Revision Notes: Janice Galloway
Contemporary Scottish Writing:
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Began with Alasdair Gray’s Lanark – inspired others
‘A New Scottish Renaissance’ – How Scotland had changed
Diversity of Contemporary Scottish writing – No common, uniting
characteristics, although some common
occupations and aims:
NON-STANDARD LANGUAGE
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Converting the oral language into literature
Exploit the wide range of registers
Competing dialogues and registers
Giving Voice to the voiceless
POLITICS
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Rise of Scottish Nationalism
Polarisation between Scotland and England
Devolution – Broaden outlook, the Global perspective
Represent burden of Politics – Reclaim Scotland’s vibrant History
NATIONAL IDENTITY
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Defining Scotland
Not singular nation – different things to different people, multiple
perspectives and experiences
Identity is product of ‘we’ – shared memories
Away from clichés of Scottish Identity
Abandoning shared History
Counter-narrative to English Literary Tradition (Scotland represented
as clichés) – Britishness: Scotland marginalized
Giving voice to marginalized figures (previously absent) – gender,
sexuality, race, class
Janice Galloway and Alasdair Gray important VOICES:
The Age of women and Working Class Voices – Linguistic freedom, able to explore
language and perspectives
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Janice Galloway – A Brief Biography
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Born in Saltcoats in 1956
Studied English and Music at Glasgow University
1980-1989 was an English Teacher
1989 – Published first novel The Trick is to Keep Breathing
1994 – Published second novel Foreign Parts
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Other publications include: Short story collections Blood (1991) and Where
You Find It (1996), and novel Clara (2002)
Galloway herself had quite a deprived childhood and her creative writing is
often an expression of the transition between working and middle class that
she herself experienced
She now lives and works in Glasgow
Galloway’s Writing:
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Heavily influenced by Alasdair Gray’s Lanark – Typefaces, visual
representations, lists, unconventional printing
Shares many preoccupations of Contemporary Scottish Writing
Competing registers and discourses very evident – challenging expectations
and authority (value judgement we make)
Marginalisation and Alienation key concerns (particularly female
perspective)
Social mobility – class
Looking at an individual within a culture – Influence of Scottish culture and
identity