Scottish Literature

What do we mean by ‘Scottish literature’?

Why does it matter?

How do we engage with it?

Bringing infectious enthusiasm and a lifetime’s experience to bear on this multi-faceted literary nation, Alan Riach, Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow, sets out to guide you through the varied and ever-evolving landscape of Scottish literature.

A comprehensive and extensive work designed not only for scholars but also for the generally curious, Scottish Literature: an introduction tells the tale of Scotland’s many voices across the ages, from Celtic pre-history to modern mass media. Forsaking critical jargon, Riach journeys chronologically through individual works and writers, both the famed and the forgotten, alongside broad overviews of cultural contexts which connect texts to their own times. Expanding the restrictive canon of days gone by, Riach also sets down a new core body of ‘Scottish Literature’: key writers and works in English, Scots, and Gaelic.

Ranging across time and genre, Scottish Literature: an introduction invites you to hear Scotland through her own words.

Author Biography

ALAN RIACH is the Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow. He was born in Airdrie in 1957. He studied English literature at Cambridge University from 1976 to 79. He completed his PhD in the Department of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University in 1986. His academic career has included positions as a postdoctoral research fellow, senior lecturer, Associate Professor and Pro-Dean in the Faculty of Arts, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand 1986-2000.