Hercules: Bampots and Heroes (Itchy Coo)

Itchy Coo

by Matthew Fitt

'Zeus, high-heid-yin o the gods and heid-bummer o the universe, had a son, and he cawed this son Hercules'. So begins Matthew Fitt's version of the ancient myth of Hercules, retold in the Scots language.

48 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

Matthew Fitt is a Scots poet and novelist. He was born in 1968 in Dundee, Scotland. He was writer-in-residence at Greater Pollok in Glasgow, national Scots Language Development Officer and wrote a column in Scots for The National newspaper.

His best known work is But n Ben A-Go-Go, a cyberpunk novel in Scots. Earlier works included The Hoose o Haivers, a loose retelling of the Metamorphoses of Ovid in Scots and The Smoky Smirr o Rain, a Scots anthology. He also wrote the lyrics to Icker in a Thrave, the 2007 Scots entry for the Liet-Lavlut song contest for minority languages in Europe.

Fitt has translated several Asterix books into Scots. The first was Asterix and the Pechts, published in 2013. He has also translated several Roald Dahl novels, including The Twits (The Eejits), George's Marvellous Medicine (Geordie’s Mingin Medicine) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Chairlie and the Chocolate Works).

In 2002, together with James Robertson and Susan Rennie, he co-founded Itchy Coo, a publishing imprint and educational project to reintroduce schoolchildren to the Scots tongue. With Thomas Clark, he runs the national Scots education resources provider Scots Hoose Yaldi

Reviews

[Karen]

Very clever and very funny. Great use of language.