Eggplant.place

105d

Martin O’Connor & Len Pennie on Scots Language

Martin O’Connor, the writer & star of Through the Shortbread Tin, sat down recently with poet & performer Len Pennie to blether all things Scots language

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RteTsoNWASE

#Scottish #literature #Scots #Scotslanguage

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58d

Dr Andrew Nash: EDITION Autumn Lecture & workshop
23 October, University of Edinburgh. Free, ticketed.

Workshop: Publishing the Scottish Literary Renaissance

Lecture: The Voice of Scotland: Literature, Publishing and the Nation in the 1930s

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dr-andrew-nash-edition-autumn-lecture-and-workshop-tickets-1999511210857

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #Scots #Scotslanguage #ScottishRenaissance #BookHistory

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87d

I send to you, commissioners,
A paper that may please ye, sirs
(For troth they say it might be worse‍‍
An’ I believe’t)…

—Robert Louis Stevenson, “To the Commissioners of Northern Lights”, which Stevenson sent to them along with his design for “a new form of intermittent light”

This weekend is International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend

1/5

https://illw.net

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #ScotsLanguage #RobertLouisStevenson #19thcentury #Victorian #lighthouse #engineering

To the Commissioners of Northern Lights
Robert Louis Stevenson

I send to you, commissioners,
A paper that may please ye, sirs
(For troth they say it might be worse‍‍
An’ I believe’t)
And on your business lay my curse‍‍
Before I leav’t.

I thocht I’d serve wi’ you, sirs, yince,
But I’ve thocht better of it since;
The matter I will nowise mince,‍‍
But tell ye true:
I’ll service wi’ some ither prince,‍‍
An’ no wi’ you.

I’ve no been very deep, ye’ll think,
Cam’ delicately to the brink
An’ when the water gart me shrink‍‍
Straucht took the rue,
An’ didna stoop my fill to drink—‍‍
I own it true.

I kent on cape and isle, a light
Burnt fair an’ clearly ilka night;
But at the service I took fright,‍‍
As sune’s I saw,
An’ being still a neophite‍‍
Gaed straucht awa’.

Anither course I now begin,
The weeg I’Il cairry for my Sin,
The court my voice shall echo in,‍‍
An’—wha can tell?—
Some ither day I may be yin‍‍
O’ you mysel’.

ALT

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89d

Nae wind comes owre sae free
Upon the yirden rose
As hill-blawn winds that gae
Whaur the white bloom grows…

—William Soutar, “Summer Song”
published in WILLIAM SOUTAR: Collected Works (Tippermuir, 2024)

https://tippermuirbooks.co.uk/product/william-soutar-collected-works-vols-1-2/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #Scots #Scotslanguage #WilliamSoutar

Summer Song
by William Soutar

Nae wind comes owre sae free
Upon the yirden rose
As hill-blawn winds that gae
Whaur the white bloom grows.

There is nae biggit bower
Sae gledsome for the sicht
As the sma', wilder'd fleur
Flanterin' wi' licht.

And herts will tine their fear
Whan love sae freely blaws,
Open to joy and care
As the sma', white rose.

ALT

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103d

It was upon a Lammas night,
When corn rigs are bonie,
Beneath the moon’s unclouded light,
I held awa to Annie…

—Robert Burns, “Corn Rigs”
pages from Robert Burns: Selected Poems & Songs (OUP, 2013)

Today, 1 August, is Lammas Day

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/selected-poems-and-songs-9780199682324?cc=gb&lang=en&

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #song #18thcentury #folksong #RobertBurns #Lammas #LammasDay #romanticism #Scots #Scotslanguage

SONG
Tune-Corn Rigs are bonie

It was upon a Lammas night,
When corn rigs are bonie,
Beneath the moon's unclouded light,
I held awa to Annie:®
The time flew by, wi' tentless heed,
Till 'tween the late and early;
Wi' sma' persuasion she agreed,
To see me thro' the barley.

The sky was blue, the wind was still,
The moon was shining clearly;
I set her down, wi' right good will,
Amang the rigs o' barley:
I ken't her heart was a' my ain;
I lov'd her most sincerely;
I kiss'd her ore and owre again,
Amang the rigs o' barley.

I lock'd her in my fond embrace;
Her heart was beating rarely:
My blessings on that happy place,
Amang the rigs o' barley!
But by the moon and stars so bright,
That shone that hour so clearly!
She ay shall bless that happy night,
Amang the rigs o' barley.

ALT

I hae been blythe wi' Comrades dear;
I hae been merry drinking;
I hae been joyfu gath'rin gear;
I hae been happy thinking:
But a' the pleasures e'er I saw,
Tho' three times doubl'd fairly,
That happy night was worth them a',
Amang the rigs o' barley.

CHORUS
Corn rigs, an' barley rigs,
An' corn rigs are bonie:
I'll ne'er forget that happy night,
Amang the rigs wi' Annie.

ALT

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88d

The Laird o’ Cockpen, he’s proud an’ he’s great,
His mind is ta’en up wi’ the things o’ the State…

Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne (1766–1845) was born #OTD, 16 Aug. Oliphant wrote over 100 popular songs to traditional Scottish tunes. Although she shunned publicity & never acknowledged her authorship, along with Robert Burns she is one of the most significant figures in Scottish folksong

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#Scottish #literature #song #folksong #18thcentury #19thcentury #womenwriters #Scots #Scotslanguage

Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne
“The Laird o’ Cockpen”

The Laird o’ Cockpen, he’s proud an’ he’s great,
His mind is ta’en up wi’ the things o’ the State;
He wanted a wife, his braw house to keep,
But favour wi’ wooin’ was fashious to seek.

Down by the dyke-side a lady did dwell,
At his table head he thocht she’d look well,
M’Leish’s ae dochter o’ Clavers-ha’ Lea,
A penniless lass wi’ a lang pedigree.

His wig was weel pouther’d and as gude as new,
His waistcoat was white, his coat it was blue;
He put on a ring, a sword, and cock’d hat,
And wha could refuse the Laird wi’ a’ that?

He took the grey mare, and rade cannily,
And rapp’d at the yett o’ Clavers-ha’ Lea;
‘Gae tell Mistress Jean to come speedily ben, –
She’s wanted to speak to the Laird o’ Cockpen.’

Mistress Jean she was makin’ the elderflower wine;
‘An’ what brings the Laird at sic a like time?’
She put aff her apron, and on her silk goun,
Her mutch wi’ red ribbons, and gaed awa’ doun.

An’ when she cam’ ben, he bowed fu’ low,
An’ what was his errand he soon let her know;
Amazed was the Laird when the lady said ‘Na’,
And wi’ a laigh curtsie she turned awa’.

Dumfounder’d was he, nae sigh did he gie,
He mounted his mare – he rade cannily;
An’ aften he thought, as he gaed through the glen,
She’s daft to refuse the laird o’ Cockpen.

ALT

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85d

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue of NEW WRITING SCOTLAND with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #newwriting #booklaunch #Glasgow

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59d

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Edinburgh launch
15 September, Blackwell’s, South Bridge – £3 / £11 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naming-the-snakes-new-writing-scotland-44-tickets-1995684361648

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortstories #shortfiction #writing #writingcommunity #booklaunch #Edinburgh

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56d

17 September is National Fox Day! 🦊

Ian Hamilton Finlay
FOX

see me
wan time
ah wis a fox
an wis ah sleekit! ah
gaed slinkin
heh
an snappin
yeh
the blokes
aa sayed ah wis a GREAT fox
aw nae kiddin
ah wis pretty good
had a whole damn wood
in them days
hen

Published in GLASGOW BEASTS, AN A BURD, HAW, AN INSEKS, AN, AW, A FUSH, with papercuts by John Picking & Pete McGinn (Wild Flounder Press, 1961)

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #fox #foxes #NationalFoxDay #Scots #Scotslanguage

A page from a book, printed in a reddish-brown ink. The top left contains a stylised papercut picture of a slightly scrawny, scraggly-looking fox. Beneath it is the text of the poem, “Fox’, by Ian Hamilton Finlay, published in GLASGOW BEASTS, AN A BURD, HAW, AN INSEKS, AN, AW, A FUSH, with papercuts by John Picking & Pete McGinn (The Wild Flounder Press, 1961):

see me
wan time
ah wis a fox
an wis ah sleekit! ah
gaed slinkin
heh
an snappin
yeh
the blokes
aa sayed ah wis a GREAT fox
aw nae kiddin
ah wis pretty good
had a whole damn wood
in them days
hen

ALT

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77d

Call for Applications: Crossing Tongues Poetry Residency

Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature invites a Scottish poet writing in English, Scots &/or Scottish Gaelic to undertake a 7-day residency in Nigeria, alongside the Hausa International Book & Arts Festival, December 2026

Applications open until 30 September

https://cityofliterature.com/opportunities/call-for-applications-crossing-tongues-poetry-residency/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #Nigeria #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #residency

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77d

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #booklaunch #writingcommunity #Glasgow

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71d

A 🎂 🧵 for Violet Jacob (1863–1946) – poet, novelist, short story writer, & key figure in the 20th-century Scottish renaissance & Scots language revival – born #OTD, 1 September

1/8

https://www.scottishwomenwritersontheweb.net/writers-a-to-z/violet-jacob

#Scottish #literature #Scots #Scotslanguage #19thCentury #20thcentury #WomenWriters #VioletJacob

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21d

In the lift there is nae steer
And in the schaw nae soun’:
Saftly through the cauld air
The grey smurr comes doun…

—William Soutar, “October”
Published in William Soutar: Collected Works, vol. 1 (Tippermuir Books, 2024)

https://tippermuirbooks.co.uk/product/william-soutar-collected-works-vols-1-2/

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #autumn #October

October
by William Soutar

In the lift there is nae steer
And in the schaw nae soun’:
Saftly through the cauld air
The grey smurr comes doun.

Haar gethers on the hill
Like quiet owre a sang:
The failin year has said fareweel
And yet is laith to gang.

Sae lowden’d is the dreich day
The bluid begins to speak:
Whan ye ken what it wud say
You’ll be by a’ hert-brek.

ALT

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49d

Yestreen I heard a birdie sing
Inbye a bonnie beech tree hedge
As if it didnae ken nor care
Autumn wis hidin in the sedge…

—Sheena Blackhall, “Autumn XI”

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/autumn-ix/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #Autumn

Autumn IX
Sheena Blackhall

Yestreen I heard a birdie sing
Inbye a bonnie beech tree hedge
As if it didnae ken nor care
Autumn wis hidin in the sedge

The daith o leaves is roon the neuk
It peints them yalla, reid an broon
An doon they’ll drap like faain rain
In waesome Autumn’s dowie croon

Sic cheenges cam tae great an sma
First ae grey hair, a nippin knee
The stert o auld age: clawin cleuks
That herald yer mortality

Autumn draws near, like cat wi moose
It winna stop, nor else devaul
A jeelin in a body’s banes
A cheenge, the turn frae warm tae caul

Noo blawin in the win, dry leaves
Like Simmer’s ghaists, ethereal
This is the Sizzen o the scythe
The nichts draw in, a mournin pall

ALT

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66d

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #writingcommunity #Glasgow

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63d

The deid-hole’s a sma-boukit place for you.
You need tae be blawn aboot the cosmos
so’s your live matter mells wi the spaces
and you become the stour starns are made o…

—Alastair Mackie: In Memoriam Hugh MacDiarmid (1892–1978)

Christopher Murray Grieve – Hugh MacDiarmid – died #OTD, 9 September

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/a-kist-o-skinlan-things/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #HughMacDiarmid #InMemoriam

In Memoriam Hugh MacDiarmid (1892–1978)
Alastair mackie

The deid-hole’s a sma-boukit place for you.
You need tae be blawn aboot the cosmos
so’s your live matter mells wi the spaces
and you become the stour starns are made o.

Sma spirit, ye couped yoursel oot like an ocean
and on it ye sailed tae your odyssey.
Your poems set their bows for the infinite.
It was a sma bit coble made o Scots.

Ahent the muckle brae-face o your brou
barmed the thochts. They were like boolders,
ram-stam, ramgunshoch, aften wilyart. Polyphemus
hurlin craigs at the galleys’ hotterin starns.

And aye the sky-line cockit its fore-finger.
For fifty years laneliness was your crony.
Your spaces were polar anes, the cauld burn
o your mind the aixle-tree that iled your world.

I think o Pascal’s infinite spaces
and Scotland a wee dot in the abyss.
You gied it a starn; the muckle hole skinkles
yet in the licht. Sic matter never dees.

The terror that I feel is for the muckle howe-hole
your last sleep leaves ahent. As if a mountain
that held up the lyft had sunk intae the mools
and suddenly the sky-line’s unfrienly.

And oor steps styter and Scotland’s again
‘the bonny broukit bairn’. Lie back in your kist
licht bearer. And may the giant back-birn
ye cairriet lie lichtly in the earth’s happin.

ALT

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62d

“Doon the Stair fae Ms Cruickshank” – the 2026 Scottish PEN Helen Cruickshank Memorial Lecture
20 September, Edinburgh – free

In this lecture from the Scottish PEN Writers for Peace Committee, Nada Shawa, author of 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭: 𝘎𝘢𝘻𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘦, will deliver a lecture celebrating the life, poetry & activism of Helen Cruickshank, & explore how the themes of her work resonate for writers today.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/helen-cruickshank-lecture-2026-tickets-1999858019170

#Scottish #literature #ScottishPEN #Scots #Scotslanguage #HelenCruickshank

helen-cruickshank-lecture-2026-tickets-1999858019170

Edited 62d ago

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62d

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Edinburgh launch
15 September, Blackwell’s, South Bridge – £3 / £11 with book

Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naming-the-snakes-new-writing-scotland-44-tickets-1995684361648

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #writing #writingcommunity #Edinburgh

naming-the-snakes-new-writing-scotland-44-tickets-1995684361648

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62d

A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle
19 November, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Free, ticketed

Marking the centenary of Hugh MacDiarmid’s landmark poem, “A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle” – a 2685-line work in Scots that is colloquial, lyrical, & highly literary, blending tradition with modernism & exploring both national & international themes

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-drunk-man-looks-at-the-thistle-tickets-1999760348033

#Scottish #literature #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #MacDiarmid #HughMacDiarmid #modernism

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17d

Voices fae Victorian Dundee
7 November, Dundee Central Library. Free, ticketed.

This event will showcase Scots and Gaelic literature in Dundee Central Library’s important collections of 19th-century newspapers, books, and ballads, and live performances of work from and inspired by Dundee’s literary history.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/voices-fae-victorian-dundee-tickets-2003765267856

#Scottish #literature #poetry #song #popularliterature #19thcentury #Victorian #Dundee #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaelic #Gaidhlig

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16d

In Gránada, in Gránada,
They dumbed the mou o a makar,
In Gránada, in Gránada,
They strak doun Garcia Lorca…

—“In Gránada, in Gránada”, by Sydney Goodsir Smith (1915–1975) – a major figure in the 20th-century Scottish renaissance, born #OTD, 26 Oct

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https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/a-kist-o-skinlan-things/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #20thcentury #Lorca

Sydney Goodsir Smith
In Gránada, in Gránada
(Llanto por Federico Garcia Lorca)

In Gránada, in Gránada,
They dumbed the mou o a makar,
In Gránada, in Gránada,
They strak doun Garcia Lorca.

Ye bard o the tinks, o gipsy Spain,
Frae Gránada, frae Gránada,
Aa the gangrel folk that scorn chains—
O wae for Garcia Lorca!

At dawin fornent a sunwhite waa
In Gránada, in Gránada,
The rifles reik, O see him faa,
Daith rins at the tyrant’s order.

But they sall pey for that fell deed,
In Gránada, in Gránada,
Franco and his men o bluid,
Their fingers reid wi murder.

Mair nor juist ane enemie
Was kill yon morn in Gránada,
For daith is neer a bundarie
Til the voice o a folk was Lorca.

Ay, he was Spain, anither Burns,
In Gránada, in Gránada,
O wae for thae when the tide turns
That strak doun Garcia Lorca!

And wae for thae in ilka land,
Or Galloway or Gránada,
That thirl the libertie o man
For bards nor daith are stranger.

And aye their leid is Freedom,
In Galloway or Gránada,
Ay, greit for the tinkler’s martyrdom
And the white dumb mou o a makar.

Ay, greit for Lorca, bard o the waifs,
Saw birth and daith in Gránada,
Wae for the sang was stanched yon day
While the sand ran reid wi clangor.

But sing o the victorie was gained,
In Gránada, in Gránada ———!
For aye your bluid sall dirl throu Spain,
Federico Garcia Lorca!

ALT

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11d

But gin the auld fowks’ tales are richt
An’ ghaists come hame on Hallow nicht,
O freend o’ freends! what wad I gie
To feel ye rax yer hand to me
Atween the dark an’ caun’le-licht?

—Violet Jacob, “Hallowe’en”
published in COUNTRY LIFE, 1920

Jacob’s only son, Harry, was killed at the Somme in 1916. This poem evokes the desperate sadness felt by so many in the aftermath of the First World War.

#Scottish #literature #Scots #Scotslanguage #Halloween #poem #poetry #warpoetry #WW1

Hallowe’en
Violet Jacob

The tattie-liftin’s nearly through,
They’re ploughin’ whaur the barley grew,‍‍
And aifter dark, roond ilka stack,‍‍
Ye’ll see the horsemen stand an’ crack
O Lachlan, but I mind o’ you!

I mind foo often we hae seen
Ten thoosand stars keek doon atween‍‍
The nakit branches, an’ below‍‍
Baith fairm an’ bothie hae their show,
Alowe wi’ lichts o’ Hallowe’en.

There’s bairns wi’ guizards at their tail
Clourin’ the doors wi’ runts o’ kail,‍‍
And fine ye’ll hear the skreichs an’ skirls‍‍
O’ lassies wi’ their droukit curls
Bobbin’ for aipples i’ the pail.

The bothie fire is loupin’ het,
A new heid horseman’s kist is set‍‍
Richts o’ the lum; whaur by the blaze‍‍
The auld ane stude that kept yer claes—
I canna thole to see it yet!

But gin the auld fowks’ tales are richt
An’ ghaists come hame on Hallow nicht,‍‍
O freend o’ freends! what wad I gie‍‍
To feel ye rax yer hand to me
Atween the dark an’ caun’le licht?

Awa in France, across the wave,
The wee lichts burn on ilka grave,‍‍
An’ you an’ me their lowe hae seen—‍‍
Ye’ll mebbe hae yer Hallowe’en
Yont, whaur ye’re lyin’ wi’ the lave.

There’s drink an’ daffin’, sang an’ dance
And ploys and kisses get their chance,‍‍
But Lachlan, man, the place I see‍‍
Is whaur the auld kist used to be
And the lichts o’ Hallowe’en in France!

ALT

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11d

The speedy gleams the darkness swallow’d;
Loud, deep, & lang the thunder bellow’d:
That night, a child might understand,
The Deil had business on his hand…

—Robert Burns’s “Tam o’ Shanter”, read by Hamish MacDonald; illustrations by Gary Welsh

Happy Halloween!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAqVwCa_x5o

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #RobertBurns #18thcentury #TamOShanter #Scots #Scotslanguage

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10d

Late ae mugglie November nicht I met a gaberlunzie,
breweries bruised barley braith writhin up the closes,
topaz glimmerin street lichts blintered doon throu the mirk
on hameless loons wi “Carlies” handin roon a spliff…

—Mary Johnston, “Gowstie Gaberlunzie”
published in IN THE EVENT OF FIRE: New Writing Scotland 27 (ASL, 2009)

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage

Mary Johnston
GOWSTIE GABERLUNZIE

Late ae mugglie November nicht I met a gaberlunzie,
breweries bruised barley braith writhin up the closes,
topaz glimmerin street lichts blintered doon throu the mirk
on hameless loons wi 'Carlies' handin roon a spliff,
New Age gaberlunzies, shargart, shilpit loons
in foosty aal deen anoraks, maakin for the nicht.

Like a blue-gooned-badged King's Bedesman,
he loomed oot o the smaa-weet nicht,
his back stracht an stechie, he cam shachlin
up the street, his face wizzent, peelie-wally,
grey yim on his dowie een, a snaa fite pow,
hans raxed oot, a gaberlunzie frae time afore.

I gie him a bit fite siller, he taks hud o baith ma hans,
I've nae notion ti be toucht bi him but he lays
his face gainst mine: I smell cald caller air on him,
nae alcohol, nae foost, like faither's beardie fen a bairn
grey stibble scrapes ma chin, syne letting go ma hans,
he says, God bless you miss, God bless.

I met a gaberlunzie ae mugglie November nicht,
ill-eesed, puir an hameless, ma charitie he blesst.

--------------------------------

(In Scotland in the 17th and 18th centuries beggars were licensed; they wore blue gowns with badges and were known as the King's Bedesmen. In return they were to offer daily prayers for the King and his Court.)

ALT

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43d

Orra English: Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Nuanced Narrative Mode
15 October, University of Aberdeen – free

Marking the 125th anniversary of the birth of James Leslie Mitchell/Lewis Grassic Gibbon, this free talk looks at Gibbon’s unique approach to the literary use of the Scots language

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/events/24636/

#Scottish #literature #LewisGrassicGibbon #JamesLeslieMitchell #SunsetSong #AScotsQuair #Scots #Scotslanguage

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