Out of the Silence and a Literary Renaissance.

Helen Mark presents BBC Radio Ulster’s weekly Ulster-Scots magazine show alongside Rab Lennox. This week, an indepth look at the ‘Out of the Silence’ documentary which is now on the BBC iPlayer. The documentary is fronted by Garvagh writer and Kintra regular Anne McMaster who talks about her Presbyterian family background and the language of her homeplace. It also unveils a creative resurgence in Ulster-Scots writing - especially amongst women - and features contemporary writers such as Wendy Erskine, Michelle Gallen and Jan Carson. As well as hearing about a trip to Coleraine for a preview of the documentary, this edition of Kintra is a broader look at how this resurgence has come to be. Helen asks Anne - why are so many writers taking so much inspiration from Ulster-Scots? And why now?