Scots poet and performer, Tracy Harvey, was certainly gien it laldy as she entertained, involved, and inspired club members with her poems and deep knowledge of Scots.
A well-known performer and poet around Ayrshire, Tracy has been writing poetry in Scots for over twenty years. She is also part of the Burns Bachelors Performers, taking plays and poems around Ayrshire and Dumfries. She has recently published a collection of her poetry and short stories – Leanne An Betty Throu The Waa – that will ‘stir mony a soul, melt, the cauldest o herts n hiv ye laughin yin minute n greetin the next.’ (Angela Noble)
The evening began with an explanation of the levels of Scots to be found in poetry. Tracy explained that there is a continuum. Some poems are peppered with Scots words that are accessible to all and give the ‘feel’ of the language. She read Paper Doll Chain to demonstrate this. At the other end of the spectrum, the Scots is dense and readers may need the help of a dictionary to fully understand all of the rich vocabulary. Another of Tracy’s poems, Mendin the Fire showed an increase of Scots words, while Lousin Time makes little use of English at all.
Memories feature strongly in Tracy’s work and she explained how she is now of an age where her thoughts are ‘50% in this world, and 50% memory.’
Members had been invited to bring along their favourite Scots poems to share. Kirsty read I’m No Havin Children, by Lenn Pennie – a young poet who makes the Scots language accessible. Linda B read Black Friday by James Gordon Copeland, a poem that had made a big impact on her at school, while Carolyn treated the audience to a poem by Liz Lochhead.
I brought along The Watergaw, by Hugh McDiarmid – one of the greatest poems written in Scots, which contrasted well with Linda H’s Wee Rid Motor. Fiona McF completed this section of the evening with a performance of The Laird O’ Cockpen from memory – well done!
Scots words from the glossary of Tracy’s book were distributed and a challenge was set to write a wee bit of poetry or a paragraph of prose in ten minutes. Quite an impossible task for me but the two Linda’s pulled it off in style – one took us back to the 70s and azure eye make-up, while Linda H remembered her dad making a corn beef sandwich.
After the break, members were tested with a Scots Language Quiz, with Greta and Fiona McF coming out tops.
The evening ended with a brilliant performance by Tracy of her poem, It’s No Potato, it’s Tattie! which had everyone in stitches.
Haste ye back Tracy, and thanks for so generously sharing your talent.
Fiona Johnson