-
Indelible Ink: Rodge Glass’ ‘No Fireworks’
When these columns started in November 2009 I suggested that there was a noticeable change happening in Scottish writing, and attempted to answer why. Here’s a short excerpt to give you a flavour: ‘You can argue the reasons for this new confidence in Scottish writing, when it began, or even if it exists at all, […]
January 2, 2012
-
Indelible Ink: Agnes Owens’ ‘Bad Attitudes’
There are a few Scottish novelists I would recommend to any aspiring writers who are looking for inspiration in terms of style and technique. These include A.L Kennedy, James Kelman, Alan Warner and Ali Smith. But top of that list would be Agnes Owens. If you want an example of how to tell stories simply […]
December 5, 2011
-
Indelible Ink: Alice Thompson’s ‘The Existential Detective’
In today’s cultural climate a novel called ‘The Existential Detective’ could be said to have a double handicap in reaching a readership before it begins. Those who are set against the genre of crime fiction will see the word ‘detective’ and decide it’s not for them, similarly the term ‘existential’ puts many people in fear […]
November 7, 2011
-
Indelible Ink: A.L. Kennedy’s ‘Paradise’
There is a lot of alcohol in Scottish fiction, as there is in Scottish fact. Often this becomes an easy stereotype used to denote not only nationality but also social status. There is a belief that alcohol abuse is one of the boxes to tick in the ‘urban, gritty, working class’ novel, but this doesn’t […]
October 4, 2011
-
Indelible Ink: Alan Spence’s ‘Way To Go’
Alan Spence is one of those writers who seems to stand apart from other contemporary Scottish writers. I’ve been thinking about why this might be, and I think it is a matter of style. If you think of the adjectives that are most often applied to modern Scottish fiction they will include; grim, gritty, urban, […]
September 5, 2011
-
Indelible Ink: Alexander Trocchi’s ‘Young Adam’
There are times when a piece of art comes along and nothing is ever the same again. Such arrivals fulfill three functions; they come to represent their time, they change what will follow, and, often brutally, they kill what had preceded them. Or at least appear to at the time. Think of the impact Joyce’s […]
August 1, 2011
-
Indelible Ink: Doug Johnstone’s ‘The Ossians’
Writing about music in prose is difficult to get right. Fictional bands are judged against the great Spinal Tap and most readers will be aware of all the clichés that accompany rock n’ roll and those who play it from the many biographies of bands (personal recommendations are ‘The Hammer of the Gods’ which details […]
July 4, 2011
-
Indelible Ink: Robin Jenkins’ ‘The Changeling’
When we think of modern Scottish literature it is usually accepted that we are considering writing from the 1970s to the present day. However, there are writers who spoil that neat picture, writers who were being published in the 1950s and 60s and continued to produce new work into the latter decades of the 20th […]
June 6, 2011
-
You Have Been Watching…Trainspotting
For reasons that will become apparent next week, this will likely be the last Scottish Film feature for a while, so it is appropriate that we end this series with a look at arguably the greatest Scottish film ever made – Trainspotting.
May 27, 2011
