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Happy Valentine's Day
We're continuing our Burns theme by celebrating Valentine's Day with one of his most famous poems, My Luve is like a Red Red Rose. We hope you'll enjoy Isla St Clair's bitter sweet version of the well known song. Isla was once famous for being on a Saturday night TV show called the Generation Gam... more
The Spring Three
Winter’s windy sentence
in the mooth o March the ranter.
March comes wudd and wantons,
and flegs the dowff auld dranter.
Gang yere ways, Winter!
March is swack and March is swank.
April aye has March tae thank
for flinderan auld winter’s dure.
March comes hardy, ... more
Moorland Spring
There’s no a muir in my ain land but’s fu’ o’ sang the day,
Wi’ the whaup, and the gowden plover, and the lintie upon the brae.
The birk in the glen is springin’, the rowan-tree in the shaw,
And every burn is rinnin’ wild wi’ the meltin’ o’ the snaw.
The wee white cluds ... more
Christmas poetry for bairns an ithers
Enjoy some seasonal poems from Tom Scott and Sheena Blackhall.
more
Tartan Army Football Battalion
Once again Scotland's football future hangs in the balance with it's place in Euro 2008 decided by the forthcoming crucial match against Italy.
100 Favourite Scottish Football Poems edited by acclaimed football poet and ex-football player Alistair Findlay brings together Scotland's favourite p... more
Joe Dugg
In spring Joe Dugg the gairdener
Plants raws and raws o leeks.
At Christmas time he pous them oot
And stuffs them doon his breeks.
Kirsty Grieve
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The Bletherie Leathery Baw Gemme
Each New Year's Day in Blethertoun they play
A muckle fitbaw gemme aw through the toun,
Atween the folk that bide up on the brae
And the ither folk whase hames are further doon.
It's been aroond a century or mair,
This Bletherie Leathery Baw Gemme (as it's cried).
There's no much fitbaw i... more
from Caller Water
As simmer rains bring simmer flow’rs,
And leaves to cleed the birken bow’rs,
Sae beauty gets, by caller show’rs,
Sae rich a bloom
As for estate, or heavy dow’rs
Aft stands in room.
What makes Auld Reikie’s dames sae fair?
It canna be the halesome air
But caller burn beyond c... more
The Greenock Man
“ Saft a wee, ” says Erchie.
“ Saft a wee! ” says I;
“ I’m draiglet an’ I’m drookit,
An’ ma sark’s no dry.
It’s rainin’ like a skailin’ bine,
It’s stottin’ frae the street,
The sheuch is rinnin’ ower in spate,
It’s weet, gey weet.
I hae some imagination
... more
Catch
And whiles, hunkert on the strand, we catched eels,
cauld fingers ploitert in broon gritty sludge
or they heaved up a hefty dreepin lump
that dreebilt throu spaces till nocht wis left
save a puckle buitlaces come alive,
there a blink in a sma brine pool
syne gane, oor hauns tuim but seasone... more
Hugh MacDiarmid – A Portrait
To celebrate the anniversary of Hugh MacDiarmid’s birth in August 1892, the Scots Language Centre is pleased to give visitors the chance to enjoy Margaret Tait’s fil, Hugh MacDiarmid – A Portrait. The Centre is grateful to Alex Pirie and Lux for giving permission to show the film on this si... more
Margaret Tait
Margaret Tait was one of Britain's most individual artist filmmakers. Over the course of 46 years she produced over 30 films including one feature, Blue Black Permanent (1992) and published five books of poetry and short stories, while living between the Island of Orkney and Edinburgh.
Margaret ... more
A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle
Listen to Hugh MacDiarmid read, A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle
http://writing.upenn.edu/penns
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The Hugh MacDiarmid memorial Langholm
Simmer Sang
The Scots Language Centre is marking midsummer with this reading of the Shetland dialect poem, Simmer Sang. Simmer Sang was written by Vagaland, the pen name of well-loved Shetland poet, Thomas Alexander Robertson.
transcript
The poem has been selected by La... more
Photography inspires poetry
Derek Ross from Stranraer and Dumfries writes poetry using photographs as a foundation for much of his work. We have here two of his Scots language poems which have come from photographs he took. He has regularly exhibited joint poetry and photography with Angus Macmillan. His poetry podcast can ... more
Childhood memories in poetry
Childhood for some poets is a rich source of ideas, particularly when using Scots language. For many of these writers, childhood was a time of uninhibited language use, a time when Scots voices were more frequently heard. They may find themselves using Scots when writing about people or scenes fr... more
Walking on the Moon
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landings the Scots Language Centre has put together a couple of features, along with some poems in Scots, about the moon and space. It was on 21 July 1969 that the Apollo 11 lunar module called Eagle landed on the surface of the moon. Neil Armstrong w... more
From 'On seeing a butterfly in the street'
DAFT gowk, in macaroni dress,
Are ye come here to shew your face,
Bowden wi' pride o' simmer gloss,
To cast a dash at Reikie's cross;
And glowr at mony twa-legg'd creature,
Flees braw by art, tho' worms by nature?
Like country laird in city cleeding,
Ye're come to town to lear' g... more
The Final Frontier
The moon had always been a symbol of the impossible but, in 1969, the moon landing represented man overcoming this final frontier. The word moon appears in Anglo-Saxon in the form ‘mōna’ and is thought to derive, in turn, from early Germanic ‘mænan’. This was the equivalent of the Latin... more
Entries invited for Doric Competition
Entries are now invited as part of the Doric Festival writing competition. Competitors must either write a poem, short story or one-act play to be submitted by the deadline of 19 September 2008. Entries should contain a title page, the category entered, name of the entrant, and home address and t... more
Reading Bus launches Doric books
In 2007 Aberdeen City Council’s ‘Reading Bus’ sent out an appeal for writers to contribute poems in North East Scots – the Doric – for children aged 8-14 years. The venture turned out to be a great success with over 200 entries received, written by individuals variously aged 14 to 92. A... more
New Translations
Translations of two medieval Scots language texts have recently been published. 'The life and miracles of St Ninian' is a translation of an anonymous early 15th Century Scots poem. Set in Galloway, the text is a mixture of pious language and down-to-earth descriptions of miracles such as the spea... more
Burns not a manic depressive
Recently a controversy erupted over claims that Scots language bard Robert Burns might have been a manic depressive. Joan Charles, who has provided ‘intuitive readings’ of handwriting for over twenty years, and is a business consultant, was asked to examine the handwriting of Burns to mark th... more
New Writing Scotland 27 published
The latest volume of 'New Writing Scotland', from the Association for Scottish Literary Studies, is about to hit the streets. Entitled ' In the Line of Fire' this will be number 27 in the series and includes writing in English, Gaelic and Scots. The series publishes both prose and poetry by both ... more
Calling Doric writers
The Annual Doric Writing Competition is calling for entries. Writers may submit up to three entries in all categories. The categories are Short Story (£50 prize, £25 runner-up), Poem (£50 & £25), One Act Play (£50 & £25) and Best Over All (£50 & £25). All work must be in North East Scots ... more
New Scots poetry site
A new web site containing Scots translations of English language poems has been set up by Gavin Falconer, the well known Scots writer and researcher. The site contains a selection of poems translated by Gavin himself. To visit the site and read the poems click here http://www.haurdbyavalon.com/ .
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New Centre for Robert Burns Studies
The University of Glasgow has recently launched a new Centre for Robert Burns Studies devoted to the many facets of the bard's life an intended to act as a 'hub' for research and study on an international level. An integral part of this process will see the establishment of a Global Burns Website... more
Songs and Rhymes from Childhood
Ewan McVicar has written the first comprehensive book regarding the lore, songs and rhymes of Scottish children, collected form the street and playground during the last 150 years. People are sure to remember many songs and other material collected here, and a good deal is in Scots. Mr McVicar is... more
Bards in praise of Edinburgh
Lizzie MacGregor, of the Scottish Poetry Library - in conjunction with Polygon (an imprint of Birlinn) - has published a new work entitled 'Luckenbooth.' As editor, MacGregor selected and put together a whole series of bards, from Dunbar in the 15th century, through to Hugh MacDiarmid, Alexander ... more
McLellan Competition Winners
The winners of the McLellan Award 2007 have now been announced. The first prize was awarded to Sheila Templeton (for 'Ripening'), followed by Kenneth Steven as second prize (for 'The Illuminated Manuscript'), while the third prize went to Nick McKinnon (for 'At the A&B'). The SLC haes thought goo... more
A braw nicht, thanks tae the SLC
Hello aw, howp ye hae been makkin the maist o wit braw simmer...or the twa-thrie braw hours we hae been gettin. Michael wis sayin this wad be the year fer a bonnie simmer - but sae faur it's ainlie been sunny whan I'm warkin inbye, an whan I'm daein pentin outside it buckets doun!
It wis ma 1... more
A Sober Student Looks at MacDiarmid
Weil, first aff I maun say "weil duin" tae Billy Kay on gettin his honorary degree frae the University of the West of Scotland (read about it i the news section o the site). He ralley deserrs recogneition for the braw wark he's duin for the Scots leid an the cultur o Lawland Scotland ower the ye... more
The StAnza Fest
The Shetlandic poyet Robert Alan Jamieson will be takkin pairt in the StAnza Fest in Saunt Aundraes, Fife on this date. Mr Jamieson will be pairt o a Maistercless anent owersettin on Sunday 16 Mairch fae 10am til twalhoures in the cooncil chaumer o the Toun Haw, Queens Gairdens. Tickets costs £3... more
Clarinda
Clarinda will be shawin at St Andrews in the Square, Glesca on Monanday 4 an Tuesday 5 Februar at 7.30pm. Tickets costs £9.50 (or £8.50 less-sillert). For mair parteeclars please see as abuin. more
Night of poems in Ayr
Well-known writer Liz Niven, along with Alastair Paterson, will be giving readings from their poems at the Carnegie Library in Ayr, beginning at 7.30pm. more
Supper Wi Burns
The Scots Centre for Storytelling is haudin a Supper Wi Burns on Wadensday 23 an Thursday 24 Januar. Linda Bandelier, David Campbell an Donald Smith is tae interteen fowk wi stories, poyems an sangs taen fae the life o the maker, ower a tradeetional supper. Tickets costs £15 an shuid be buikit a... more
Banffshire Field Club
The Banffshire Field Club will be host tae J Derrick McClure on Seturday 8 December at the Community Centre, Banff Road, Keith, stertin at 2.15pm. Mr McClure will be speakin aboot the follaein subject: ‘Scotland in Europe, Europe in Scotland – The Tradition o Poetic Translation.’ Amang ithe... more
Perth Burns Club
The Perth Burns Club is tae haud its fowert Yearly Day o Scots Culture in the theatre o the AK Bell Leebrary, York Place, Perth. Stertin aff at 1pm, the will be fower 40-meenit papers gien bi the follaein fowk: Dr Kenneth Simpson (the Versity o Glesca) on ‘Epistolary Performances: Burns and the... more
Doric Cabaret Evening
As pairt o the city o Aiberdeen’s St Andra’s Weekend, the Associe o Grampian Storytellers is haein a Doric Cabaret Eening on Seturday 1 December at Union Terrace Gairdens, Aiberdeen, fae 7.30pm til 10.15pm. The nicht sterts oot wi a walcome tae the guests an pipers o the Buchan Pipe Baund. Th... more
Aye write in Glesca
As pairt o Glesca's Aye Write fest the will be a day gien ower tae the Scots leid, cryed 'Writing in Scots: A series of three linked workshops', sponsored bi the Langage Comatee o the Associe for Lair in the Leetraturs o Scotland (Association of Scottish Literary Studies). This will stert at 11am... more
TS Law Book Launch
There will be a launch of a new book of the poems of T.S. Law – entitled ‘At the Pynt o the Pick and Other Poems’ – on Tuesday, 17 June, at 7.30pm, in the Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh. Published by Fingerpost Publicatiouns, the editors Tom Hubbard and John Law ... more
Launch of Doric Book
Aberdeen City Council's 'Reading Bus' will be launching a new book of poems in North East Scots - the Doric - at a day event at Fyvie Castle. The book, entitled 'Fit Like, Yer Majesty?' contains 47 winning poems selected from 200 entries and is aimed at 8-14 year olds. For more information please... more
Doric Writing Awards
The winners of the Doric Writing Competition will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held in the Gordon Arms Hotel, Huntly, beginning at 7pm. There will be entertainment by various artists. Tickets cost £4 for adults and £2 for senior citizens. Children and competitors are free. Please c... more
Poetry Workshop
Liz Niven will be holding a Poetry Workshop from 2-3.30pm at the Writers' Retreat as part of the Edinburgh Book Festival. She will be giving tips about writing poems and editing your work. more
Writing Poetry in Scots
As part of the Edinburgh Book Festival Liz Niven will be holding a class in writing poetry in Scots from 11am to 12.30pm, at the Writers' Retreat. Liz will discuss dialect variation, spelling and grammar. more
Rab and Tommy talk Burns
Tommy Sheridan will discuss Burns poetry with Rab Wilson on the MSP's Sunday Morning with Citizen Tommy show this week. In the Talk107 show which is broadcast thoughout Edinburgh and the Lothians. Wilson talks to Sheridan about Burns' legacy and the Bard's influence on his own poetry.
Rab Wil... more
