A Guid Scots Tung in the Shore Poets Heid

A braw readin yestreen at Shore Poets, wi a fair bit Scots an aw. The readers wis Mandy Maxwell, Christine De Luca an Jackie Kay; the music cam fae thae bonnie sangsters the Linties.

It wis nae surprise that Mandy had ae-twae poems in Glesgwegian an less surprise that Christine read a hantle poems in Shetlandic, but I was cantily surprised at the nummer o poems Jackie read that yaised some degree o Scots. The Linties an aw gied us a guid mixter o bawdy, bonnie an blythe sangs wi differnin degrees o Scots.

Christine aye tellt us gin she wis gaunnae read wark in Shetlandic and wid gloss a wheen words but, forby yon, nane o the performers said ocht tae tent us til their Scots; it wis juist there or it wisnae. That isnae aye the case; I mind o Don Paterson yince speirin o the audience "Can I read a poem in Scots?" and sayin, "Only in Scotland would you have to ask that," but mibbe that's mair tae dae wi him nor the fowk that wis there.

Onywey, it wis refreshin tae feel there wisnae ony spoor o the kenspeckle Scots cringe.

Pod Poetry

The answer tae the quaistions in Friday's post drappit throu ma door on Saiturday forenuin when the Scottish Poetry Library's annual report arrivit. Unner the headin "The Collection" wis the follaein:

Some of the dupilcate items from the core collection have found happy homes in our new outreach - or smaller "pod" collections. June saw the launch of a pod comprising twenty titles in or neighbouring Starbucks. This poetry bookshelf is accompanied by poem excerpts painted on walls and a poem of the month, and is proving popular with customers looking for some inspiration with their espressos.

It maun be the fowk at the SPL that wailit the excerpts on the wa. They aye hae been gey creative wi whit wey they gie a hame tae aw the books in their ingaitherin. Yon pod idea is jist anither step in the yae airt.

Braid Claith an Ilkaday Duds

On the road hame the day, A noticed thir twa lines fae Robert Fergusson's poem "Auld Reekie" pentit on the wa ben the Canongate branch o Starbucks:

To Holy-rood-house let me stray,

And gie to musing a' the Day

Wha'd 'ae thocht it: Rab Fergusson gettin yaised tae sell coffee and hap yin o the mucklest symbols o globalisation in local claes! It's no exactly "guid braid claith"; mair gettin a splash o local dye tae yer furrin duds. A hae nae objection at aw tae seein a swatch o Ferguson on a cafe wa. Still, A'm wonderin whit gart them chaise yon? There no that mony ordinar punters kens wha he is. Mibbe it's a nod tae the Scottish Poetry Library roon the corner. Mibbe it's a nod tae the braw statue o him ower the road. But there maun be a nod tae the Pairlament doun the road, mibbe wi a tait irony. Whitanever wis in the mind o the Starbucks management, there maun be a literary buddie amang them tae be tentin tae Fergusson's presence and poem at aw.

The Eejits

The Herald has a report the day anent Itchy Coo's newest book: an owersettin o Roald Dahl's The Twits intil Scots cried The Eejits. A hae seen a wee bittie o the book, and it's fell braw, I can tell ye.

Scottish National Diction

The British Cooncil Scotland wabsite has a wheen pages wi new Scottish poetry. It's a guid wailin o poets, if a short yin: John Burnside, Matthew Fitt, Ann Frater, Rody Gorman, Alan Jamieson and Jackie Kay. There poems in Scots, English and Gaelic. Matthew Fitt's "Scottish National Diction" is a stoater o a poem wi mair nor a hint o Eddie Morgan aboot it. There a braw Gaelic repone, "Errata", fae Rody Gorman (the site cries hit a translation, but it isnae at aw). Hae a keek at Burnside in Shetlandic! Fell braw, this trilingualism business.

Stairtin tae Skraich

A'm stairtin this new blog acause ma ither yin is aw in English and, although A'm wantin tae write aboot Scots-relatit stuff, A dinnae want tae faw intae the trap o daein it in English and never in Scots. Ma plan is that a wheen posts fae this blog will kythe on Tonguefire an aw in English tranlation. Forby, it's guid tae gie masel a place tae practice yaisin Scots in something ither nor creative writin.