Hamish MacDonald is a poet, playwright an novelist wi wirks set furth, braidcast an performed in Scots an English. He is scriever o the novel The Gravy Star an has scrievit a nummer o plays which toured throughoot Scotland an owerseas.

He wis a foonder o Dogstar Theatre Company an his play Factor 9, aboot the contaminatit bluid scandal, wis premiered as pairt o the 2014 European Capital o Culture programme in Umea, Sweden. He scrievit fir a wheen buiks bi Scots leid imprent Itchy Coo an has warked as scriever an presenter on BBC Radio Scotland documentaries.

He wis the first Robert Burns Writing Fellow fir Dumfries an Gallowa Airts Association (2003-06) an the first Scots Scriever at the National Library o Scotland (2015-17).

As pairt o a projeck set up bi The Schuil o History at St Andras University he owerset Papusza’s wartime poem Tears of Blood intae Scots an English. His maist recent wark, Wilson’s Ornithology & Burds in Scots, imprentit bi Scotland Street Press, featurs ornithological poems in Scots alangside illustrations bi Alexander Wilson (1766-1813), Paisley wabster, bard, airtist an foondin faither o American ornithology.

Kreshchatyk Park

In Kreshchatyk Park

the wheeshed procession kythes frae the shaddas

siller beardit Orthodox

happit daurk in priestly gouns

ikon held oot afore

a wheen follaers in devotional train.

They gang oan past as phantons

lowsed frae some ile pentin

o auld Ukraine

frae a time afore warld wars an revolutions.

As the final whistle blaws

in Dynamo stadium

the shaven-heidit mob breenges ower the bankin

bungin an ignitit flerr in ther path

spylin fur pagger

yammerin oot in collective rage.

Finnin nae opposition

they casually dwinnle aff

meldin intae the silence o the park.