Matthew Fitt is a Lowland Scots/Lallans

Lallans

Lallans , a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands meaning the lowlands of Scotland, was also traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole...

 poet

Poet

A 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 Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland 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 Pollok

Pollok

Pollok is a large district on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built to house families from the overcrowded inner city...

 in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow 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 publishing

Publishing

Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...

 imprint

Imprint

In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

 and educational project to reintroduce schoolchildren to the Scots tongue.

His best known work is But'n'Ben A-Go-Go

But'n'Ben A-Go-Go

But 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 cyberpunk

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a postmodern and 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 Ovid

Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...

 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-Lavlut

Liet-Lavlut

Liet-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...

 song contest for minority languages in Europe. The tune was written by Simon Thoumire, and the song was performed by Mairi Campbell

Mairi Campbell

Mairi Campbell is a Scottish singer and musician, born and raised in Edinburgh. Together with partner Dave Francis she forms traditional music group The Cast. Mairi is also the musical director of Sangstream, a folk song choir based in Edinburgh. On top of this, she is taking part in several other...

 (singing), Kevin Mackenzie (guitar), Clare McLaughlin (fiddle), and Simon Thoumire

Simon Thoumire

Simon Thoumire is a Scottish musician and a concertina virtuoso.Thoumire has played all over the world. A winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Tradition Award in 1989, Thoumire has always been keen to explore different genres of music, releasing many records over the years delving into folk, jazz,...

(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

• University of Dundee explains the Itchy Coo project
• Text and commentary on Kate o Shanter's Tale, which was listed in Best Scottish Poems, 2004
• Itchy Coo – Braw Books for Bairns o Aw Ages
• http://www.simonthoumire.com/manuscript/icker_in_a_thrave.htm - music tae "Icker in a Thrave"