Poems, Stories, Plays in the Scots Language by David Purves (original) (raw)

Our thanks to David Purves for creating this section of the site dedicated to the Scots Language.

David PurvesDavid Purves was born in Selkirk, Scotland. Educated at Galashiels Academy and Edinburgh University. Agricultural biochemist and environmentalist with research record involving publication of numerous scientific papers on trace-element problems of plant and animal nutrition. FAO consultant for international standards for additions to land used for food production, of potentially toxic elements in sewage sludge, 1980-82. Author of monograph entitled Trace-Element Contamination of the Environment, Elsevier, 1985. Parliamentary candidate, Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles, 1974.

Special interest in problems of Scots orthography. Author of paper entitled, A Scots Orthography, in The Scottish Literary Journal, Supplement No.9, Spring 1979. Articles on the Scots Language published in The Herald and The Scotsman. Many poems in Scots published in magazines and journals, including The Herald, The Scotsman, AKROS, CENCRASTUS, CHAPMAN, LALLANS, LINES REVIEW, NORTHWORDS, RADICAL SCOTLAND, SCOTTISH LITERARY JOURNAL. Poetry collections: Thrawart Threipins, Aquila, Skye, 1976 and Herts Bluid, CHAPMAN, Edinburgh, 1995. Also adaptations in Scots of 150 ancient Chinese poems, haiku, traditional fairy tales in Scots and plays in Scots based on folk-tale themes.

Three plays, The Puddok an the Princess, The Knicht o the Riddils and Whuppitie Stourie, have been professionally produced. The Puddok an the Princess won a Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1985 and ran to eight professional productions (including two tours of Scotland by Theatre Alba). This play was published by Brown, Son & Ferguson, Glasgow, in 1992, and produced by the Byre Theatre, St Andrews in June 1996. Other plays based on folk-tale themes are, The Ill Guidmither, and Pompitie Finnds a Needle. A translation and adaptation of Shakepeare�s Macbeth into Scots, was also published in 1992 (Rob Roy Press, Edinburgh) and this has now been professionally produced by Theatre Alba (2002). The Thrie Sisters, a rendering of Chekhov�s play in Scots, was also produced by Theatre Alba (1999).

Author of A Scots Grammar � Scots that Haes, Saltire Society, Edinburgh, 1997, (Revised and extended edition, 2002). Past Preses of The Scots Language Society, and formerly editor of LALLANS (nine years), the only journal published wholly in Scots. Co-editor of Mak it New, An Anthology of Twenty-one Years of Writing in LALLANS, Mercat Press, Edinburgh, 1995. Honorary Vice-Preses of the Scots Language Society.

Material in this section is the copyright of David Purves but you can email him here if you'd like to use any of his material.