Len Pennie

Len Pennie is a Scottish poet and Scots language and mental health advocate.[2] She became known on social media in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland for her "Scots word of the day" and poem (Scots: poyum) videos.[3] In March 2022, her Twitter and Tiktok accounts had over 400,000 followers worldwide.[4][5]

Len Pennie
Born1999
Lanarkshire[1]
OccupationPoet, student
LanguageScots
NationalityScottish
EducationUniversity of St Andrews
Literary movementScots Language
Notable worksI'm no havin children
Notable awardsScots performer of the year 2021, poet laureate of the St Andrews Society of Los Angeles, 2020
Website
Twitter feed

Early life and education

She grew up in Airdrie[6][1] in a household speaking Scots with her parents, grandparents, and siblings. Her mother and father are teachers. Pennie credits her grandparents and mother for teaching her Scots, and inspiring her love of languages.[6] In addition to Scots and English, she speaks Spanish and French.

Pennie has an undergraduate degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of St Andrews.[7]

Career and writing

She has worked as a chef.[7]

Poetry

Pennie competed in Robert Burns poetry recital competitions while she was at school.[6]

When she was furloughed from her work in a restaurant during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Scotland, she began posting a video about a Scots word each day on Twitter[6] to show the pronunciation and meaning of the word and how to use it in context.[5]

Her poems include I'm no havin children, contrasting the English "children" with the Scots "weans",[3] which went viral in October 2020.[6] Following the popularity of her posts, she received online abuse, including misogyny[4] and attacks on the status of Scots as a language,[6] and criticism, including from George Galloway, for what critics perceived as a "faux identity" or supporting Scottish nationalism. However, Pennie also received support from well-known figures including actor Michael Sheen,[8] comedian and campaigner Janey Godley,[9] author Neil Gaiman,[4][10] writer Billy Kay,[6] food writer Nigella Lawson, TV presenter Greg Jenner,[5] and playwright David Greig.[11] Godley said "People keep sending me videos of a young lassie (Miss Punny Pennie) who is explaining what Scots words mean. Beautiful poetry is coming out of her mouth and her language is just spectacular."[12]

Pennie was one of five poets commissioned to write a poem for a Christmas campaign by Lidl about the Daft Days.[13] Her recitation of Robert Burns' Rantin’ Rovin’ Robin was shared by the Scottish Poetry Library[14] and she performed to over 1,200 people for the University of St Andrews' online Global Burns Night[15] and at the National Trust for Scotland's Big Burns Night in January 2021.[16] In February 2021, she was commissioned by the campaign group Witches of Scotland to write and perform a poem for their film In Memorial, to honour those, mainly women, who were persecuted under the Witchcraft Acts.[17] In November 2020, she was commissioned by the Saint Andrew's Society of Los Angeles to write a Scottish diaspora poem which resulted in "Scots Nothin Tae Dae Wae That" and in March 2021 she was named Poet Laureate of the Saint Andrew's Society of Los Angeles.[18]

In March 2023, Canongate Books announced their planned publication of Pennie's poetry collection Poyums.[19]

Other writing

Pennie was a judge for a BBC Radio Scotland young writers competition on climate change.[20][21] She has written for TES on the importance of Scots in the classroom.[22]

In September 2022 she became a columnist for The Herald.[23]

References
  1. McMillan, Joyce (6 May 2021). "The Scotsman Sessions #232: Len Pennie". The Scotsman.
  2. Fotheringham, Ann (28 April 2021). "Talented trio to light up Scotswoman of the Year as event goes digital for first time". Glasgow Times.
  3. Florent, Hugo (25 January 2021). "La personne à suivre. Len Pennie, la poétesse qui défend la langue écossaise". Courrier International.
  4. Mackie, Rachel (8 January 2021). "'You think your attacks don't hurt me, but they do' Scottish poet speaks out about being the victim of relentless online abuse". The Scotsman.
  5. Hay, Katharine (10 February 2021). "You're Dead To Me host Greg Jenner and Nigella Lawson big fans of Scots poet". The Scotsman.
  6. Hay, Katharine (24 October 2020). "'They went absolutely mad for it' – Scottish poet overwhelmed by online response to her latest Scots poem". The Scotsman.
  7. "Len Pennie – Internet poet and Twitter sensation, talks to TRE's Giles Brown". Talk Radio Europe. 23 December 2020.
  8. Allen-Mills, Tony (17 January 2021). "Scots poet Pennie is in heaven after actor Michael Sheen voices his support". Sunday Times.
  9. Ferguson, Brian (12 January 2021). "Janey Godley records video message of support for Scots language campaigners abused on social media". The Scotsman.
  10. Mackie, Rachel (30 December 2020). "Author Neil Gaiman joins support of Scottish warrior poet after she receives torrent of internet abuse". The Scotsman.
  11. Hay, Katharine (18 December 2020). "'It's embarrassing to witness' – Top Scottish playwright condemns trolls for 'misogynistic' comments towards Scots poet". The Scotsman.
  12. Ferguson, Brian (24 October 2020). "Comedy star Janey Godley named 'Scots Speaker of the Year'". The Scotsman.
  13. Erskine, Rosalind (2 December 2020). "Fife poet part of Lidl's 'daft days of Christmas' campaign". Fife Today.
  14. "Burns Week". Scottish Poetry Library. 28 January 2021.
  15. Brooks, Libby (24 January 2021). "Burns Night goes virtual: 'It might be even bigger this year'". The Guardian.
  16. "Edith Bowman to host Burns Big Night In from Bard's cottage". Press Association. 11 January 2021 – via The Gazette.
  17. Ferguson, Brian (7 February 2021). "Watch: Scottish 'warrior poet' pays tribute to thousands of women persecuted for witchcraft as campaign steps up". The Scotsman.
  18. Jackson, Lorne (21 March 2021). "So is this the top Jock in Hollywood?". The Herald.
  19. Kemp-Habib, Alice (22 March 2023). "Canongate lands début collection from TikTok poet Pennie". The Bookseller. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  20. Gilmour, Lauren (16 April 2021). "New BBC competition on climate for young writers". Glasgow Times.
  21. "Meet the judges". Climate Tales. BBC Radio Scotland.
  22. Pennie, Len (30 October 2020). "4 top tips for using Scots language in the classroom". Tes. Tes Global Ltd. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  23. "Introducing our new Herald columnist Lennie Pennie". The Herald. 16 September 2022.
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