Len Pennie

Pennie competed in Scots poetry recital competitions while she was at school.[6] When she was furloughed from her work in a restaurant in Dundee during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Scotland, she began posting a video about a Scots word each day on Twitter[6] to show the pronunciation and meaning of the word and how to use it in a phrase.[5]

Her poems include I'm no havin children, contrasting the English "children" with the Scots "weans",[3] which went viral in October 2020.[6] Following the popularity of her posts, she received online abuse, including misogyny[4] and attacks on the status of Scots as a language,[6] and criticism, including from George Galloway, for what critics perceived as a "faux identity" or supporting Scottish nationalism. However, Pennie also received support from well-known figures including actor Michael Sheen,[7] comedian and campaigner Janey Godley,[8] author Neil Gaiman,[4][9] writer Billy Kay,[6] food writer Nigella Lawson, TV presenter Greg Jenner,[5] and playwright David Greig.[10] Godley said "People keep sending me videos of a young lassie (Miss Punny Pennie) who is explaining what Scots words mean. Beautiful poetry is coming out of her mouth [sic] and her language is just spectacular."[11]

Pennie was one of five poets commissioned to write a poem for a Christmas campaign by Lidl about the Daft Days.[12] Her recitation of Robert Burns' Rantin’ Rovin’ Robin was shared by the Scottish Poetry Library[13] and she performed to over 1,200 people for St Andrew's University's online Global Burns Night[14] and at the National Trust for Scotland's Big Burns Night in January 2021.[15] In February 2021, she was commissioned by the campaign group Witches of Scotland to write and perform a poem for their film In Memorial, to honour those, mainly women, who were persecuted under the Witchcraft Acts.[16] In November of 2020 she was commissioned by the St Andrew's Society of Los Angeles to write a Scottish diaspora poem which resulted in "Scots Nothin Tae Dae Wae That" and in March 2021 she was named Poet Laureate of the St. Andrew's Society of Los Angeles[17] In April 2021 she was shortlisted for Young Scotswoman of the Year by Glasgow Times.[2] She is a judge for a BBC Radio Scotland young writers competition on climate change.[18][19] She has written for TES on the importance of Scots in the classroom.[20]

Pennie is a final-year undergraduate student of Spanish at the University of St Andrews and works as a chef.[21] She grew up in Airdrie[6][1] in a household speaking Scots with her parents, grandparents, and siblings. Her mother is a teacher.[6]

• Miss PunnyPennie on Twitter
• Latto, Ryan (25 January 2021). "Talking Scots (Burns Night Special 2021)". Unearthed Podcast.