lowest ebb.

Even so, she says she feels frustrated at not having done more in her 77 years. “There’s so much more I’d like to achieve. Life is short, and I want to make the most of every opportunity I have to reach other people.”

THINKING OF TIME – OF PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE – ALL BEING ONE

By Lilian McDade

In younger days

I didn’t know

that I was trailing such a future

nor did I recognize

my many pasts of shadows

and of sun

lovers children mothers

gone and come

and yet to be…

an ever-changing kaleidoscope

of others

and of self…

the me I was

the me I am

the me I yet will be

merge and separate

the gate to unity

dismembered and collated

living simultaneously

in the now, the then, the will be…

Fancy giving creative writing a try?

It’s never too late to get published. If you’re inspired by Lilian, there are several writing groups around the UK, which can be found here.

You might also consider entering the new 60+ Writers’ Award, organised by the Bridport Prize, for short stories, poetry, novels, or flash fiction. As Lilian’s story shows, it’s never too late to pick up a pen.