The poet who turned cleaning into an art of espionage

Science · Published 20 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before she became Scotland's Makar, Jackie Kay worked as a cleaner for John le Carré—the man who wrote the world's most famous spy novels. She viewed her role not just as manual labor, but as a clandestine way to listen in on secrets, a perspective that shaped her literary career.

Jackie Kay’s early life was defined by complex identities and social navigation. A white Scottish pair took her in as an infant, despite her being born in 1961 within Edinburgh to parents from Nigeria and Scotland. Growing up in Bishopbriggs, she faced racism from both peers and teachers. These experiences of navigating multiple perspectives—race, nationality, and gender—became the foundational architecture for her debut poetry collection, 'The Adoption Papers' (1991). This piece features a diverse narrative style, depicting the experiences of three females: her mother who adopted her, her biological parent, and a biracial girl raised by adoption.

A crucial meeting with painter Alasdair Gray steered her toward literary pursuits, as he identified her talent for verse rather than drama. However, her practical background provided a unique vantage point for her craft. While working as a cleaner for David Cornwell (who wrote under the pseudonym John le Carré), Kay developed a philosophy of observation. She famously advised aspiring writers that cleaning work allows one to be a 'spy' because people often assume you aren't taking anything in, providing a front-row seat to private lives.

Kay’s career has been marked by significant institutional roles and literary recognition. From 2016 to 2021, she served as the Makar, the national poet of Scotland. She also held the position of Chancellor at the University of Salford from 2015 to 2022. Her bibliography spans fiction, poetry, and biography, including 'Trumpet' (inspired by transgender jazz musician Billy Tipton) and a biography of blues singer Bessie Smith. In September 2024, her literary archive was acquired by the National Library of Scotland.

Her work frequently addresses historical and personal searches for truth. Her novel 'Red Dust Road' (2010) chronicles her search for her biological parents—a mother who was a nurse and a father who was a student at Aberdeen University. This theme of seeking origins, combined with her exploration of the Atlantic slave trade in 'The Lamplighter,' cements her status as a writer deeply invested in the intersection of personal history and collective memory.

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