CAT WUMMAN: Tale O Nine Lives
Gerda Stevenson talks about her collection of short stories in Scots
Image credit: Anna Wiraszka
Gerda Stevenson has found success across the arts – on stage, screen and in print. Her next visit to Wigtown Book Festival will be to talk about her collection of short stories in Scots called CAT WUMMAN: Tale O Nine Lives.
Tell us a little about the book
My publisher, Gavin MacDougall of Luath Press, asked me if I had any ideas for a book in Scots. In my first book of short stories, LETTING GO - a Timeline of Tales, I had included a story in Scots,
based on an Inuit folk tale, setting it in a futuristic Scotland, where sea levels are rising. So, I thought I'd explore further this theme of retelling folk tales - from Japan, the Arctic, Ireland, Scotland and one from the Mississippi swamps, the latter being the title story, CAT WUMMAN. But as a Borderer and folk singer myself, I also took some Border ballads as inspiration - The Wife of Usher's Well, and Willie's Dround in Yarrow, as well as poems by fellow Borders poets - Hugh MacDiarmid's Empty Vessel, and James Hogg's Kilmeny. I've long been obsessed with Coleridge's epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which itself has almost become part of folklore, when you think about how we say that an albatross is a burden, and one of the stories, Jazz in Helmand, is told from the perspective of the Wedding Guest, to whom the Mariner tells his story.
What appeals to you about the short story form?
I love writing in condensed forms - poetry, short stories and drama. They all have this in common - a kind of distillation, creating a whole world in a short space of time. With a well written short story, you can sit down with a cup of coffee, and over just twenty minutes, enter into the interior world of characters, their relationships to other people, and their environment. There's an intensity to the experience, and it's complete.
Does Scots bring an extra quality to your stories?
I love the sound of Scots, its rhythms, its melodies. It’s a tough yet tender language, and very musical. And I find there's a pithy humour to it too. I attended a poetry reading at St Anza recently, and Robert Crawford was reading some of his Scots language poetry - very fine. He described Scots as "intimate yet other", which rang true for me. I love writing in English too - in fact, most of my writing is
in English, but it's a different experience altogether. When I'm writing in English, I have to work much harder at finding the musicality I'm always looking for, particularly when writing poetry.
What has been your favourite read of the year?
I've just read James Baldwin's short stories - GOING TO MEET THE MAN - (thanks to James Robertson for the recommendation!). Brilliant, really powerful. Characters and relationships so wonderfully observed, and such flowing language, very spare, nothing flowery about it, and always hitting the mark.
You know Wigtown Book Festival well, what would first-time visitors most enjoy?
The atmosphere is so appealing, very welcoming, all the marvellously varied bookshops, so many events to choose from, yet the gentle pace. And the beautiful setting - I always take a walk down to the Martyr's Stake, and think about those extraordinary Covenanter women in that wild land-and-seascape.
You can purchase tickets for Gerda Stevenson's event - and 17 other early bird events - until 31st May with 10% off the ticket price. The full programme of 2026 events will be released to the public on 24th July.