Alasdair Gray: The Fiction of Communion (Scroll 4) (Scottish Cultural Review of Language and Literature)

145 Pages·2005·0.94 MB·English

by  Gavin Miller

Alasdair Gray
Scottish Cultural Review
of Language and Literature

Volume 4
Series Editors
John Corbett
University of Glasgow
Sarah Dunnigan
University of Edinburgh
James McGonigal
University of Glasgow
Production Editor
Gavin Miller
University of Edinburgh
SCROLL
The Scottish Cultural Review of Language and Literature publishes new
work in Scottish Studies, with a focus on analysis and reinterpretation of
the literature and languages of Scotland, and the cultural contexts that have
shaped them.
Further information on our editorial and production procedures can be
found at www.rodopi.nl
Alasdair Gray
The Fiction
of Communion
Gavin Miller
Amsterdam - New York, NY 2005
Cover design: Gavin Miller
The paper on which this book is printed meets the requirements of “ISO
9706: 1994, Information and documentation - Paper for documents -
Requirements for permanence”.
ISBN: 90-420-1757-0
©Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam - New York, NY 2005
Printed in The Netherlands
Contents
Acknowledgements 7
Introduction 9
Chapter One: Lanark, The White Goddess, and “spiritual communion” 21
Chapter Two: The divided self – Alasdair Gray and R.D. Laing 53
Chapter Three: Reading and time 87
Conclusion: How “post-” is Gray? 115
Bibliography 135
Index 141
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Acknowledgements
For their assistance in the reviewing and production of this book, I would like
to thank John Corbett, James McGonigal and Cairns Craig. I would also like to
thank Bob Irvine, Richard Canaday and Tanith Muller for their comments and
suggestions. Any errors that remain are my responsibility.
Some of the arguments in this book have appeared in an earlier form in Studies
in Scottish Literature, Psyart, Journal of Narrative Theory and Edinburgh Review.
My thanks go in particular to the reviewers of these periodicals, whose comments
have proved extremely valuable.
Finally, I would like to thank Alasdair Gray for generously answering various
of my questions, and also for providing an image for the cover of this book.
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Introduction
In the early 1980s, Scottish literature underwent a period of regenera-
tion in which Glasgow was a focus for new writers. Alasdair Gray
was foremost amongst these voices. Although he had published little,
Gray was an accomplished visual artist and playwright, and had
been Writer in Residence at Glasgow University. Lanark: A Life in
Four Books (1981), his first published novel, made an extraordinary
impact upon Scottish literature, releasing a torrent of new writing
from authors such as James Kelman, Janice Galloway, Tom Leonard
and Liz Lochhead. Since Lanark, Gray has produced further novels
and collections of short stories, as well as occasional political pam-
phlets and poetry collections. Alongside his work as a writer, Gray
has continued to work in the visual arts. This expertise is apparent
in his books: they are marvels of typography complemented by his
own illustrations.
Life
Alasdair James Gray was born in Glasgow on 28 December 1934
to Alexander and Amy (née Fleming). Gray’s father worked in a
box-making factory; his mother was a shop assistant for a clothing
firm. The family were working class, but lived in a modern and well-
designed housing scheme quite unlike the extreme deprivation of
neighbourhoods such as the Gorbals. After the outbreak of World
War Two, bombing raids on Glasgow forced the family to evacuate
to various locations outside the city. They finally settled in Yorkshire,
where Alexander Gray worked as a hostel manager. The Gray family
returned to Glasgow after the war, and it was there that Alasdair
completed his education.
While at school, Gray’s precocious literary and artistic talents
were evident. As a high school student, he had stories published
in Collins Magazine for Boys and Girls, and read his verse on BBC
Radio. However, in a biographical piece from the collection Ten
Tales Tall & True (1993), Gray recalls his dislike for the utilitarian
emphasis of the Scottish educational system:
Compound interest, sines, cosines, Latin declensions, tables of elements tasted to
my mind like sawdust in my mouth: those who dished it out expected me to swallow
while an almost bodily instinct urged me to vomit. (Gray 1993: 156)