Len Pennie — laughing, greetin’ and poyums annaw in Orkney visit

“Trauma, trauma, trauma, hedgehog…”

Len Pennie sums up her latest collection of poems in the down-to-earth fashion that has made her visit to Orkney a hit with school pupils and an audience at Stromness Academy.

An hedgehog encounter does indeed feature in Poyums Annaw, the second book by the acclaimed writer, who favours the notes app on her phone over notebooks and came to prominence online during lockdown.

But so too do the experiences of a 27-year-old domestic abuse survivor whose rhymes reveal the nuance of trauma, whose innate humour lets her audience laugh as well as greet.

“I do talk a lot about domestic abuse, and it’s a difficult topic — so if at any point you need to leave, please feel free,” she warned her St Magnus Festival audience on Saturday morning.

With tongue in cheek, she added: “If you’re leaving because the poetry’s sh*t, then that’s a different story.

“I will come and find you, I will ask you a questionnaire!”

The positive impression Len has left with Orcadians appears to be mutual, with the poet sharing hopes to make a return trip.

A champion of Scots language, she has been picking up Orcadian words like a “linguistic magpie”, and may even use them in future work.

Hit play on the video above to hear more from Len on her Orkney visit.

Pick up The Orcadian for more coverage from the St Magnus Festival.