CFP: Scottish Writing in the 21st Century (10/31/04; collection)

full name / name of organization: 
Berthold Schoene

SCOTTISH WRITING IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY:

Essays on Post-Devolution Representations of Scottishness

In The Scottish Novel since the Seventies (Edinburgh University Press
1993) Gavin Wallace described contemporary Scottish literature as 'a
grey and morose beast prone to lengthy fits of self-pity.' As one
plausible reason for the obtrusive pathos and disaffection pervading
late twentieth-century Scottish culture Wallace cites the general
deplorability and political listlessness of Scottish affairs in the
aftermath of the unsuccessful referendum on national self-rule in 1979.
Taking its cue from Christopher Whyte's proposition that 'in the absence
of an elected political authority, the task of representing the nation
has been repeatedly devolved to its writers' (Forum for Modern Language
Studies 1998), the proposed collection of essays intends to revisit
Wallace's characterisation of Scottish literature and culture from a
post-Devolution perspective. In what way could Scottish writing be said
to have changed? Has it come true that, as Whyte predicted, 'the
setting-up of a Scottish parliament [would] at last allow Scottish
literature to be literature first and foremost, rather than the
expression of a nationalist movement'? And if so, what exactly might
this mean and, more importantly, in what way would such a shift be
desirable?

To answer these questions the proposed volume will focus on:

(1) established authors who have recently published new works of
fiction;

(2) relative newcomers who have come onto the scene during the last ten
years;

(3) emerging writers (with first or second books) who are getting
noticed.

To name but a few, authors that come to mind are: Iain Banks,
Christopher Brookmyre, Ajay Close, Anne Donovan, Michel Faber, Matthew
Fitt, Janice Galloway, Andrew Greig, Laura Hird, Jackie Kay, James
Kelman, A.L. Kennedy, Duncan McLean, Andrew O'Hagan, Ian Rankin, James
Robertson, J.K. Rowling, Suhayl Saadi, Ali Smith, Alan Spence, Zoe
Strachan, Luke Sutherland, Alan Warner, Irvine Welsh and Christopher
Whyte.

Although primarily interested in fiction, proposals for contributions on
other genres (poetry, drama, autobiography, travel writing, film and TV)
are equally welcome. The volume also seeks to give attention to
contemporary Scottish writing in Gaelic and Scots as well as Scotland's
vibrant oral storytelling tradition.

Please email your proposals (300-500 words) to Berthold Schoene, English
Research Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University
(b.schoene_at_btopenworld.com). The closing date for proposals is 31
October 2004. Completed manuscripts are required by mid-2005 and the
volume is expected to be published by Edinburgh University Press in
2006.

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Received on Tue Jul 20 2004 - 01:11:23 EDT