KNITTING IDEAS TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW ...

... the whole day stretched ahead of us, bright as the glistening rollers
rumbling ashore...

I’m a magpie when it comes to inspiration, seeing ideas in the work of other writers, photographers, painters, musicians, but what I’d never considered was that another artist might be inspired by my work. I’m plagued with far too much self-doubt for that. Yes, I’ve had short stories published, but does anyone read them?

Imagine my surprise and thrill when photography student, Susan Orr got in touch on Facebook requesting permission to use my short story, Jenny’s Well as a basis for her college project. I was delighted to agree. Susan read Jenny’s Well in a Scottish Book Trust anthology and felt the story of the young girl playing by the beach, wearing an itchy knitted jumper, stirred poignant memories of time spent with her granny during caravanning holidays. She wanted to know more about what inspired the story (a personal memory) and where the story was set (along the Moray coastline – northeast Scotland). It turned out that the place where Susan enjoyed childhood holidays was a picturesque village called Portsoy, which is about five miles from Cullen, the spot that featured in my story. We decided to meet.

... the water ran clear and fresh as we cupped our hands, dipping our heads,
making a wish as we drank... 

As part of the project, Susan’s mum knitted an Aran cover for the workbook containing her course notes.  How amazing does it look? Susan then invited a young actress friend to Portsoy to re-enact extracts from Jenny’s Well.

Photographer, Susan Orr with the
Aran covered workbook...

I was as fascinated by Susan’s work as she appeared to be with mine. She drew further inspiration from photographer Martin Parr, whose work is bright and vivid, focusing on the mundane to reveal the extraordinary. You can check out his amazing work using this link.

... We picked our way steadily between briny rock pools, slipping sometimes...  

I suspect this may be the only time my fiction is brought to life via photographs. When Susan showed me the amazing photo-book she has created, I struggled to hold back tears! To have my wee short story touch someone in a way that inspired her to create something new is a privilege. Susan was kind enough to allow me to share some of her work.

... There was a swing set beside the chippers, so I gripped the rusty chains,
kicking high as I could...

But as if that wasn’t fantastic enough, then publishing student Alison Donn asked if she might use extracts from my Doric short story The Whole Hog within a zine she is creating, showcasing contemporary Scottish and Doric writing, as part of her MSc in Publishing at Edinburgh Napier University. Again, I was honoured to help.

Extracts from The Whole Hog included with a zine
created by Alison Donn...

So which artists, whichever medium, have inspired your practice? Or has your work inspired others to create something new? Or does the thought of wearing a scratchy knitted jumper bring back fond childhood memories?

Writers love notebooks, perhaps beautiful Aran covers will catch on... 

Huge thanks to both Susan and Alison for not only reading my work but also requesting extracts and creating something fresh and exciting. Good luck to them both with their future studies.

Rae x

DORIC - FAE NORTHEAST SCOTLAND TO HOLLYWOOD

Last week I received the exciting news that my short story, The Whole Hog, is to be published in Northwords Now – the literary magazine of the north. I’m a writer - I’ve had a short story accepted – what makes that so special? Well the reason I’m thrilled is because it’s the first short story I’ve written in Doric.

WHAT IS DORIC?

But what is Doric? Unless you live in Scotland then it’s unlikely you will be familiar with the term. In the past, even the majority of Scots paid little attention to its existence. Yet earlier this month Doric shook off its status as a local dialect and was officially recognised as Scotland’s third language, to be acknowledged alongside English and Gaelic.

WHERE IS IT SPOKEN?

Cullen Viaducts, courtesy of
Neil Donald Photography

Doric is the native tongue (or mither tongue) of northeast Scotland, being spoken from just north of Dundee to around Elgin in Morayshire. In the 2011 census, 120,000 people – half the population of Aberdeenshire – identified as Scots/Doric speakers, compared with only 57,000 Scots who use Gaelic.

Doric is a fabulously expressive language. It is the language I speak at home with my parents and in-laws but, as a school child, found it was banished to the playground, strictly forbidden in the classroom. For my parents’ generation, communicating in Doric in front of a teacher led to them receiving several whacks of the belt.

For years the use of Doric has been on the decline and, as young people moved away from the northeast to study or find employment, was probably even considered a dying language.

A dear friend of mine, and Professor of Sociolinguistics at Glasgow University, Jennifer Smith, has made studying the changes in the use of Doric throughout the generations, a major part of her life’s work. My relatives and friends, from the area, have spent hours with her research team – happy to help.

But the good news is that in recent years the decline in the understanding of Doric has slowed. 

WHY THE RESURGENCE IN INTEREST IN DORIC?

There are a number of reasons for the resurgence in interest in a language that can be tricky for non-speakers to understand. One of the main contributing factors is that now it’s compulsory for Doric to

Joyce Falconer starring in Morna Young's Doric
play Aye, Elvis

be taught in both Primary and Secondary schools across both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Aberdeen University recently launched a series of Doric night classes, as well as Doric writing workshops. In March of this year, it hosted a performance of Handel’s Messiah sung in Doric.

This summer, MornaYoung, a young playwright from the northeast, took Doric to the International Edinburgh Festival with her critically acclaimed play Aye,Elvis, starring River City actress, Joyce Falconer.

Dr ShaneStrachan, recipient of the prestigious Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, has written his debut novel, Quines at Sea (Girls at Sea), partly in Doric.  It is currently with leading literary agent Jenny Brown, being considered by publishers.

Speaking, writing and reading in Doric is no longer confined to northeast Scotland.

THE HOLLYWOOD EFFECT

Doric embraced by Hollywood
in the Pixar movie, Brave

In fact in 2012, the delights of listening to Doric were brought to a worldwide audience by Grey’s Anatomy actor, Kevin McKidd when he voiced the Young MacGuffin in the Pixar movie Brave. Pixar suggested that McKidd use nonsense Scots words, but instead he opted to use Doric, the language of his hometown that he learnt from his grandfather. Pixar loved it. Hear from McKidd himself on this You Tube clip... listen now.

LEARN TO SPEAK DORIC

So why not give it a go? It’s a wonderfully rich language, written, for the most part, phonetically. As a simple starting point, the letters WH are often replaced with the letter F. 

So…

What become Fit

Where becomes Far

Why becomes Fit wy

When becomes Fan

Here are some of my favourite Doric words …

FAVOURITE DORIC WORDS

Footer – to mess about , waste time   ‘Fit are you footerin aboot at'

Pellan – a fence   ‘He climt the pellan’

Bosie – a warm cuddle  ‘Gis a bosie’

Skelp – a slap  ‘He’s gan to git a skelp’

Splooter – to spill  ‘Fit a splooter yer makin’

Red up – a mess   ‘Fit a red up!’

WANT TO LEARN MORE…

I hope I’ve piqued your interest in the Doric language. To learn more, a fun place to start is the Doric Dictionary online.

NORTHWORDS NOW

And if you’d like to read my FREE short story, The Whole Hog, written using the pseudonym Isobel

Northwords Now -
available as a newspaper, Kindle version and online

Rutland – partly written in Doric so it is still accessible to non-Doric speakers – then it will be available in the autumn edition of Northwords Now online very soon. (I’ll update the link when it is posted).

I hope you’ve enjoyed this sma introduction to Doric.

Dinna bide awa! (Come back soon!)

Rae x

I'd love if you'd leave a message or get in touch on Twitter @Rae_Cowie