David Bleiman

David Bleiman
Born	1953 (age 72–73) Cape Town
Known for	Trade unionist and poet

David Bleiman is a writer, poet and trade unionist based in Scotland. ^{[1] [2]}

Bleiman was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1953 and moved first to London, then to Scotland.

Bleiman was the first Scottish official of the Association of University Teachers (University and College Union) and served as assistant general secretary. ^{[3] [4] [5]} He served as President of the Scottish Trades Union Congress in 2002. ^[6]

His poem, The Trebbler's Tale won the Sangschaw Prize in 2020 ^[7]

He writes in Scots-Yiddish ^{[8] [9]} a dialect also favoured by poet AC Jacobs and writer David Daiches.

Publications

• Labour and Scottish Nationalism (1979) ^[10]
• This Kilt of Many Colours (2021) ^[11]
• Tongue Stramash (2025) ^[12]
• Gathering Light: A Cramond Causeway (2022) ^[13]

References

1. "David Bleiman". Scottish Poetry Library. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
2. "The Poetry Society". poetrysociety.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
3. "Principals get pay call from teachers". The Herald. 1999-05-25. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
4. "Speaking Aut | Tes Magazine". www.tes.com. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
5. "University in wage docking threat". 2006-05-10. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
6. "General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress", Wikipedia, 2025-05-09, retrieved 2026-02-04
7. "David Bleiman wins Scots Language Association's Sangschaw competition". The Poetry Society. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
8. "Scotslanguage.com - Scots-Yiddish: A Dialect Re-imagined". www.scotslanguage.com. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
9. "Mixed Blessings: Mongrel verse and the uniformity of the military machine". The National. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
10. Keating, Michael; Bleiman, David (1979-06-17). Labour and Scottish Nationalism. Springer. ISBN   978-1-349-04678-2.
11. "This Kilt of Many Colours". Goodreads. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
12. "Tongue Stramash". Handsel Press. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
13. "Gathering Light by David Bleiman | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com. Retrieved 2026-02-04.