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Sleepless also over at Crafty Green Poet

New Poems, Chiefly in the Scots

This evening I was at the Scottish Poetry Library for the launch of this anthology of commissioned poetry in Scots along with its companion selection of the poetry of Robert Burns Best Laid Schemes. There were readings of Burns' work, including a long poem of his about America, nicely timed for today. There were also readings from some of the poets featured in New Poems, the highlight of which for me was David Kinloch reading from his poem about Eugene Montale (the great Italian poet) addressing a cuttlefish in Scots. Kinloch has a wonderfully observant humour running through his poetry and this was a very entertaining poem.

Best Laid Schemes, edited by Robert Crawford and Christopher MacLachlan
New Poems, Chiefly in Scots, edited by Robert Crawford
both published by Polygon.

Koolaids by Rabih Alemeddine

This is a wonderfully inventive novel, made up of snippets of letters, press articles, diaries and narrative from various characters, who may or may not be related. Two main themes run through the novel, AIDS and war in Lebanon. Both themes are treated with sensitivity, insight, thoughtfulness and humour. The result is a novel that is gripping, moving and hilarious.

A one minute review for The One Minute Writer

Dialect

I've read some interesting books about language recently, you can read briefly about the environmental aspects of these books over on Crafty Green Poet here. Reading these books and started me thinking about dialect and the languages of the UK. Whether Scots is a language or a dialect is an argument that has been discussed for many a year and no doubt the discussion will continue for a long time yet, though I suspect that if Scotland ever achieves independence, then on that day, Scots will become emphatically and without question a language - just look at Norwegian, Danish and Swedish, three mutually comprehensible languages that I guess would be defined as dialects if they were spoken in different parts of one political state.

I've lived in Scotland for many years now and have a lot of Scots words in my vocabulary (which I use in my poetry too) but i would never consider myself to speak Scots. It's the accent, people from the south of England may mistake my Scottish intonation for a Scots accent but no-one around hear would ever allow that my accent is anything other than English. And ye cannae speak Scots wi' an English accent. Incidentally I thought it was strange that my Scots dictionary that i got for my birthday, doesn't have the word dippit in it. (Dippit is a fine Scots word meaning silly or stupid).

If you feel like writing poetry in dialect or that includes some dialect words, why not hop over to Read Write Poem and take part in my latest prompt over there.

My Ancestors Take the Night Train across Europe

Your sister looks Italian though
my mother says randomly
(though she's always looked very English to me)
or Spanish perhaps,
where does the name Gratrix
come from anyway?

It's an ancient British name I explain
oh she continues well what about Train
that must be Scandinavian?

My paternal Grandmother's maiden name was Gratrix
My mother's maiden name was Train, another ancient British name

My mother's paternal grandfather was a station master and his surname was Train. His son married a Miss Driver. Thankfully they didn't go for a double-barrelled name.

Going Ancestral for Read Write Poem

and yes, that was a real conversation with my mother.

Winter Streets

it has always been
something on the cold
strikes the heart


I only realise now
as I stumble, numbed


winter night stage set streets
siren blue flash police cars pass


it's a lonely road

Book Giveaway

I'm giving away some books over on Crafty Green Poet - to find out what I'm giving away and to join in , please go here.

Advent

Because we no longer believe
we spend months preparing
for a festival
whose true meaning scares us
so we bury it under greed
and gluttony to escape
the cold slanting sadness
that is our fate.

night train -
middle aged commuter plays
air guitar

The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker

Anyone who is interested in languages should read this book! It's accessible, informative, intellectually stimulating, entertaining and sometimes infuriating. Pinker puts forward the idea that language is instinctive and looks at the evolution of language, how grammar works and the genetics of language. Academic linguistics is kept to a minimum, instead examples are given of how language works in real life situations. Pinker explored questions such as can chimpanzees really be taught sign language? and is the English language deteriorating?

You may not agree with everything he says, but you'll certainly have plenty to think about....

The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker