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Over the past three decades, it is commonly argued, Scotland achieved 'a form of cultural autonomy in the absence of its political equivalent' (Murray Pittock) - a transformation led by its novelists, poets and dramatists. So why, then, is the debate over Scottish independence much less passionate and imaginative? This book sets the question of independence within the more radical horizons which inform the work of 27 writers and activists based in Scotland.
"Considering an unprecedented range of literary, political and archival materials, it explores how questions of 'voice', language and identity featured in debates leading to the new Scottish Parliament in 1999"--Publisher description
Considering an unprecedented range of literary, political and archival materials, it explores how questions of 'voice', language and identity featured in debates leading to the new Scottish Parliament in 1999.
“One of the most profound and illuminating studies of this century to have been published in recent decades.”—John Gray, New York Times Book Review Hailed as “a magisterial critique of top-down social planning” by the New York Times, this essential work analyzes disasters from Russia to Tanzania to uncover why states so often fail—sometimes catastrophically—in grand efforts to engineer their society or their environment, and uncovers the conditions common to all such planning disasters. “Beautifully written, this book calls into sharp relief the nature of the world we now inhabit.”—New Yorker “A tour de force.”— Charles Tilly, Columbia University
Traces the development of the ideology of modern Scottish nationalism from the 1960s to the independence referendum in 2014.
This series offers new insights into Scottish authors, periods and topics drawing on contemporary critical approaches. --
Community in Modern Scottish Literature is the first book to examine representations and theories of community in Scottish writing of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries across a broad range of authors and from various conceptual perspectives. The leading scholars in the field examine work in the novel, poetry, and drama, by key Scottish authors such as MacDiarmid, Kelman, and Galloway, as well as less well known writers. This includes postmodern and postcolonial readings, analysis of writing by gay and Gaelic authors, alongside theorists of community such as Nancy, Bauman, Delanty, Cohen, Blanchot, and Anderson. This book will unsettle and yet broaden traditional conceptions of community in Scotland and Scottish literature, suggesting a more plural idea of what community might be.
Novelist, playwright, essayist, and master of the short story. Artist and engaged working-class intellectual; husband, father, and grandfather as well as committed revolutionary activist. From his first publication (a short story collection An Old Pub Near the Angel on a tiny American press) through his latest novel (God's Teeth and other Phenomena) and work with Noam Chomsky (Between Thought and Expression Lies a Lifetime—both published on a slightly larger American press), All We Have Is the Story chronicles the life and work—to date—of “Probably the most influential novelist of the post-war period.” (The Times) Drawing deeply on a radical tradition that is simultaneously politic...
Remaps the state of Scottish writing in the contemporary moment, embracing its uncertainty and the need to reconsider the field's founding assumptions and exclusions A provisional re-mapping of Scotland's post-devolution literary culture, these fifteen essays explore how literature, theatre and visual art have both shaped and reflected the 'new Scotland' promised by parliamentary devolution. Chapters explore leading figures such as Alasdair Gray, David Greig, Kathleen Jamie and Jackie Kay, while also paying particular attention to women's writing by Kate Atkinson, A. L. Kennedy, Denise Mina, Ali Smith, Louise Welsh, and writers of colour such as Bashabi Fraser, Annie George, Tendai Huchu, Ch...
This book focuses on James Kelman, a leading Scottish author, and his use of language. It examines how Kelman presents a spoken Glasgow working-class voice in his stories while breaking down the traditional distinction made between speech and writing in literature. Three main themes are explored: the use of Glaswegian/Scots language, the inclusion of working-class discourse features, and an expressive preference for spoken over written forms. Kelman’s writing is approached through an examination of his use of punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, swearing, and body language. Throughout, examples from Kelman’s writing are analysed and statistical comparisons are made between his writing and the Scots Corpus of Texts and Speech. In summary, the reader will find a detailed and systematic analysis of Kelman’s use of language in literature, showing linguistic patterns, identifying key textual strategies and features, and comparing these to the standards that precede him and those that surround his work.