Chris Tait is a unique writer, poet and storyteller from the Shetland Isles. Chris tells the story her journey from her island home to poetry and storytelling performances across Scotland and beyond, and of how Asperger’s Syndrome influences her life and her writing.
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Useful Links.
Chris reads Diablo and the Leprechaun Figurehead.
YouTube – Chris reads four poems.
Disability’s Duchess.
The text of Chris’s poem on the “Not Going Back To Normal” website.
Oor Vyce Cam Aw Ye on Facebook
Chris reads at 58 minutes in. Many Scots voices read their poems and stories on a Zoom meeting.
Diablo: The Fantastical Adventures of an Unloved Chess Piece. Book available on Amazon.
In a style that is inspired by everything from Lewis Carroll to Monty Python – with a few weird stops in between – it follows his adventures through a wacky fantasy landscape. The words are accompanied by a variety of images to help illustrate the depth and breadth of Chris’s unique storytelling. It is a story of hope and a search for acceptance based on her own struggles that she hopes will help young people to realise that they are not alone as they come to terms with who they are.
Diablo and The Leprechaun Figurehead. Book available on Amazon.
Chris takes us on a poetic journey through a world of playing cards who are support workers, leaking pan ships with gingerbread captains, and a whole lot more bizarre and wondrous creatures in crazy situations. In the spirit of Spike Milligan or Monty Python, this is an enchanting and humorous look at a world even more absurd than the one we live in now.
John,
This is one of those moments when time stands still for a transcendent moment- and it’s your doing! I’m listening to your interview with Chris Tait. I want to thank you for all of your great podcast content! But it is this interview that compels me to write you. Not only does Ms. Tait speak of a subject that’s the heart of my life coaching practice ( Autism Spectrum (ASD) and ADHD), she mirrored my thoughts on numerous matters at the core of my heart and life. I’m so glad you interviewed this brilliant [young] lady and have shared it with the world.
I’m an adult w/ ADHD, which overlaps with and is in ways similar to ASD. The life and relationships of ASDers & ADHDers can be treacherous and extraordinarily beautiful. Education and conversation provide a new awareness that make it a far sweeter life for all.
My own work is, like Ms. Tait’s, quite varied– the norm for us “non-neurotypical” people. I’m a writer, calligrapher, painter, woodworker, garden designer, beekeeper, and lover of foreign languages (just the top of a long list- ha). As for Christ Tait, the world is my canvas, my oyster.
But the one thing I don’t share with Chris Tait is her massive confidence, which propels her to put her work out into the world with bravado. Thanks to your podcast, a bit of that is rubbing off of her onto me; perhaps it will stick.
With many thanks for endless inspiration,