Len Pennie, author of the British Book Award-winning collection of poetry poyums, has just received a lovely review in The Scotsman for her sophomore collection poyums annaw:

“To those who are happy to enter Pennie’s world of rhythm and rhyme, though, they offer a hugely entertaining and intelligent young woman’s perspective on the world we currently inhabit; raw, down-to-earth, and certainly enlivened by a few expletives—but downright ‘bad’, it seems to me, only in the eyes of those whose expectations of poetry are suffocatingly conventional, and very narrow indeed.”

Read the full review here.

There isn’t a timescale for how you should heal
Your bad days are valid, your heartache is real
But so is the day that your smile will return
That fire within you continues to burn
You will overcome this and continue to thrive
You are here, you are loved, you are whole, you’re alive.

A formidable follow up to her award-winning debut poetry collection, Len Pennie’s poyums annaw is just like her: defiant, angry and trailblazing. These poems are a call to arms, confronting ideas of patriarchy, gender-based violence and societal injustice with equal parts tenderness, quick-wit and righteous fury. poyums annaw firmly cements Len as a defining voice in contemporary Scots poetry.

Len Pennie’s debut collection, poyums, is a Sunday Times bestseller. Grab your copy here or, better, via your local bookshop or Bookshop.org.

Don’t forget that signed editions of poyums annaw, Len’s sophomore collection, are available for pre-order now. Get one here and catch Len on her poyums annaw tour here.

Follow Len Pennie on TikTok @misspunnypennie and Bluesky @lenniesaurus.bsky.social.