Canny Bit Verse
Canny Bit Verse is a book, written and published by poet Robert Allen from Northumberland, England, in 1994. It contains a variety of poems, which between them praise the valley of the North Tyne, talk about local village cricket, or tell of sad occurrences as in the "whee's deid" (obituary) column, and according to the sales details "and for those who don't know their cushat (wood pigeon) from their shavie (chaffinch), there's a glossary of dialect words".[1]
| Author | Robert Allen |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English, much in Geordie dialect |
| Genre | dialect poetry book |
| Publisher | Robert Allen |
Publication date | 1994 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 128 |
| ISBN | 978-0952464907 |
The poems were written at an earlier date and had been recorded by Allen on to three audio tapes, which he had produced; these are The Canniest Place on Eorth, Ridin' High and The Lang Pack.
The 128 page book is illustrated by local writer and artist Henry Brewis.
The Northumbrian Language Society, of which Allen was a founder member, is the sole supplier of this and other of his books and recordings.[2]
Contents
The contents cover many topics, mainly written in the Geordie dialect, often very broad.
Below is a list of a few of the contents of the book:
Poems
- Bonnie North Tyne
- A Canny Welcome
- A Cautionary Tale
- The Corbie Crow
- The Costly chimney cowl
- End O' Lambin Day
- The Grittor
- A Lot Of It Aboot
- The Owld Farmor's Advice
- The Owld Men's Thowts
- Spuggies
- The Whee's Deed Collum
Prose
- God’s Bairn A Northumbrian version of the Christmas story
References
- "Canny Bit Verse - the book". Local Bookshelf.com: Northumberland. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- "Activities: Publications and other projects". Northumbrian Language Society. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.