Gregor Steele's 'When Scotty said "Scunner"' was commissioned by Dictionaries of the Scots Language in celebration of Scots and its extensive history. Read the poem here 👉 https://dsl.ac.uk/aitken100/gregor-steele/ Gregor Steele was born in Motherwell and grew up in Carluke. He is a highly acclaimed Scottish poet and prominent advocate for the celebration and better understanding of Scots language in Scotland’s schools. As a physicist and former teacher, Gregor also supports STEM education across Scotland. Gregor’s poems can be found in Itchy-Coo’s collections, King o the Midden and Blethertoun Braes, and in the Scottish Poetry Library’s children’s anthology The Thing That Mattered Most. His poems, including the much-loved ‘Mrs Nae Offence’ and ‘The pizzenous pet shop’, are hugely popular in classrooms across Scotland for their everyday language and immense humour. As a lasting tribute to DOST and all those involved in its making, we have commissioned five poems in celebration of Scots and its extensive history. The poems, written in a variety of local vernaculars, were published on St Andrew’s Day 2021.

Visit https://www.scotslanguage.com/scots-warks

Alison Miller's 'The Point o Tinsal' was commissioned by Dictionaries of the Scots Language in celebration of Scots and its extensive history. Read the poem here 👉 https://dsl.ac.uk/aitken100/alison-miller/ Recently appointed the ‘Orkney Scriever’ by the National Library of Scotland, Alison Miller is working to raise the profile, understanding and appreciation of Orcadian and Scots by producing original work and working with local communities in Orkney. A writer in both Orcadian and English, Alison is a published author and has written short stories, essays and poetry reflecting on life in Orkney, island life, language and literature. Orkney Scots is often grouped together with Shetland Scots under the umbrella term ‘Insular Scots‘. Certainly, both are differentiated from other regional varieties by their degree of Norse influence, but they differ from each other in a number of ways, not least in their intonation. As a lasting tribute to DOST and all those involved in its making, we have commissioned five poems in celebration of Scots and its extensive history. The poems, written in a variety of local vernaculars, were published on St Andrew’s Day 2021.

We couldnae hae been mair excitit tae kick aff oor launch week than wi this absolute belter o an EXCLUSIVE new poem frae the aye-amazin Len Pennie!