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#alasdairgray

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Replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature
Assoc for Scottish Literature

“By fusing a dialect-laden verse with knowledge and respect for Dante’s original, Gray has, almost inadvertently, built a bridge across borders and nations. Yes, this is a strange, idiosyncratic, individual text, but it is at the same time an undeniably Scottish one.”

—Jamie Mackay, via Words Without Borders

wordswithoutborders.org/book-r

Words Without BordersIn "HELL," Alasdair Gray Creates a Celtic, Wind-lashed Translation of Dante's "Inferno" - Words Without BordersSince the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri finished his Divina Commedia, in 1320, more than one hundred different translations of his work have been published in English, over a dozen in this decade alone. The selection currently available caters to various tastes and purposes. Allen Mandelbaum’s blank-verse effort, studied in thousands of classrooms and universities around the world,
#Scottish#literature#AlasdairGray
Assoc for Scottish Literature

25 March is #DanteDay. In 2021 the University of Glasgow & the Alasdair Gray Archive, with the support of the University of Verona and the Italian Institute of Culture, held a symposium & reading commemorating 700 years since the death of Dante, & marking Alasdair Gray’s translation of The Divine Comedy – his last major work before his death in 2019

youtube.com/watch?v=vsBnib39WN

YouTubeDante and Alasdair Gray: A Scottish Journey through The Divine ComedyBy University of Glasgow College of Arts & Humanities
#Scottish#literature#AlasdairGray
Brian Lavelle

New—old—book & new—old—bookstand, both picked up in Glasgow today.

The former is an apparently rare Edwin Morgan title from Mariscat Press, first published in 1984. This is the 1986 2nd impression. Wonderful, unmistakeable Alasdair Gray cover.

The stand is more likely a display stand, made for the Dahlberg Offisupply Company of Des Moines, Iowa. No idea where I’m going to put it!

A slim paperback, Sonnets From Scotland by Edwin Morgan with an Alasdair Gray cover illustration. On the cover, beneath the title is a pattern of 16 squares within a larger square, each one containing a Saltire or a small illustration by Gray. The book rests on a slim stand made of dark wood of some vintage, possibly from the 1950s. At the bottom is a label which reads: DAHLBERG OFFISUPPLY COMPANY DES MOINES, IOWA
ALT
#EdwinMorgan#ScottishPoetry#ScottishPoet
Replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature
Assoc for Scottish Literature

@bookstodon

Prof Alan Riach – who appears, briefly & fictionally, in Alasdair Gray’s 2007 novel OLD MEN IN LOVE (although not, I should add, as an old man in love) – discusses LANARK at our 2022 Schools Conference

8/8

youtube.com/watch?v=QTCGw6e_OS

YouTubeAlasdair Gray’s novel LanarkBy Education Scotland
#Scottish#literature#AlasdairGray
Replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature
Assoc for Scottish Literature

@bookstodon

“Taken together, the four prints underscore the oft-disputed unity of LANARK, as well as the sheer will of Gray’s effort to portray the individual’s capabilities for art & love against the backdrop of the modern industrialized state”

—David Auerbach on the sources of the frontispieces for LANARK’s four books, and how Alasdair Gray used them

7/8

waggish.org/2020/alasdair-gray

#Scottish#literature#AlasdairGray
Replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature
*
Assoc for Scottish Literature

@bookstodon

The frontispiece’s quotation

“By Arts is formed that great Mechanical Man called a State, foremost of the Beasts of the Earth for Pride”

is based on Hobbes: “For by art is created that great LEVIATHAN called a COMMONWEALTH, or STATE…”

The 2nd part draws on the Bible—the description of Leviathan (Job 41.34):

“He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.”

3/8

tate.org.uk/art/artworks/gray-

A figurative State towes over a panoramic view across Scotland, looking from west to east. The figure is bearded, masculine, blank-eyed, and wears a crown. It holds a sword in its right hand, labelled "FORCE", and a crozier in its left hand, labelled "persuasion". Apart from the hands and face the giant figure is formed from little people: a ring of wigged judges around its throat, bowler-hatted men with pointing arms giving orders across its chest and shoulders, a teeming mass of faceless individuals making up its torso. Its left arm consists of kneeling worshippers and open-mouthed preachers; its right is a phalanx of marching soldiers. Above the figure is written "By Arts is formed that great Mechanical Man called a State, foremost of the Beasts of the Earth for Pride" Scotland, curved and distorted, is spread out beneath and in front of the figure. Discernible landmarks include Glasgow University tower; John Knox’s statue in the Glasgow Necropolis; the Wallace Monument; the Grangemouth oil refinery; St Giles Cathedral; Edinburgh Castle; the Forth & Tay bridges; & the experimental fast-breeder nuclear reactor at Dounreay. Also visible are oil rigs in the North Sea, nuclear submarines in the Irish Sea & Holy Loch, & the paddle-steamer PS Waverley sailing down the Clyde. Beneath the whole display are more drawings of war, work, and education. In the centre a banner reads BOOK FOUR and below it says The Matter, Form and Power of a Commonwealth
ALT
#Scottish#literature#AlasdairGray
Replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature
Assoc for Scottish Literature

@bookstodon

Discernible landmarks include Glasgow University tower; John Knox’s statue in the Glasgow Necropolis; the Wallace Monument; the Grangemouth oil refinery; St Giles Cathedral; Edinburgh Castle; the Forth & Tay bridges; & the experimental fast-breeder nuclear reactor at Dounreay. Also visible are oil rigs in the North Sea, nuclear submarines in the Irish Sea & Holy Loch, & the paddle-steamer PS Waverley sailing down the Clyde.

2/8

#Scottish#literature#AlasdairGray
Assoc for Scottish Literature

INTERVIEWER: When somebody asks you to describe your book LANARK, what do you say to them?
ALASDAIR GRAY: I say it is a Scottish petit bourgeois model of the universe.
I: Just like that?
AG: Yes, I’ve rehearsed it & honed it down to as few words as possible.

It’s #GrayDay! Alasdair Gray’s LANARK was first published on 25 Feb 1981

@bookstodon
🧵
preface/

🎨 Screenprint of the title page to LANARK, by Gray & Murray Robertson

shop.glasgowprintstudio.co.uk/

A coloured screenprint of a title page for LANARK: A Life in Four Books. The illustration contains dreamlike imagery against a background of stars and rushing clouds: at the very top, a black-and-white sketch of Glasgow tenements and streets; next to it, a strange figure, part woman, part tree, who is eating the apples that grow from her body; next to that, a hand reaches out of a stormy sea towards a golden sun. A monstrous, distorted mixture of a whale and an elephant, with human hands and breasts, is suckling two embracing figures: a blue man and a pink woman. Dominating the image is a blonde, blue-eyed woman, looking outwards. A thin, almost emaciated, monochrome male figure rises from the page of an open sketchbook. He holds a pencil and a set of dividers and is drawing a replica of his own face. On the sketchbook is written "For Andrew Gray and Morag McAlpine | Glasgow Print Studio | 2014"
ALT
#Scottish#literature#AlasdairGray
Assoc for Scottish Literature

Alasdair Gray’s Portrayal of Glasgow as a Disappearing City
25 Feb, Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery, Glasgow – free

The perception of the city & its people as vulnerable to being forgotten or erased inspired Gray’s lifelong commitment to explore, preserve, & reassert Glasgow’s identity across his visual & literary works.

glasgowlife.org.uk/event/2/tal

Glasgow LifeTalk - Alasdair Gray’s Portrayal of Glasgow as a Disappearing City’ - Glasgow LifeFree talk
#Scottish#literature#art
Replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature
Assoc for Scottish Literature

Fishing for Poetry: A Celebration of Norman MacCaig

Aly Bain, Andrew Greig & Billy Connolly seek the Loch of the Green Corrie – with MacCaig’s poetry read by Douglas Dunn, Alasdair Gray, Seamus Heaney, Jackie Kay, Tom Leonard, Liz Lochhead & Aonghas MacNeacail

youtube.com/watch?v=ilGV9OCHei

YouTubeBilly Connolly and Aly Bain: Fishing for Poetry. A Celebration of Norman MacCaigBy ScottishPoetryLib
#Scottish#literature#poetry
Assoc for Scottish Literature

GRAY MATTERS

Writers & comedians Alan Bissett, Ashley Storrie & Christopher Macarthur-Boyd celebrate the work of Alasdair Gray – & Glasgow’s 850th anniversary – in a collaboration between the Alasdair Gray Archive & the 2025 Glasgow Comedy Festival

beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/15

Beyond The Joke · Comedians Alan Bissett, Ashley Storrie and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd Celebrate Work Of Alasdair GrayGlasgow International Comedy Festival (GICF) has today announced a partnership with The Alasdair Gray Archive (AGA) to celebrate the iconic artist and writer, Alasdair Gray, as part of the wider Glasgow 850 Festival programme. Three comedians, Alan Bissett, Ashley Storrie and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, will create and stage work celebrating The Alasdair Gray Archive as part of GICF, with scratch performances also taking place on ‘Gray Day’.
#Scottish#literature#comedy
Assoc for Scottish Literature

Exploring Colonialism in Alasdair Gray’s POOR THINGS

10 Dec Glasgow. Free, booking essential

Following a discussion of Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel POOR THINGS by Hussein Mitha, participants will undertake creative writing exercises. Participants are not expected to have read the book, but some familiarity with the novel (or film) will be beneficial

To secure your spot please email info@thealasdairgrayarchive.org

Tuesday 10th December, 5–7 pm FREE IN-PERSON WORKSHOP Exploring Colonialism in Alasdair Gray's Poor Things Delivered by HUSSEIN MITHA
ALT
#Scottish#literature#CreativeWriting
Assoc for Scottish Literature

CIVIS Webinar: Poor Things Revisited

Sorcha Dallas introduces the Alasdair Gray Archive & discusses POOR THINGS and its digital guide. Lauren Forde discusses her research work on this novel. Lauren & Sorcha together examine the film adaptation, which is placed in the context of what material is available at the Archive.

@litstudies

youtube.com/watch?v=hPWsP7NSfa

YouTubeCIVIS SEMINAR on contemporary Scottish literature: What is the future of now?By Laboratoire LERMA
#Scottish#literature#AlasdairGray
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