Original version

BBC Radio 4 Extra

Poetry Extra

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Weekly opportunity for listeners to revisit the riches of the BBC radio poetry archive

A brand new poetry slot on Radio 4 Extra gives listeners a weekly opportunity to revisit the riches of the BBC radio poetry archive

Poetry Extra: Norn But Not Forgotten - Sounds of Shetland

15/10/2017

Norn But Not Forgotten - Sounds of Shetland

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Poetry Extra, Norn But Not Forgotten - Sounds of Shetland

Kathleen Jamie discovers the appeal of the local dialect for poets in the Shetland Islands

4 Extra Debut. Kathleen Jamie discovers the appeal of the local dialect for poets who live in the rugged landscape of the Shetland Islands. From August 2010.

Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'Norn But Not Forgotten, Sounds of Shetland'. 

The dialect of the Shetland Islands is one of the most distinctive spoken within the British Isles: heavily accented, and studded with words left over from the now extinct Norn language which was spoken on the islands until the late 18th century. Even now, reaching for expressions to describe the natural world, places, the seasons of the year, food, tools, colours, moods or states of agitation or excitement, Shetlanders will often use Norn words. 

Kathleen Jamie visits Shetland to meet up with the poets who revel in the language, both those born on the island and those who've moved there.

Shetland, and its distinctive accents and words, has proved surprisingly receptive to poets from mainland Scotland and England who have chosen to make it home. What is it about the Shetland dialect that so excites and fascinates poets? Kathleen asks the TS Eliot award-winning poet Jen Hadfield, who was born in Cheshire, and Raman Mundair, who was born in Ludhiana in India and came to live in Glasgow at the age of five, about choosing to write about Shetland's distinctive landscape, people and way of life in its own tongue. 

Kathleen also meets acclaimed Shetland language poet Christine De Luca who was raised on the island and who has made the opposite journey, leaving the rugged landscape of the island to live and work on the mainland. 

Rich with the sounds - and not just the language - of the islands, Kathleen Jamie explores how this dense linguistic community has managed to excite and engage some of Britain's leading poets. 

Producer: Mark Rickards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Poetry Extra

Norn But Not Forgotten - Sounds of Shetland

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 Extra

About BBC Radio 4 Extra