William Soutar was born on 28 April 1898 in Perth, the only son of a close
and loving family. He described himself as 'a terrible nuisance' at primary
school, but at Perth Academy he excelled at both lessons and sports, fell in
love, and began to write poetry. He looked back at his last year of school
as one of the happiest times of his life.

When Soutar left school in 1916, World War I was already under way, and he
joined the Royal Navy, serving in the Atlantic and the North Sea. During
this time he became ill with a form of food poisoning and developed symptoms
of pain and stiffness which did not respond to treatment. He was discharged
from the Navy in early 1919. He began a medical degree at the University of
Edinburgh, but soon transferred to study English, graduating in 1923.

By now his health was a continual problem. In 1924 his illness was diagnosed
as ankylosing spondylitis, an infection of the spine which had gone too far
to be cured. Treatment continued for some years, but after an unsuccessful
operation in 1930 he was confined to bed and remained there for the rest of
his life.

In 1924 his parents had moved into a newly-built house, 'Inglelowe'
('hearth-glow'), in Wilson Street, Perth. Soutar's father, a master joiner,
adapted a downstairs room to make a bedroom with a big window overlooking
the back garden. Here Soutar spent the next thirteen years, writing poetry
and an extensive journal, and entertaining friends, often several hundred in
the course of a year. Many of his visitors were writers and his room has
been described as a centre for the Scottish literary renaissance. Diagnosed
with tuberculosis in July 1943, he began a new volume of his journal, which
he entitled The Diary of a Dying Man. He died on 15th October 1943.

The house 'Inglelowe' was bequeathed by Soutar's father to Perth Town
Council, with the condition that Soutar's room should be preserved and shown
to 'any interested person...at all reasonable times'. Now known as the
Soutar Hoose, it has for some years been the base for a writer-in-residence,
and is used for readings and community events.