Scottish Writing After Devolution: Edges of the New

by Marie-Odile Pittin-Hédon (Editor), Camille Manfredi (Editor), Scott Hames (Editor)

This book 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; attends to the dynamic interplay between contemporary Scottish literature, politics and the arts; captures the range and diversity of Scottish writing since 1999; revisits the critical paradigms of Scottish cultural studies in light of ongoing political developments; promotes a wide range of theoretical perspectives (from ecocriticism to queer theory and linguistics), and dialogue between scholars and creative writers (Harry Josephine Giles, Rodge Glass, Kevin MacNeil); and provides an international perspective to the expanding field of Scottish literary studies.

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 Bashabi Fraser, Annie George, Tendai Huchu, Chin Li and Raman Mundair. Tracing continuities with 1990s debates alongside “edges of the new” visible since Indyref 2014, these critics offer an in-depth study of Scotland’s vibrant literary production in the period of devolution, viewed both within and beyond the frame of national representation.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2019

About the author

Marie-Odile Pittin-Hédon is a professor of contemporary British literature at Aix-Marseille University, France, and specialises in Scottish literature. She has published Alasdair Gray: Marges et effets des miroirs, along with several articles and book chapters on Scottish literature from the 1980s to the present.