The Carrying Stream

This episode's guest is Colin Bramwell: the award-winning poet and translator, cosmopolitan and craftsman, writing in both Scots and English. Colin is the author of Fower Pessoas (Carcanet, 2025), which rendered Fernando Pessoa into Scots. More recently, he published his debut collection of poems, The Fetch (And Other Stories, 2026). As we listen to Colin's poems and translations, we talk about the Scots language, Scottish culture, the need for international curiosity, questions of life, verse, and death, and of the power of poetry in withstanding the tide of tyranny. We also talk about other poets: Pessoa and Paz, Keats and MacDiarmid. 02:08 - Colin's uprbringing and journey into poetry and craft13:25 - Writing poetry in Scots23:40 - The politics of Scots and language learning in Scotland30:30 - Colin's work in translation 45:00 - Fernando Pessoa's poems and paradoxes53:50 - Doubleness. Scottishness and paradoxes in Colin's poetry1:10:00 - Poetry, politics, and resistance 1:28:14 - Colin and John Keats 1:37:10 - Balancing life and work as an artist

This episode's guests are publisher David Graham and writer Kirsty Gunn — the joint directors of North House Press, a new publishing house based in the Highlands.We talk about David and Kirsty's love of Caithness and Sutherland, about pibroch music, about the place of the Highlands in the world of publishing, and about the novels of the great twentieth-century Highland writer Neil M. Gunn (1891-1973), three of which have just been re-edited by North House Press. Overall, it’s a passionate conversation about some of our finest Highland books, about their shorelines, hillsides, and hardbacks. 00:02 - David and Kirsty's journey into reading, writing, and publishing00:06 - David and Kirsty's partnership and love of Caithness and Sutherland 13:00 - Pibroch music and Kirsty's novel, "The Big Music" 17:25 - Setting up a publishing house in the Highlands21:30 - Highlands, Lowlands and the Scottish publishing scene 28:00 - Publishing serious and challenging books in 2026 35:00 - Neil. M. Gunn: context, ideas, and North House Press's reprints 51:30 - Kirsty's literary relationship with Neil Gunn59:00 - The future of North House Press

This episode's guest is Garry MacKenzie — the award-winning, ecologically attuned poet and scholar, Fifer, Glaswegian, and translator from Gaelic. He is the author of Ben Dorain: A Conversation with a Mountain (Irish Pages, 2021) and, most recently, Firth (Irish Pages, 2026) We talk about Scotland, the Firth of Forth, the planet, deep time, oysters, glaciers and deer. We also listen to Garry’s exquisite verse, and, in so doing, we touch on the mad poet’s dream of rendering the world into words. Overall, it is a hopeful conversation: a vindication of local insight, art and craft against the forces of global extraction.02:30 - Writing about "the burning world" 07:20 - Garry's journey as a Scottish/Glaswegian eco-poet20:10 - Poetry, ecology, spirituality and the non-human world35:00 - Ben Dorain: Garry's experimental translation from 18th-century Gaelic 52:30 - Ecology and philosophy of translation01:09:20 - Firth: Garry's latest collection about the Firth of Forth 01:16:50 - Glacier and Oysters 01:32:35 - Geology, History, and Revolution01:41:00 - Scotland's eco-poetic scene

This episode's guests are Dr  Erin Farley, historian of Dundee literature and archivist at Dundee's Public Library, and Taylor Dyson, the award-winning Dundonian poet. In the first part of the episode, Erin paints a broad and vivid picture of Dundee's literary history, from Reformation verse and the poetry of the jute industry and from William McGonagal to Mary Brooksbank, W.N. Herbert and Michael Marra. In the second half, Taylor reads from her own work and reflects on the past few years, which have seen her emerge as one of the most exciting new voices in Dundee and Scottish poetry. Together, these conversations explore how a distinctive literary culture is made and sustained, and the many rewards and challenges of nurturing a local, democratic writing scene.  Part 1 - Erin Farley (3:00-56:00) 03.22 - Introduction to Dundee Literature and Erin's work07:04 - Dundee literature before the Industrial Revolution14:02 - Dundee literature in the Industrial era19:33 - Inequalities, politics, and literature in Victorian Dundee33:29 - William McGonagall, Scotland's best worst poet39:00 - Mary Brooksbank: Communist, Feminist, Poet.46:40 - Dundee's contemporary poetry scene. Part 2 - Taylor Dyson (56:15 - 1:40:00)57:00 - Taylor's work and Dundee's literary tradition1:02:50 - Taylor's poetic journey and relationship with Dundonian Scots1:13:30 - Blether, Dundee's monthly poetry night in Scots 1:17:40 - Taylor's recent awards and works1:22:20 - Contemporary challenges for Dundee and working-class poetry 1:31:40 - Poetry and Drama in Taylor's work 1:37:30 - Future projects of Taylor and Erin

This episode's guest is Dr Clément Guézais, a French historian, lecturer at the University of Arras, and specialist of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France.We discuss the alliance itself - its origins, its history, and its legacy - as well as the ways in which French and Scots have imagined, understood and misunderstood one another across the centuries. At its heart, this is a discussion about the possibility of genuine friendship between nations, rather than merely a relationship of political convenience. 02:00 - Clément's journey as a scholar and into Scotland07:30 - The origins of the Auld Alliance16:00 - Why was the "Alliance" called "Auld"?23:27 - The alliance and medieval notions of riendship26:30 - The alliance and the Hundred Years' War 35:45 - The "Garde Ecossaise"38:20 - Why the Auld Alliance came to an end 47:15 - How the French understood the Scots in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance57:37 - The legacy of the Auld Alliance 01:07:00 - "Distance Unites": Clément's Franco-Scottish identity and his future works

This episode’s guest is Robert Crawford, Emeritus Professor at the University of St Andrews and a distinguished poet.We discuss his work, which since the 1980s has played an important role in reshaping our understanding of Scottish literature in more multilingual and multicultural terms. We also speak about his engagement with Robert Burns and T. S. Eliot, as well as his interests in fields as varied as philosophy, computing, and the Japanese haiku. The result is a wide-ranging conversation on literature, influence, and the many directions Scottish writing and scholaship can take.02.20 - Robert's origin story as a scholar of Scottish and English Literatures09.30 - Crawford vs TS Eliot on Scotland's literary tradition15.00 - Scottish literature, multilingualism and pluralism27.30 - Robert's most influential essay: 'Devolving English Literature' (1992)42.00 - Robert's work as an anthologist of Scottish verse and prose 50.45 - Robert answers some of his critics1.01.00 - Robert's biographies of Robert Burns and TS Eliot1.20.00 - Robert's forthcoming book on the Japanese haiku

This episode's guest is Dr Petra Johana Poncarová, a native speaker of Czech who has become a distinguished scholar of Gaelic literature and an emerging, award-winning poet in Gaelic. We begin with Petra’s journey into the Gaelic language, before turning to her work on Derick Thomson and Rùraidh Erskine, two key figures of the twentieth-century Gaelic revival. We finish by talking about the present and future of Gaelic — and by listening to Petra’s brand new poems, written between Czechia and the Gàidhealtachd .02.10 - Petra's journey into Gaelic and tips for Gaelic learners13.30 - Derick Thomson: icon of the twentieth-century Gaelic revival 20.30 - Derick Thomson's work on the Ossian controversy 31.00 - History and legacy of the Gaelic magazine Gairm 36.15 - Derick Thomson's poetry (with extracts)48.40 - Ruraidh Erskine of Mar: Gaelic firebrand and early Scottish nationalist55.30 - Thomson, Erskine and Petra's ideas for the Gaelic revival1.05.15 - Petra's poetry in Gaelic1.19.45 - Petra's ongoing and forthcoming works

This episode's guest is Kirsteen McCue, Professor of Scottish Literature and Song Culture at the University of Glasgow. We discuss the origins and history of Scottish folk music, and place particular emphasis on the Romantic era, when songs collected by figures such as Robert Burns became instrumental raw materials in the formation of modern music — from Haydn and Beethoven to the folk revival of the 1960s.2.00 — Kirsteen's upbringing in one of Scotland's most distinguished musical families.11.54 — Song collection in eighteenth-century Scotland (the example of George Thomson) 16.00 — The relationship between Robert Burns and Thomson22.00 — The origins of Scottish folk music28.00 — Scottish music and Enlightenment culture34.50 — Musical Extract: 'O Poortith Cauld' arranged by Weber 38.00 — Scottish music and democratic culture44.00 — Burns, Thomson, Haydn and Beethoven54.00 — Musical Extract: "The Lovely Lass of Inverness", arranged by Beethoven58.00 — The long-term influence of Scottish folk on Romantic and Modern music. 1.06.00 — From Beethoven to Bob Dylan1.15.00 — Kirsteen's current and forthcoming research work. 1.22.00 — A final musical recommendation

This episode's guest is Dr Moira Hansen, whose PhD research explores the life and mental health of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet.We talk about Moira’s work on Burns, including her argument that he may have experienced bipolar disorder, and how this might have shaped his life, his relationships, and some of his best-known works — including "Tam o’ Shanter". It’s a thoughtful conversation about literature, mental health, and how we read figures like Burns today.01:30 – Moira's background and journey into Burns studies. 05:30 – Diagnosing an eighteenth-century poet. 18:40 – Impact of Burns's mental health on his personal, social and creative life. 28:10 – The Irvine episode: Burns's first depression?40:10 – How Burns understood his own condition. 46:10 – Frances Dunlop: Burns's correspondent and confidante. 57:10 – A new reading of "Tam o' Shanter". 65:30 – Addressing recent controversies about Burns and gender. 74:20 – Moira's influence on Alan Cumming's recent adaptation of Burns for the stage. 77:39 – Moira's forthcoming research work.

This episode's guest is Billy Kay, the Scottish writer, broadcaster and lifelong advocate for the Scots language and the status of its speakers. Our conversation is, of course, in and about Scots, but we also journey further afield from the deep ties between Scotland and France to broader questions of Scotland's global identity. 03:30 – Billy Kay's upbringing as a Scots speaker and his inspiration for his best-selling book, The Mither Tongue. 11:47 – The linguistics and politics of Scots.22:10 – Scots and social class. 35:17 – Billy Kay on his book, The Scottish World. 43:20 – The "Auld Alliance" and the wine trade. 53:09 – Billy Kay's view of the future and poetry reading.