A Welcome from Emeritus Professor Ian Russell
Welcome to the Elphinstone Kist. In it you'll find a wealth of material in the distinctive Scots of the North-East, affectionately known as 'the Doric'. Sheena Blackhall, Scottish Arts Council Creative Writing Fellow in Scots at the Institute, and Les Wheeler, Research Associate, have worked tirelessly to put together this extraordinary Scots language resource which includes poetry, fiction, drama, song lyric, reminiscence, and days-in-the-life of all sorts of North-East folk from oil-worker to hairdresser. Contributors range from established authors to school children, and the 'E-Kist' is a fully searchable and downloadable resource.
Imagine the hard-pressed teacher seeking inspiration for a class of 'primary sevens' at eleven pm on a Sunday night. 'What is the class studying?'... 'Work: oil.' Three clicks later, and Bill Buchan's account of 'A Trip Affshore' is downloaded and printed. Even the ev
Of course, the Kist is far too good to be kept for teachers and pupils alone. It will be relished by everyone who has an interest in or love of the Doric. It draws on a long tradition, stretching from John Barbour's fourteenth-century epic on the life of Robert the Bruce and ballads like the Battle of Harlaw, to Sheena Blackhall's up-to-the-minute reflections on contemporary issues. You'll find the fantastic here, and also the down-to-earth - as well as everything in between. Many of the established names in the rich North-East tradition are in the Kist - Charles Murray, David Rorie, Violet Jacob, Hunter Diack, J.C. Milne, Ken Morrice, Peter Buchan, David Ogston, and many more. And, who knows, some of our school contributors may be the weel-kent Doric writers of the future. What the Kist shows is that the Doric has a vital and meaningful future in this electronic and information age.
Enter the Elphinstone Kist.