A prolific writing tradition in Ulster

By Jim Millar

In an earlier piece written for The Ulster-Scot I made reference to a short poem called ‘The Wanderer’ that was written by James Orr, The Bard of Ballycarry.  Orr, as many of us now know, was part of a literary movement in Ulster that was dynamic and popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
 
Most of those writers were quite able to produce work in standard English as well as in the traditional form of Scots that was widely spoken across much of Ulster, but particularly in counties Down, Antrim and Donegal. These men and women who have left such a rich legacy and tradition of writing in Ulster-Scots are now more often than not, referred to as the ‘Rhyming Weavers’.
What is perhaps less generally well known is that the rediscovery of this writing tradition in Ulster is usually credited to a Belfast man, the late John Hewitt.  Born in 1907, Hewitt began writing his own poetry when he was still at school and was ultimately so prolific that he was responsible for the publication of some seven poetry collections of his own writings between 1972 and 1987. 
The sheer volume and quality of his work affords him a predominant position among the literary figures on this island and not surprisingly, Hewitt is regarded by many as a father figure to the Ulster poets of today. 
He wrote on a wide and varied range of subjects, espoused some radical views and might not have disagreed with some of the opinions that Orr himself held regarding the activities of the United Irishmen and the ‘98.
Hewitt’s interest in the works of the Rhyming Weavers can be traced back to 1950 when he was reported to have said that, “the unearthing of  the works of what he described as the ‘Country Poets of the north’, provided him with ‘a whole storehouse of information on the life, loves and usages of my own people which can illuminate and colour the bare lines of textbook history”.
He went on to gather a large amount of information about both the works and activities of these people and finally in 1974, produced the seminal text,’ Rhyming Weavers’, a volume of work that proved to be so popular that it was quite recently republished and made available for purchase in many of the high street bookstores across the whole of Ireland.
The more recent edition contains a nice introduction by the poet, critic and playwright Tom Paulin, who, although born in England, was raised in Belfast and clearly shares some of Hewitt’s enthusiasm for the vernacular.
However, there are a few other good reads that might go some way to securing a greater understanding of the works of the weaver poets.  A few years ago, a smashing wee series of paperbacks entitled ‘The Folk Poets of Ulster’ was published by the Pretani Press in Belfast. 
With three separate volumes, this collection contains poems that are mostly written in the vernacular by James Orr, Hugh Porter and Samuel Thompson.  The full titles are The Country Rhymes of Hugh Porter, The Bard of Moneyslane, The Country Rhymes of James Orr, The Bard of Ballycarry, and The Country Rhymes of Samuel Thompson, The Bard of Carngranny.
While these publications are less frequently found on the shelves of high street shops, they can still be sourced through the major internet book stores.
Each volume contains an introduction to the men themselves and paints a nice picture of what life might have been like in and around the country areas that these men inhabited.
I am currently re-reading @The Country Rhymes of Samuel Thompson, the Bard of Carngranny.’
Samuel Thompson was born in Carngranny, close to Templepatrick, in 1766 and, although he is a part of the weaver poet tradition, he was in fact a school teacher. 
I’m not sure if they had parent /teacher evenings in his day but I doubt if he would get away today with some of the comments that he might have made regarding his young charges.  He is credited with the following remarks that were apparently addressed to one of his pupils who quite evidently failed to reach the standards that Thompson might have felt were required of him.

Tho’faith I would rather advise, as a neighbour,
Quit books altogether, and strike up with labor,
Shake hands with a shovel; a dunghill you'll find,
A subject congenial at once to your mind’.

Thompson referred to his home in Carngranny as ‘Crambo Cave.’  I’m told that ‘Crambo’ was a popular parlour game around the end of the 18th century where every one was expected to take a turn at composing a few lines of poetry. 
Acknowledged as someone who welcomed visitors to his home, Thompson soon became a focal point for many others who enjoyed reading and writing in the vernacular tradition.  No doubt, many of these visitors indulged in a bit of ‘Crambo’ in the ‘Cave’.
Thompson’s first book of poetry was published in 1793 and is regarded as the first of any such publications by the Ulster folk poets.
Like many of his radical contemporaries, Thompson has little difficulty in recognising that his cultural identity was connected with both Ireland and Scotland.  In one of his poems he writes:

I love my native land, no doubt,
Attach’d to her thro’ thick and thin
Yet tho I'm Irish all without,
I’m every item Scotch within.

I am quite fond of a number of Thompson’s poems and one in particular, written in the vernacular, called ‘The Simmer Fair’.
It’s quite a long piece of work with some sixteen verses.  It records the image of what might have happened over 200 years ago at a festival day in the summer.  Here’s a few lines to give you a flavour:

The Simmer Fair
T’inspire the bardie at this time
Apollo be’t thy care,
That he in Norland, measured rhyme,
May sing the simmer-fair;
Whar monie folks together hie,
Baith married anes an’single,
Auld age and youth, wife, man an’ boy
A’hobbling intermingle
In crowds this day.
[hie, - hasten]
 
Here countra’ chiels, dock’d aff compleat,
Weel sheath'd in Sunday claes,
Sae trimly as they pace the street,
In shoen as black as slaes; -
The lassies fain, come stringing in
Frae a’parts o’ the country,
Ilk ane as feat’s a new made prin -
Ye’d tak them a’ fur gentry,
Sae fine this day!
[chiel - young man
feat - neat or trim]

However things get a wee bit rowdy and Thompson observes;

But hark! a wabster on the brig,
Some how displeas’d a suttor,
Wha taks him in the wame a dig,
An ca’s him ‘c’reeshy bluttor:’
Quoth he, to’ve been sae won’rous quick,
’Ye neededna a fash’d man;
By that great power that made Auld-Nick,
’I’se hae ye bravely thrash’d man,
This vera day.
[Wabster - weaver,
Wame - stomach,
Creeshy - greasy,
Fash’d - bothered.

The last verse speaks for itself:
Sa a’ weel pleas’d, wi ae consent,
They drowsy hamewards steer;
Some tak the road, and some the bent,
Ilk lassie wi’ her dear:
But some I wat, at nine months end,
Wi hopeless dole an’ care,
Whan geer’s a wrang, that winna mend,
Will min’ the Simmer Fair,
An’ curse that day.
[bent - bent grass/over land
Ilk - each,
Geer - stuff
Min’ - remember]

As a group of writers, the ‘Weaver Poets’ have offered us an opportunity into just what life was like in Ulster around the time of the 18th century.  The use of the vernacular some how brings the reader into closer contact with these men and the people that they represent. 
Whether it was to record their own particular view of who they were, the events surrounding the ‘98 or indeed their own view of a summer fair, I for one am grateful for the contribution that they have made both to our language and our culture.
 I’m also grateful to John Hewitt for bringing these writers back to the attention of all of us.

Jim Millar is director of language and education with the Ulster-Scots Agency.