From the minutes: Dr MacIntyre's report on our January 2009 meeting

The joint meeting with the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society was attended by around 50 members and guests. The President introduced Professor Sir Kenneth Calman who addressed us on Scottish literature and medicine. He was accompanied by Rhona Brown, a colleague from the English Faculty at Glasgow University who illustrated the talk with quotations from the wide range of writers discussed by Professor Calman. It was not an evening to be encapsulated in a brief summary – better to access the Society’s website to appreciate the broad range of literary references. Professor Calman used his study of Scottish literature to comment on a number of health related themes over several centuries – the people of Scotland and their lifestyle, health and health related behaviour, the role and public perception of doctors, description of diseases, and medicines and healing. His authors and poets covered some 600 years – from “the Bruce of the 14th Century” to “Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting”. This breadth of Scottish reading was clearly well beyond that of most of his audience but he asked us to help him in this continuing study – any new discovery linking literature to medicine would be welcome.

Dr Hazel Scott in giving the vote of thanks reflected on Professor’s Calman’s broad career and range of interests and thanked him for sharing his insight into Scottish literature.