The haill clanjamfrie: What's so braw aboot Scots | In person

Readings and conversations on Scots poetry and prose wi’ pals

Scotland has a longstanding history of storytelling. From songs, tales, and folklore passed through communities to the works of Rabbie Burns and contemporary voices today, stories are central to how people in Scotland have expressed themselves for centuries, and the Scots language has played a key part in telling them.

But Scots isn’t a language of the past. With 1.5 million speakers, Scots is very much alive and evolving across Scotland. With its directness, blend of dialects, and expressive range, Scots offers artists a unique way of communicating, one that can feel more personal and emotionally resonant than standard English.

Through live readings of poetry and prose, alongside open conversation, this RSE Investigates event explores Scots as a powerful tool for creative expression and social commentary. We’ll be joined by writers Len Pennie, Chris McQueer, and Michael Pedersen, as they share readings from their work, plus reflections on how Scots shapes their writing and the stories they choose to tell.

Expect moments of humour alongside conversations on grief, joy, and how language, place, and identity intersect.

Speakers:

Chris McQueer

Author and English/Creative Writing tutor

Chris McQueer is an author from Glasgow. He has written two collections of short stories, Hings and HWFG, and his first novel, Hermit, was published in 2025 and was shortlisted for the Saltire Award for fiction. He currently teaches English and creative writing in Scottish prisons.

Michael Pedersen

Writer / Edinburgh Makar (Poet Laureate)

Michael Pedersen is a prize-winning Scottish author, the former Writer in Residence at Edinburgh University, and Edinburgh’s Makar/Poet Laureate. He writes across fiction (Muckle Flugga), non-fiction (Boy Friends) and poetry (The Cat Prince). Pedersen has won a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship and the Books Are My Bag Readers Award, as well as being shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prizes and the Saltire National Book Awards. A Sunday Times Critics Choice, his work has been translated into French, German, Spanish, and Estonian, with praise garnered from the likes of Stephen Fry, Bernardine Evaristo, Ocean Vuong, Irvine Welsh, & more.

Len Pennie

Len Pennie is a multi-award-winning poet who writes predominantly in the Scots language and also in English. She writes passionately about the promotion of minority languages, survivors of domestic abuse, and the de-stigmatisation of mental illness.

Both her poetry collections, poyums and poyums annaw were Sunday Times bestsellers while poyums won the Discover Award at the 2025 British Book Awards. She hosts The Arts Mix on BBC Radio Scotland and posts her poems, thoughts and other content to her 1.3 million+ followers on TikTok, Instagram and X.

Chair:

Professor Jennifer Smith FBA FRSE

University of Glasgow

Jennifer Smith is a sociolinguist whose research investigates language variation and change across time, space and the social system.

She has worked on the origins and development of Englishes worldwide, the linguistic repertoires of multilectal speakers, and the sociolinguistic development of children as they move from imitators in the home to innovators in the playground.

She has directed a number of ESRC, AHRC and British Academy funded projects, including the creation of two digital resources - The Scots Syntax Atlas and Speak for Yersel - which map dialect patterns across Scotland, bringing linguistic research into the public sphere.

Important points to note

• This event is suitable for age 16+
• Accessibility Statement: We aim to make events as accessible as possible. If you have any accessibility requirements or any questions about how we can support this event, please contact the RSE Public Engagement team on [email protected]

• COVID-19: In order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 we kindly encourage participants to continue to wear face masks if they feel comfortable to do so; use the hand sanitisers provided at the venue; and to stay at home if they have Covid symptoms or have tested positive for Covid-19.

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