Len Pennie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1999 Lanarkshire[1] |
| Occupation | Poet, student |
| Language | Scots |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Education | University of St Andrews |
| Literary movement | Scots Language |
| Notable works |
|
| Notable awards | Scots performer of the year 2021, poet laureate of the St Andrews Society of Los Angeles, 2020 |
| Website | |
| Twitter feed | |
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] [4][5]
Pennie grew up in Airdrie[6][1] in a household speaking Scots with her parents, grandparents and siblings. Her mother and father are teachers. She credits her grandparents and mother for teaching her Scots, and inspiring a love of languages.[6] She also speaks Spanish and French.
Pennie has a Master of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of St Andrews.[7]
Pennie has worked as a chef.[7]
As a child, Pennie competed in classroom Robert Burns poetry recital competitions.[6]
When she was furloughed from her work in a restaurant during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Scotland, she began posting a video with 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 online popularity of her posts, she says she received online abuse, including misogyny[4] and disagreement as to the status of Scots as a language,[6] and critics including George Galloway suggested Pennie has a "faux identity" and is a supporter of Scottish nationalism; however, Pennie also received support from actor Michael Sheen,[8] comedian and nationalist campaigner Janey Godley,[9] author Neil Gaiman,[4][10] writer Billy Kay,[6] food writer Nigella Lawson, TV presenter Greg Jenner[5] and independence supporter 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 Scots commissioned to write a poem for a Christmas campaign by Lidl about the Daft Days.[13] A 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 a National Trust for Scotland's Big Burns Night in January 2021.[16] In February 2021, Pennie was commissioned by a campaign group Witches of Scotland to write and perform a poem for their online video In Memorial, to honour those, mainly women, who were persecuted under the Witchcraft Acts.[17] In November 2020, the Saint Andrew's Society of Los Angeles invited her to write a Scottish diaspora poem which resulted in "Scots Nothin Tae Dae Wae That", and in March 2021 they named her their society's Poet Laureate.[18]
In March 2023, Canongate Books announced publication of a short collection of her poetry, Poyums.[19]
Pennie was a judge for a BBC Radio Scotland youth writers competition on climate change.[20][21] She wrote an article for TES about using Scots in the classroom.[22]
In September 2022, Pennie became a columnist for The Herald.[23]
In March 2024, Pennie revealed she was in an abusive relationship with Gregor Monson between 2017 and 2020. He began harassing Pennie after she left him. He was charged, with a trial set for April 2022, but it was adjourned. In 2024, Monson pled guilty to domestic violence and was sentenced to a two year behavioural programme for domestic abusers. Pennie was granted a 3 year non-harassment order. [24]