Tag Archives: Scots Makar

The Keelie Hawk – Poems in Scots – by Kathleen Jamie

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The Keelie Hawk, Poems in Scots by Kathleen Jamie was published in 2024. Kathleen Jamie became Scotland’s fourth Makar in 2021 until December 2024.

The Keelie Hawk (Kestrel) is a fairly slim volume, as books of poetry tend to be. The poems are written in Scots, with an English translation on the opposite page. She had planned to just publish a small pamphlet of poems but the poetry editor at Picador Colette Bryce said that she saw no reason why a major London house shouldn’t publish a whole book of poems in Scots, so as Kathleen Jamie said – I scrievit some mair.

I can’t really judge how easy or difficult these poems would be for non Scots speakers to understand, I like to think that by the time you get half-way through then a reader might have picked up the meaning of a lot of the language. I hope so anyway as the Scots is always much more lyrical.

I’m not a huge fan of ‘normal’ poetry but I enjoyed this book. Jamie is much the same age as me so many of her experiences of speaking Scots as a youngster were similar. THEY gave you a row for it, especially at school as it was seen as being slang back then, and of course it isn’t.

This book has 116 pages. All but four of the poems are by Jamie, the other four are in translation which Jamie has adapted into Scots: two by Friedrich Holderin and two by an Uyghur poet Chimengul Awut who hasn’t been seen since she was arrested in 2018 by Chinese security officials and sent to a ‘ re-education camp.’

Red, Cherry Red by Jackie Kay

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A few weeks ago I was watching a Scottish TV programme about books and it featured the west of Scotland poet Jackie Kay. She did a reading which is usually something that I’m not all that keen on, but I could listen to her voice for a long time. Anyway, despite not being a huge fan of most poetry I like a lot of Jackie Kay’s so I had a look to see what else was availably in Fife libraries and requested Red, Cherry Red which is illustrated in black and white by Rob Ryan. I must admit that it was the charming book cover which attracted me, the library description says that the book is for adolescents, but I think it’s good for all ages. Inevitably some of the poems appeal to me much more than others. I think I prefer the ones which happen to be written in Scots. From 2016 to 2021 Jackie Kay was the Makar of Scotland (poet laureate).

The only poem in this book which I’ve found online is: No 115 Dreams which you can hear the poet reading in this link.

And there are lots of You Tube videos here.

Lament for a Maker by Michael Innes

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Lament for a Maker cover

Lament for a Maker by Michael Innes was first published in 1938 and the story is told by five different characters in seven sections.

In the first part the story is narrated by Ewan Bell, a shoemaker from Kinkeig and it’s written in his dialect which I think might have put some readers off but really it shouldn’t be a problem for people.

Ranald Guthrie is the laird of Erchany Castle. He’s hated in his part of the Scottish Highlands, because of his meanness. Ranald spends his time counting his gold coins and quoting parts of an ancient Scottish poem by William Dunbar – which you can read here. A maker or more usually makar is a Scottish word for a poet, usually a court poet. The title has been brought back into use now and at the moment the makar is Jackie Kay.

Anyway, back to the book.

Ranald Guthrie has a young niece, but if you believe the local gossip she might actually be his daughter – or maybe he has designs on her, the locals will believe anything of him, he’s seen as being the devil. Christine, the niece has fallen for a young local man but Guthrie despises his family. It’s a bit of a Romeo and Juliet situation.

When Guthrie falls to his death from his own battlements on a wild wintry night there’s speculation, did he jump or was he pushed? His American relatives had tried to have him put into an asylum in the past because of his strange behaviour. Of course John Appleby of Scotland Yard is going to get to the bottom of it.

This is a very convoluted mystery, well worth reading, in fact it’s often regarded as being Michael Innes’s best book.

I read this one for the Read Scotland 2016 Challenge.