Matthew Fitt is a
Lowland Scots/LallansLallans , a variant of the Scots word lawlands meaning the lowlands of Scotland, was also traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole...
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and novelist. He was born in 1968 in
DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and, fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Previously writer-in-residence at
Greater PollokPollok is a large district on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built to house families from the over crowded inner city...
in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, he is currently National Scots Language Development Officer.
In 2002, he and James Robertson founded 'Itchy Coo', a
publishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view...
imprintIn the publishing industry, an imprint can refer to two different things:* It can mean a brand name under which a work is published. One single publishing company may have multiple imprints; the different imprints are used by the publisher to market the work to different demographic consumer segments...
and educational project to reintroduce schoolchildren to the Scots tongue.
His best known work is
But'n'Ben A-Go-GoBut n Ben A-Go-Go is a science fiction work by Scots writer Matthew Fitt, notable for being entirely in the Scots language. The novel was first published in 2000....
, a
cyberpunkCyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life". The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk", published in 1983...
novel in Lowland Scots.
Matthew Fitt is a
Lowland Scots/LallansLallans , a variant of the Scots word lawlands meaning the lowlands of Scotland, was also traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole...
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and novelist. He was born in 1968 in
DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and, fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Previously writer-in-residence at
Greater PollokPollok is a large district on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built to house families from the over crowded inner city...
in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, he is currently National Scots Language Development Officer.
In 2002, he and James Robertson founded 'Itchy Coo', a
publishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view...
imprintIn the publishing industry, an imprint can refer to two different things:* It can mean a brand name under which a work is published. One single publishing company may have multiple imprints; the different imprints are used by the publisher to market the work to different demographic consumer segments...
and educational project to reintroduce schoolchildren to the Scots tongue.
His best known work is
But'n'Ben A-Go-GoBut n Ben A-Go-Go is a science fiction work by Scots writer Matthew Fitt, notable for being entirely in the Scots language. The novel was first published in 2000....
, a
cyberpunkCyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life". The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk", published in 1983...
novel in Lowland Scots. Earlier works included
The Hoose O Haivers, a loose retelling of the Metamorphoses of
OvidPublius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who wrote about love, seduction, and mythological transformation....
in Scots and
The Smoky Smirr O Rain, a Scots anthology.
He wrote the lyrics to
Icker in a Thrave, the 2007 Scots entry for the
Liet-LavlutLiet-Lávlut or Liet Ynternasjonaal is an annual festival for musicians who speak any of Europe's minority languages that was held the first time in Friesland in 2002. The festival has been held four times, with the latest being on October 14, 2006 in Östersund, Sweden. This was the first time that...
song contest for minority languages in Europe. The tune was written by Simon Thoumire, and the song was performed by Mairi Campbell (singing), Kevin Mackenzie (guitar), Clare McLaughlin (fiddle), and
Simon ThoumireSimon Thoumire is a Scottish musician and an acknowledged concertina virtuoso.Simon Thoumire has played all over the world. A winner of the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Young Tradition Award in 1989, Thoumire has always been keen to explore different genres of music, releasing many records over the...
(concertina).
Works
- Fitt, Matthew (1996) Pure Radge. Kirkaldy, Akros Publications. ISBN 0-86142-064-0
- Fitt, Matthew (1999) Sairheid City. Angus, Kettillonia Press. ISBN 1-902944-01-1
- Fitt, Matthew (2002) Gaberlunzie Joe (Itchy Coo Series). Edinburgh, Black and White Publishing. ISBN 1-902927-57-5
- Fitt, Matthew; Robertson, James (2003) The Smoky Smirr O Rain: A Scots Anthology (Itchy Coo Series). Edinburgh, Black and White Publishing. ISBN 1-902927-81-8
- Fitt, Matthew; Robertson, James; Dewar, Bob (2003) King O the Midden: Manky Mingin Rhymes in Scots (Itchy Coo Series). Edinburgh, Black and White Publishing. ISBN 1-902927-70-2
- Fitt, Matthew (2005) But'n'Ben A-Go-Go. Dundee, Luath Press. ISBN 1-905222-04-1
- Rennie,Susan; Fitt, Matthew; Robertson, James (2002) The Hoose O Haivers (Itchy Coo Series). Edinburgh, Black and White Publishing. ISBN 1-902927-44-3
External links